Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There
by oblivon2991
Summary: A strange Gate appeared in the capital of the Sorcerous Kingdom, and through it, foreign soldiers started to flood. Killing and kidnapping the denizens of the Sorcerous Kingdom's capital. Now our beloved Papa Bones can't let such dirty things. Does he? (Warning! The story contains some of my OC's) (AU!)
1. Invading force? What a joke!

**Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There**

 **by: oblivon2991**

 **proofread by: PervySageChuck**

 **copy editor: WarGod46**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.**

 **I don't own the Overlord(オーバーロードŌbārōdo?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **Please review it I know I will make mistakes what I will intend to correct and try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

* * *

It was a bright day in the capital city of the Sorcerous Kingdom of Nazarick. Everyone in this country was performing their daily routine just like any other day in their life. However, all that activity was suddenly put on halt as a strange construction with an archaic design appeared out of nowhere. The people of the capital stood stunned for a moment upon noticing the unusual structure.

The structure was massive. It was 40 meters tall and 20 meters wide, quite a strange sight to see for the people of the sorcerer kingdom. However, the people soon realized that this maybe was one of the miracles made by their ruler and master. For the people of this kingdom are ruled by a wise king named Ainz Ooal Gown, the ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. And under his leadership, the people never truly suffered any sort of shortage of daily needs due to their king's revolutionary ideas and foresight during his 200 years reigning as their Lord.

The people of the Sorcerous Kingdom saw many miracles performed by their wise King or, as many of them called him, the 'God of Death', but the people of the Sorcerous Kingdom had never seen such a thing like this that suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the main square of the capital of the Sorcerous Kingdom. All of them thought it was simply another miracle that their Wise King had manifested for them. So no one was afraid seeing a strange structure mysteriously appearing in the middle of the capital.

As they watched the strange Gate, the head of the Guards in that district emerged from the crowd after spotting the large, bizarre structure from afar.

"What the hell? Where did that large... gate... come from?" he yelled as he inspected the strange structure. As his men arrived, pushing their way through the crowd behind him, they asked, "What happened Captain? What is that strange edifice?"

He looked back to his men. "I don't know. But it is better to lock down the area and send a message to the mayor about it." He looked at the strange gate with a suspicious expression.

As he was inspecting the structure, all of them heard a screeching sound coming from the infinite darkness inside of the structure. From it, many Armored Wyvern-like creatures flew out. On top of them rode strangely armored men. Everyone's eyes widened in the main square. No one amongst them ever expected such things arriving from the structure.

Not long after the flying creatures and their riders, horses neighed and the sound of numerous metallic boots marching towards the light could be heard from the black tunnel. The first ones who appeared from the dark were armored men on their respective horses. All of them wore similar armor to that of the Wyvern riders from before, but slightly different.

To the captain, the foreign soldiers were strangely familiar. He had seen that armor somewhere, but he was not sure where. Maybe in one of the book's illustrations that he had read back then under his tutelage. After the Sorcerer King, Ainz Ooal Gown had established his Kingdom and conquered the known world, he introduced many reforms in his Kingdom. For example, free primary education for everyone, hospitals where real doctors and healers worked and a fully functioning sewer system.

Of course, the churches of the Six Great Gods had protested against this furiously, saying this was their job and that the Sorcerer King will destroy humanity one day.

But as time passed, their voice became quieter and quieter thanks to the pressure from the masses, until the church supporters became completely silent and some people founded the religion of the Forty-One. It worshiped the Forty-One Supreme Beings instead of the Six Great Gods. Of course, the religion that worshiped the Six Gods still existed. But their influence had become greatly diminished with the conquest of the Slane Theocracy and the death of its six head priests.

The leader of the small squad in the main square knew. This was not their wise king's newest conjuration. This was an invading force. As a proud soldier of the Sorcerous Kingdom, he must protect the civilians of the capital until the reinforcements arrived. He needed to buy some time for the civilians to escape. The captain commanded his soldiers to rally the nearby barracks, Death Knights, and Nephalem Guards and began to herd the crowd to a safe place.

But it was too late. The first wave of soldiers had already come through the enormous Gate. The figure on his horse that, according to his uniform, seemed to be the leader of the invading force had already raised his short Gladius-like weapon and commanded his soldiers to attack. He spoke some kind of unknown language that none of them understood.

All of the remaining forces of the Captain who were not shepherding the civilians stood up in a defensive line. They knew that, despite their enchanted armors that increased their strength and reduced their equipment's weight, they did not have a chance against this kind of numerical superiority. As the proud vassals of the Sorcerer King, they must hold the line until the civilians were herded to a safe location and the reinforcements arrived from the nearby barracks.

The attacking army carried a flag with a strange symbol that the Captain of the guards had never seen before in his long career. Its basic color was claret. With a golden cross and with four dragon wings between the four sides of the cross. Behind the symbol, there was a red dragon. All of this was framed by an ornate golden outline.

"In the name of the Saderan Empire and the Emperor Molt Sol Augustus! Give up barbarians!" yelled the leader of the invading forces.

No one understood what they said because of the foreign language that they spoke. The Captain gritted his teeth seeing the almost hopeless situation.

He stepped forward and glared at the leader of the man who spoke. "I need to buy time for the reinforcements."

"In the name of the Sorcerous Kingdom! State your business here!" Behind him, his men were in full readiness. They prepared to charge and save their Captain if the situation warranted it.

"What do we do, Legate Octavianus?" asked the enemy commander's right hand man in the unknown language that resembled Latin.

The Saderan Commander grinned. "Barbarians. They don't even speak Saderan. Massacre everyone who resists. Capture as many as you can and transport them to the other side. They will make good slaves. For the glory of the Empire."

His right hand saluted. "As you wish, Legate! For the glory of the Empire!"

His right hand signaled to the first cohort that had already arrived through the Gate and settled in neat rows. The soldiers held rectangular shields and their armor resembled that of a Roman soldier's light armor. The Wyvern Riders had already started their little piece of the massacre. The first cohort and the cavalry that had already arrived began their charge towards the guard forces of the capital.

The Captain of the Sorcerous Kingdom and their men braced themselves, knowing they most likely would not survive this battle.

Despite their training and enchanted armor, they could not possibly survive against this kind of numerical superiority. Their primary task was peacekeeping in the capital city, after all. Not fighting in a war. All of them held their shields and swords firmly. As the first wave of arrows arrived, the Captain ordered his men. "Raise shields!"

His men raised their shields, and the arrows bounced off of them thanks to their unique enchantment.

As the first wave of cavalry charged and clashed with the weak peacekeeping force, it almost mowed all of them down. The captain and a few of his men only survived due to their higher education in war tactics and their contribution to the previous war.

The Captain's men tried to hold the invading force back but, it seemed the enemy force was endlessly streaming through the strange structure. The few nearby adventurers joined in the defense. However, against this kind of numerical superiority, they did not have even the slightest chance. The invading soldiers started to massacre the civilians and the Captain's soldiers who tried to protect them. The Captain in charge had seen how some of them were dragged through the Gate while screaming for help. As he watched the horror, one of the invading soldiers managed to knock him down to the ground.

He looked around. Almost all of his men were dead. A few adventurers who had joined the defense of the city still held themselves firmly, but it seemed that slowly and steadily, the numerical superiority would grind them down.

He knew. It was the end for him. His last battle. His final thoughts. His last act as a living being.

Thinking about this churned his stomach. Then a miracle happened. The invading soldier who was preparing to slit his throat looked up to the sky, seeing how a black armored angel-like figure had just sliced in half one of the Wyvern Riders and his mount with a single slice with its massive energy sword.

After the first flying black armored figure's appearance, many followed it and started to hunt down the enemy aerial force with great speed and efficiency using their swords, spells and energy bows. The Captain began to smirk and used this opportunity to stab the invading soldier in his neck with his weapon, slicing through his artery and making him choke on his own blood.

He hastily stood up and continued the fight. Not long after the black armored angel's appearance, enormous undead looking figures appeared in organized rows. They were led by a robed figure.

The armored undead were Death Knights. They were huge creatures equipped with an armor made of black metal with red bloodlines engraved on it. The armor had sharp thorns everywhere and looked like an incarnation of violence. Two demonic horns emerged from the helmet, with the face being visible underneath. It had a disgusting, rotted face whose empty eye sockets were filled with hate and killing intent, glowing with a pulsing red light.

In its left hand, it held a tower shield that covered three-fourths of its body and in its right hand a serrated sword. The sword was nearly one hundred and thirty centimeters long and coated with waves of terrifying red and black fog, agitating the surrounding air like a constant heartbeat.

Death Knights have two very important special skills. The first is the ability to attract the attacks of an enemy. The second one can be used only once, and allows the knight to always survive one lethal attack as long as it has a certain amount of HP left. Because of these two special skills, the Sorcerer King enjoyed using Death Knights as a shield for his forces.

The robed figure that led them was an Elder Lich. An old and luxurious robe covered its body of rotting skins and bones. It held a twisted staff adorned with gems on its end. Beneath its rotting exterior lay a pair of evil eyes brimming with intelligence. Its aura of negative energy covered its body like a thin fog, giving off a menacing atmosphere.

Seeing the abominations and their quickly failing aerial forces, the invading soldiers started to tremble. The Commander of the invading forces gritted his teeth. "Forward! For the Empire!" he exclaimed while raising his sword and charging with his horse into the battle. His soldiers followed behind him.

As the black armored angel looking creatures, who had black and white energy wings, finished with the massacre of the Wyvern riders and joined the ground forces, all of them equipped their respective weapons. Swords, energy based bows, and magic, they started to march towards the invading force. Closing in on them from all three sides.

Needless to say, the invading soldiers were trembling at seeing the terrifying creatures marching towards them in a calm manner and organized rows. It was like a well-oiled machine at work. The massacre happened in a synchronized manner. As the enemy soldiers charged towards them, the creatures raised their weapons and simply cut them up or used their ranged attacks to completely annihilate them. Despite this, as proud soldiers of the Empire, they continued their attack. The enemy had lesser numbers than them. But it seemed that in spite of their numerical superiority, they were powerless against the newly appeared creatures. The terrifying creatures were not even bothered by their assault. The huge Death Knights simply brushed it off with their massive tower shields. Slicing them up immediately afterward. The winged creatures tried to use their swords and ranged attacks to destroy the invading force.

Only a few of them managed to fly back where they came from before another large black armored angel like creature and a huge ten-meter tall undead appeared from underground and blocked the way back. The invading forces were surrounded. Cut off from their reinforcements they were helpless. It was not a battle. After the arrival of the strange, horrifying monsters, it was not a fight. It was a massacre.

Strange ghost like creatures started to kidnap their soldiers one by one and the attacking army soldiers that were killed by the armored undead knights began to rise again as low-level zombies.

Startled by the defense force of the Sorcerer Kingdom, the Legate of the invading force fell from his horse. He looked around and gritted his teeth. There was no hope. There was only death around them. "What have we brought upon the Empire?" he murmured in a terrified tone.

Suddenly he felt one of the wraith-like beings grab his leg and start to pull him away.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Office of the Sorcerer King:**

In the big office. Behind his expensive looking wooden desk, sat a robed figure. He had the appearance of an Overlord, an undead skeletal creature who was devoid of skin and flesh. He wore an elaborate, jet-black academic gown adorned with gold and violet edges. He had a dark red glow inside the empty eye sockets, and a dark halo-like object glimmered behind his head.

His office floor was black marble covered by a red carpet that was laid upon it. Several paintings were hung on the walls of his room.

In the current scene, he reviewed the reports that came from all around his Kingdom. Of course, he could have left all of this to his subordinates. But he liked to know what was happening in his Kingdom in case he might think of an idea about what needed to be improved.

Suddenly he heard knocking on his door. "Come in," he commanded in his deep characteristic tone.

The door automatically opened as the messenger stepped through the door and bowed deeply. "Ainz-sama. It seems a few invaders have appeared in the capital city."

The messenger was Sebas Tian, Ainz' personal butler. He had the appearance of an elderly butler and he was dressed gracefully in his traditional black uniform. His hair was entirely white, which matched his immaculate beard. He had visible wrinkles on his hollow face, which made him seem gentle in appearance but, his eyes were as sharp as an eagle's.

Ainz nodded. "I am well aware of that Sebas. Call Demiurge, Albedo and my son to my office." The head butler bowed deeply and then left.

As Sebas left, Ainz looked before him and let out a phantom sigh as he wondered about the events. "According to the information that I received through my mental link with my summoned servants, the attackers looked like Roman soldiers from old Earth; it seems they came through some kind of strange Gate." Then he continued to review the reports before him. "This gets better and better. I wonder where that unusual structure leads to?"

As Demiurge and Albedo walked gracefully towards Ainz' office, the two of them discussed the report that they had heard from Sebas.

The previously mentioned Demiurge was an Arch-Devil. He was about 1.8m tall; he was a demon with dark skin and neatly combed black hair. Behind the round glasses were eyes so squinted that they weren't generally visible. Wearing a British suit with a tie, he was dressed like a gentleman. Behind his back trailed a silver tail, covered with metal plates and six long spikes at the end.

Beside him, an impeccable beauty walked gracefully. Albedo was a woman with lustrous, jet-black hair and the face of a goddess. She had golden irises and vertically split pupils; on her left and right temples were two thick horns protruding crookedly, and on her waist were a pair of black angel wings. She wore a pure white dress with silky gloves covering her slender hands and a golden spider web necklace that covered her shoulders and chest.

"Did you read the report?" inquired Demiurge as they walked towards Ainz' office.

Albedo nodded. "Yes, some despicable creatures tried to invade Ainz-sama's capital city. We need to prepare a counterblow and teach those despicable humans the consequences of invading the sanctity of Ainz-sama's domain."

Her tone was completely calm, but Demiurge knew the Guardian Overseer enough to observe her small gestures of rage. The boiling rage inside her was immeasurable if a normal person looked at her face. Her acting was perfect. A normal person surely could not recognize the small omens of her sinister nature.

Demiurge, despite his always cool headed behavior and tactical approach, was infuriated and almost lost his head when he heard the first reports of the attack against the capital city of the Kingdom. Then, when he read the report further and reached the part where the writer of the report spoke about the enemy, he could not do anything but smile smugly about the foolishness of the enemy. "To attack the capital with such a weak force. Truly despicable. Kukuku!"

A few minutes later the two of them reached Ainz' office, and the two Eight Edged Assassins that guarded Ainz' office saluted them. Both of them nodded in response. Demiurge knocked gently.

They heard Ainz' distinctive voice inside of the room. "Come in." The massive double door opened before them automatically. Ainz looked up from the reports. "Ah. Albedo, Demiurge. It is good to see you two. I see Sebas relayed my message."

Both of them bowed gracefully. "We came as fast as we could, Ainz-sama." Ainz nodded.

"Did you get the reports?" inquired Ainz.

"Yes, Ainz-sama. It was an infuriating act against the Sorcerous Kingdom. To attack the capital city and desecrate the sacred ground of the Supreme Beings. Truly sacrilegious."

Ainz raised his hand signaling to Demiurge it was enough. Demiurge stopped in that instant. "What are the casualties?" inquired Ainz.

"According to the reports, the enemy managed to kill a few hundred civilians and most of the present guard unit. After the arrival of the nearby Death Knights and Nephalem Guards, the tide was turned." Ainz saw the satisfied expression on Demiurge's face and nodded.

"Did our forces manage to capture a few of the invaders?"

"Yes, Ainz-sama. Their interrogation is ongoing," replied Demiurge.

"Splendid work," Ainz said, praising them.

The beautiful double door opened behind them and a figure in gray armor that had gold woven into it stormed into the room.

"I came as fast as I could, father!" he had golden slits for pupils, black hair and two black wings sprouted out from under his armor. He looked at those who were present.

"Demiurge? Mother?" They turned towards him. Demiurge bowed deeply. "Beelzebub-sama."

Albedo just smiled at him with a loving expression and nodded her head.

"I assume you got the report from Sebas?" Ainz continued.

"Yes, father. We must organize our troops to prepare for a counter attack!" he kneeled down before his father and King.

Ainz raised his hand. "Rise." Beelzebub rose from his kneeling position.

"We need more information before that. According to Demiurge, we captured a few of them. Until their interrogation is completed. I want a twenty-four hour guard around the Gate. No one gets in or out from the structure. Lock down the space around it so no one can use teleportation magic. Am I clear?"

The three of them nodded in unison. Ainz looked his son. "Beelzebub. I entrust you with the organization of the expedition force. If you need anything, just ask."

"I will do my best, father. May I ask, why me? I've never led an expedition before. I mean sure, I can lead the soldiers into battle as I have in the past, but a full expedition force?" He bowed in a respectful manner.

"Why? Of course, to implement the things that you have learned under Demiurge's and your mother's tutoring. You will be the King of the Kingdom one day. You need experience."

"I see, father. Thank you."

Ainz nodded then looked to Demiurge. "Demiurge. Help him with the planning."

"As you wish, Ainz-sama."

"Now leave." The three of them bowed deeply then left.

But before Ainz' son could leave, Ainz called out to him, "Beelzebub, a moment, please."

Beelzebub turned back and looked at his father. Then back to his mother. Albedo nodded for him signing, it is okay. As Demiurge and Albedo left the room, the massive double door closed behind them.

"Yes, father. What do you need from me?"

"I would like to ask you to take your aunt with you." relayed Ainz.

"May I ask, why do you want to send your enforcer through that structure? What if something happens while we are away?" inquired Ainz' son.

"It is very unlikely. Besides that, I made the necessary precautions against every possible scenario. And you need a good bodyguard." Ainz assured him.

"Do I tell her about the new assignment or do you want to personally relay it to her?"

"Hmm. It is your expedition, after all. You will be the one who tells her about it."

"Father? You are not telling me something, are you?" Beelzebub glared at his father.

Ainz hummed. "Hmm. Maybe I made her a little mad last time. And she is too perky. She gets on my nerves."

"Again?! What did you do this time, father?" Beelzebub said in an angered tone.

"Go find out for yourself." Ainz chuckled.

Beelzebub sighed. "You just made my work a lot harder than I expected, father."

"Without hardship, there is no improvement." Ainz poured his wisdom towards his son in a pleased tone. "Now leave." Beelzebub sighed, then bowed deeply and left.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Training Fields:**

Two warriors stood face to face with each other. One of them was an insectoid with an enormous body size of 2.5m. It had the appearance of an insect walking on two feet - a fusion between a mantis and an ant.

With a tail twice as long as his height, the creature was covered with sharp spikes that resembled icicles and had a strong jaw that could easily snap people's hands. Normally, two of his hands held a silver halberd, while the remaining two hands held a mace emitting black light and a crookedly shaped sheath which seemed to be for a broadsword.

The previously mentioned gear was his usual weapon load out. Right now he held four heavily enchanted katanas in his four hands. With a breath-taking cold air, the pale blue, hardened bone armor oozed out diamond dust like bright light. His shoulders and back looked like uplifted icebergs.

He was Cocytus, the guardian of the Fifth Floor of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, and overseer of the Demi-human races in the Kingdom.

In front of him stood a slender white-haired girl who did not look more than 17 years old. She had heteromorphic eyes with black sclera. One of her eye pupils was blood red colored with red veins in the sclera, and the other was completely white with a barely recognizable white pupil.

She wore a heavily militarized white outfit with a military cap that was adorned with the symbol of the Guild: Ainz Ooal Gown. She wore white gloves on her hands adorned with magical pentagrams with several runes around and inside of them.

She was Esdeath Gorgon, the enforcer of the Sorcerer King. She held a black katana in her hand which emitted a dreadful white aura while black lightning danced around the blade.

She and Cocytus had just held their weekly practice in the training fields. The meaning of their practice was to keep themselves in shape and fight the boredom that always pursued Esdeath since there was nothing more to explore, nor any enemy in the Kingdom. Of course, they only used sword based techniques during their spars to make it more enjoyable.

Besides the large amount of paperwork that Ainz threw at Esdeath on a daily basis and her magical and scientific research, there were also the parties which she always had to attend when there was no one else around. She really hated such fancy things like parties. The other reason why she hated such things was because she had to dress up in something equally unpleasant and uncomfortable to wear to the parties themselves.

The practice had already been ongoing for the last few hours.

As the cyan colored insectoid warrior and the white haired enforcer charged towards each other, they seemed to be blurring in and out of existence because of their incomprehensible speed.

Despite Cocytus great stature, he was faster than the human eye could follow. As they blurred in an out of existence, both of them struck their blades against each other with great strength, causing wind to blow around them and craters under their feet appeared because of the tremendous force that resulted from their vicious clashes.

As Cocytus used his combined four blades to overpower the white haired girl, she held her black katana firmly, grabbing its handle with her two hands while she gritted her teeth.

She successfully blocked the strike, pushing back Cocytus and countering it with an upper blow. The cyan warrior answered this using the two blades he held in his right hands and made a horizontal slicing move.

Countering this, Esdeath back flipped away from the two blades as Cocytus followed with a horizontal strike with his right blades. As she realized what Cocytus was about to do, she changed her direction in the middle of her flip, barely avoiding the two heavily enchanted blades.

As she reached the ground, the white-haired enforcer grabbed her sword in two hands and made a rapid stabbing move. Cocytus countered by crossing two of his swords and using his other two blades to slice his opponent in half.

Before the blades could collide with the petite girl, she smirked and blurred out of existence. Cocytus lost her for a moment then he felt a blade touch his cyan colored exoskeleton in his back. "I. Forfeit." He announced as he breathed out a gust of cold breath.

His sparring partner lowered her blade. Cocytus turned around. "It was a good match, Cocytus-san. I hope we can do it again next week." She tilted her head while saying this.

Cocytus nodded while chuckling. "Kukuku. Indeed. It. Was. An. Enjoyable. Match. Esdeath-sama."

As they congratulated each other, they heard a clapping sound on the practice field. The two of them turned towards it and saw the approaching gray armored figure. It was Beelzebub, the son of Ainz Ooal Gown.

"Ah, Beelzebub. What a surprise." said Esdeath cheerfully.

Cocytus bowed slightly. "Beelzebub-sama."

He nodded his head as he looked at them. "Aunt, Cocytus. It was a beautiful match."

"It would be if we did not slack off in the end." mentioned Esdeath as she glared to Cocytus.

Cocytus nodded. "Indeed."

She looked at the gray armored figure. "Do you need some practice Beelzebub? We are up for it if you want some. Or do you want to learn something new?"

"No, I am afraid the time is not suitable for such a thing. Maybe next time. I came here to ask for your help."

"My help? Why do you need my help?" inquired Esdeath.

"I assume you heard about the invading force and the strange structure that appeared in the main square of the capital?"

"Yeah. I read the reports, and through my summons, I got the information. What about them? Besides their coordinated attack, the attacking forces were nothing remarkable."

"I am here to ask you to be part of the exploration force." Ainz' son bowed his head slightly.

"So the old bones wants to get rid of me for a while." Murmured Esdeath in a sarcastic manner as she looked off to the side.

"If I may ask? What did my father do this time?" Asked Beelzebub. Cocytus turned to the white-haired enforcer being curious about the matter.

"He did the most terrible thing to me that you can imagine…" she trembled because of her rage.

Cocytus and Beelzebub looked at her with wide eyes. Esdeath clenched her trembling fist as she raised it before herself.

"H-He just ordered the maids to change my coffee supply to the type that I despise!" She said in a disgusted manner.

Beelzebub and Cocytus looked at each other nervously. "… Unforgivable act against the sanctity of my coffee supply."

Beelzebub sighed. "That's all? Seriously Aunt, you need to ease off with the coffee. It's made you an addict."

Esdeath overacted and pointed to the gray-armored man. "That's treachery against the might of the coffee gods! Apologize this instant! Or fear the wrath of the coffee monster!"

"Ahhh... This is why you have not found a husband." he sighed.

Esdeath pouted her face like an offended child "As if I needed such a thing as marriage. It is a prison. I don't like to be bound to anyone or anything. It was bad enough when Albedo, your sister and Ainz tried to select a groom for me. But you too, Beelzebub?! I am deeply hurt." She teased her nephew.

"Aside from that, will you help me?" inquired her demon nephew.

Esdeath smirked. "Of course, my little nephew. Your great Aunt is always here if you need help."

Beelzebub smiled and nodded. "Thank you."

"When do we leave?"

"As soon as the expedition force is assembled." He replied.

Esdeath smirked wildly. "Splendid! I can't wait for our little adventure! You don't know how long I've been waiting for an opportunity like this."

* * *

 **Scene Change: capital of the Sorcerous Kingdom: Two and a half weeks later:**

Thanks to the advanced military and economic infrastructure of the Sorcerous Kingdom, it took only two and a half weeks to organize a full exploration force. The exploration force contained thousands of summoned creatures that Esdeath and Ainz had summoned using their special skills. Mostly Death Knights with Soul Eaters and Nephalem Guards.

In addition to this were ten thousand regular troops with cavalry. These soldiers were mostly humans. But you could find amongst them quite a few dwarves, elves, and other humanoid races. Besides this, one thousand of the kingdom's magic casters, one thousand Beastman troops, and five hundred griffin riders. Many adventurer parties joined as well to act as backup. Beelzebub decided to keep half of them to guard this side of the strange Gate from a fortified position.

These numbers did not include the golems and undead that they would bring with themselves as a labor force.

The invisible scouting forces that they sent through the Gate had already arrived back and reported to their superiors. According to them, a big army was waiting for them on the other side of the Gate.

As the fully armored Beelzebub Ooal Gown inspected the expedition force while having doubts, he looked to his Aunt who stood beside him. She wore her regular white military uniform with her cap and her usual smirking expression.

"Say something to them, kid! They're all waiting for you." She patted her nephew's back.

Beelzebub took a deep breath and started his speech. "Two and half weeks ago an invading force attempted to ravage our home. Killing and kidnapping numerous innocent civilians and soldiers who were just doing their duty."

Murmurs could be heard among the masses. Beelzebub was silent for a moment, then continued his speech. "Today, we will step through this Gate and show those who dared to defile the Sorcerer King's lands with innocent blood, how terrible a mistake they made! The might of the Sorcerous Kingdom will strike them down without mercy!" he pointed to the structure.

The masses started to cheer. Beelzebub motioned for them to be silent. He then continued, "As of today, those who dared to disturb the peace that we have all enjoyed under the long years of my father's reign will soon learn not to mess with the forty-one headed dragon!"

Everyone cheered in unison. Beelzebub turned to face the huge Gate and gulped. He was a little afraid, knowing only from the reports what will await them on the other side of the strange Gate.

Esdeath pushed him forward. "Go, commander. Show us the way." She smirked.

And with that, Beelzebub Ooal Gown, the first son of the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown, took his first step across the borderline of the Gate followed by Esdeath, the Enforcer of the Sorcerer King and the full might of the Sorcerous Kingdom's expedition force. Their campaign started that day.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Well, this just popped out of my head and I decided to give it form. I hope you like it! :)**

 **As for searching for Esdeath Gorgon and Beelzebub Ooal Gown on the internet. Don't do it and don't freak out when you find nothing! They are my OC's.**

 **Esdeath Gorgon is from my fanfic Overlordly Broken: Re (if you are curious about her read the story! :D)**

 **I became quite fond of my OC in my other Overlord fanfic so I thought why not use her? I hope it does not bother anyone.**

 **Aside of this, most things will be explained under the progress of the story (hopefully).**

 **IF you have questions, PM, or review, I try to answer it as fast as I can! :)**

 **Many thanks to my proofreaders and new copy editor: WarGod46 (id:** **12135940) without them the whole chapter would be a messed up craP  
**


	2. War, war never changes

**Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There**

 **by: oblivon2991**

 **proofread by: PervySageChuck**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.**

 **Instead, blame a certain lazy, senile old pervert for missing anything!**

 **I don't own the _Overlord_ (** **オーバーロード** ** _Ōbārōdo_** **?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **Ol' Pervy owns his motorcycle, his book collection and the numerous bumps put on his skull by his adorable sister and her trusty baseball bat and NOTHING ELSE!**

 **Please review it. I know I will make mistakes that I intend to correct and will try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 2: War, war never changes**

A man in his thirties with a neatly trimmed brown mustache and beard leaned over the tactical map of the Hill. He was General Atticus Cassius Cyprian. This man was the commander of the expedition force that was set up quickly by the order of Emperor Molt Sol Augustus right after he and the Senate received the news about the Gate's appearance on the Hill.

The commander of the expedition force, Cassius by name, gained the leadership position due to his battle and command experience and because he was a highborn noble in the Empire. Also because of his strong family connections in the Senate.

Of course, despite his marital status, he worked hard to earn this position. As his wise father always said, "Do not rely on your wealth and family status son, because you can lose everything at any moment." He carved this advice into his head and lived according to this in all aspects of his life. He had a beautiful wife and two children, a girl and a boy, along with wealth and a high position. Everything that a man could wish for.

The Senate and the Emperor gave him a sizable expedition force to invade the other side of the Gate and link them to the Empire. Further strengthening the might of his country and bringing glory to his family and his country's name.

He drank a sizable sip from his golden goblet that he placed beside the tactical map after he finished drinking from it.

He could not predict what will be waiting for his men on the other side of the structure. Who could? He only hoped the enemy forces would be weaker than the force which he sent forward. If his troops managed to secure an outpost on the other side and build strong defenses around the structure on the other side, that would make his work a lot easier.

Suddenly, one of his messengers stepped into the command tent. "General Cassius! Sir! Some of our soldiers came back from the other side."

Cassius pondered for a moment. "Strange. They crossed the gate about two hours ago. My troops managed to secure the other side in such a short amount of time?"

"Our forces managed to secure the other side in such a short amount of time?" he asked.

The light armored messenger bowed his head. "No, sir. I am afraid not. Those few survivors who managed to come back spoke about some kind of monsters on the other side. They barely managed to escape from them and according to the healers they had to restrain them before the survivors could harm themselves."

The General looked to his soldier with an angry expression. "What?! I am not in the mood for jokes soldier! You better not try your chances with me."

The messenger gulped, and sweat ran down his face. "I-I am not joking, General. I swear! I-I just relayed the message to you. If you want to speak with the survivors, they are in the care of our healers."

The General, feeling the honesty from his soldiers words, nodded. "Thank you. You can go now. Tell the healers I'll see them and the survivors later."

The messenger saluted to his General and left the command tent. "Alas", the General sighed. . "And just when I thought this would go smoothly."

A few hours later the General finished his meeting with his Legates whom he had called due to the news of their defeat on the other side. Before the meeting, he had walked down to the medical wing of his encampment and personally questioned the surviving soldiers.

All of them were in a hysterical condition as the messenger had reported and wanted to either flee away from the battlefield as fast as they could or commit suicide, despite that being treason towards their country.

All of them spoke about some kind of armored skeletons and black armored demons on the other side. Of course, when they first arrived on the other side, it seemed that everything was normal and all that the Legate found was a small defense force that their numerical superiority quickly overpowered.

Then, seemingly from nowhere, those armored demons with their impenetrable armor and dreadful magic weapons arrived. Of course, they managed to bring back around seventy slaves from the other side. But after the arrival of the demons, everything turned into a living nightmare. The creatures massacred the veteran soldiers of the Empire without mercy, without remorse, without regret.

Seeing his soldiers' state, he decided the best course of action would be to strengthen their defenses on this side until further orders arrived from the Emperor and the Senate. He had sent a whole legion and a fifth of the expeditions Wyvern rider forces as a vanguard to the other side. Yet, only around fifty of them had returned. During the process, all of them had lost their minds.

Seeing no other real option, he decided the best case scenario was to strengthen the defenses on this side, not allowing those 'demons' to capture the Hill and with it suffer the lose of their remaining advantages. If the enemy managed to gain a foothold on the Hill, that would be catastrophic to the future of the Empire.

General Cassius was not arrogant like other citizens of the Empire. No. He knew. The Empire was not invulnerable. If even a little bit of what the fleeing soldiers had told him was true, the Empire had just poked a sleeping dragon.

After the Legates and the General finished their meeting, the officials of the expeditions army went back to their legions to relay the commander of the expedition force's orders. There was no time to hesitate.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Two and a half weeks later:**

Numerous figures walked in the seemingly endless dark. Every step echoed through the infinite darkness as the numbers marched forward to their destination. From their boots' echoes, you could explicitly say it was a whole army which was marching towards the light at the end of the tunnel.

The movement was led by black, spiked armored undead who held tower shields and a massive sword in their hand. Of course, amongst them were numerous, though not as bulky and tall, skeletal armored figures holding enchanted weapons.

Behind them were black armored tall figures with energy wings and closed helmets who held either two handed swords or two one-handed weapons constructed from pure aether energy in each of their hands. The black armored figures almost looked like the angels from the Diablo series with their closed faced helmets.

After these creatures came the undead cavalry marching on their dreadful horses. The horses which the undead knights rode on were not regular ones, but Soul Eaters. (Soul Eaters are skeletal horses with an aura that shines a light from their chest.)

A Soul Eater has a broad range of attack skills, and it can receive a temporary powerup buff for killing its target, making it hard to defeat. It is an undead with area-affecting abilities. The Soul Eaters could consume the souls of the deceased for sustenance and grow stronger with each new soul they ate. The creatures radiated an aura of fear. Without at least a 3rd-tier magic caster, even facing them was impossible.

Behind the cavalry were heavy plated soldiers in all shapes, sizes and from various races holding different weapons. Shields with short swords. Massive two handed halberds, claymores, and many other weapons hung from their sides and backs. Amongst them were brutish looking Beastman soldiers, elves who specialized in close quarter combat, Lizardman, dwarves, goblins, etc.

The Sorcerous Kingdom did not despise any race. Instead, Ainz brought them together while allowing them to keep their own culture and traditions. The Sorcerer King only used drastic methods to change a race's way of life when he saw they were trying to force other cultures to live by their way or had traditions that went against the Kingdom's policy about equality between the races and advancement through the ranks by way of hard work.

For example, The Baharuth Empire was a country that had a history where slavery was commonly practiced as a tradition and business. After the country became the Sorcerous Kingdom's vassal state, the Sorcerer King banned slavery altogether from the country immediately. Another example was the prohibition of eating humanoid citizens of the Kingdom. This mostly affected the demi-human and heteromorphic races of the Kingdom. Beastmen, goblins, ogres, etc.

Continuing the army's composition after this little side story...

The cavalry was followed by the archer and the robed mage units. The archers were mostly elves due to their race's natural talent with ranged weapons. But you could find crossbow bearing dwarves and Beastman amongst their ranks who carried many huge javelins on their backs.

The magic caster unit of the expedition force was mostly composed of humans, elves, and goblin magic casters. Of course, amongst them, there were a few black-robed Elder Liches who led the magic caster units. The Liches were either naturally spawned undead or created by Ainz himself.

After the magic casters, the same black armor wearing winged angelic creatures who armed themselves with energy bows and other ranged weapons marched forward in the tunnel. From the black face of their closed helmet eyeholes, white, brightly shining eyes stared forward into the darkness.

The end of the marching army was closed by the Griffin Riders and the Adventurer Parties who voluntarily signed onto the expedition. The adventurer's gear was not uniform due to the nature of their work. The different parties wore various high-grade equipment made up of light, medium or heavy armor. They marched in the back due to their worth on the battlefield and the tasks that the parties will be used for later when the expedition force built a foothold on the other side.

This was the army. The attacking force was followed by numerous massive golems and slowly marching skeleton workers used by the Sorcerous Kingdom its labor work in various situations. In the dark tunnel, the magic casters of the kingdom provided light by using their [Continuous Light] spell which was one of the first spells that every one of them learned in the Kingdom's Academy of Magic.

The expedition army marched through the black tunnel in only a couple of minutes. In the front line of the military walked two figures surrounded by Death Knights and Nephalem Guards. One of them was a young girl who wore a white militarized uniform with a long coat that seemingly was a mix between a lab coat and a trench coat and an inscription was written on the back of it in Kanji. The translation of the writing was 'Enforcer.'

Beside her walked a young looking man in gray armor which was engraved with golden symbols. From the sides of his head, two demonic horns curled forward and looked just like his mother's. The young man inherited his mother's positively beautiful features. In another word, he was lady killer handsome. He was Beelzebub Ooal Gown, the Commander of the first expedition force and the first son of the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown.

The young looking girl sniffed the air like a predator sniffed out her prey and started to smirk as she began to speak to her nephew.

"Well kid, I feel the fresh air and the enemy forces from the end of the tunnel. Are you ready for some fun?" asked the young looking girl while she smirked.

Beelzebub nodded. "Yes, aunt, I am ready. Are you sure we brought enough force in this expedition?" her nephew asked as he turned his head towards her.

"Sush. How should I know little one? I am only here to keep you out of trouble and of course to have fun. Whatever army is waiting for us on the other side, we will endure. No matter what. As the saying goes, you either break under pressure or adapt to it and become stronger. How many times do I have to tell you! Don't call me aunt, it makes me feel old."

Beelzebub sighed. "You are very confident in this, aunt. Where does your confidence come from?"

"As I said, don't call me aunt!

"Sorry…." Beelzebub lowered his head shamefully.

"Answering your other question. I dunno… Maybe my slight insanity and hunger for challenges?"

The gray-armored figure smiled as he turned his head towards his aunt. "You never change do you?"

The girl smiled. "Why should I? Everyone loves the cute little monster that I am!" she pointed to the two sides of her face while smiling and turned her head towards her nephew.

Beelzebub just chuckled at his aunt's behavior. He knew her well enough not to try to change her. She maybe acted like a child at times, but the young looking girl always kept in mind the interests of the kingdom before her own.

Beelzebub looked forward as he spotted a faint of light from the corner of his eye. "Prepare yourselves!" he relayed his command. The messenger mages beside them sent his commands and the tower shield bearing creatures prepared their weapons.

After five minutes the first spiky armored Death Knight stepped out from the structure.

* * *

 **Meanwhile back in the Saderan Empire's camp near the Gate:**

Everything had been going fine during the last few weeks. Of course, the General sent through a few more scouts, but none of them ever came back. So he used his forces to construct a defensive line around the massive structure preparing for the worst case scenario.

Surprisingly, that terrifying enemy did not send any retaliatory forces against them and the soldiers of the Empire managed to build up quite a decent defensive stand around the Gate.

The Emperor and the Senate even recalled two-fifths of his expedition force to another front and left what remained of his troops under his command to hold the line just in case of the enemy appearing from the darkness of the structure.

As Cassius ate his lunch that consisted of finely roasted meats, eggs, cheese, various fruits, bread and the finest wine that you could find in the Saderan Empire, one of his soldiers stormed into his tent without warning.

"General! Sir! Enemy soldiers appeared from the structure! What're your orders?"

Cassius put down the meat from his hand and wiped away the leftover juices from his mouth with his towel and stood up. "Rally the soldiers. Take the defensive position and wait for further orders. I want all Wyvern riders readied in the worst case scenario."

The legionnaire saluted. "Yes, sir!" Then he left to relay the order.

The General grabbed his high-quality cape and put it on his back. "It took quite a long time for them to send forces against us. I wonder how our enemy looks."

His forces quickly stood up behind their defensive positions. Trenches and wooden spikes closed the vital choke points where the enemy could break out from their ring. The soldiers of the Empire stood in turtle formations, and numerous large and muscular humanoids with gray, green, or purplish skin and pig/ape-like faces held firm the points of the battlefield where their aggressive nature could be used in the best way. The ugly looking creatures were Goblins. Although many people referred to them as Orcs or Trolls.

In the back lines, numerous mages from Rondel stood. Rondel was the city of mages and the home of the Magic Academy. The mages volunteered for the expedition and in exchange the Empire promised to finance every mage's research and support their studies.

The siege weapons and the Scorpion arrow throwers were in position, fully loaded while the Wyvern riders and their Wyverns rested on the ground waiting for the command to throw themselves into battle.

Everyone waited patiently in position for the enemy's first move. The first enemies who stepped out from the darkness of the structure were massive bulky figures with black armor and a tower shield in their hand.

Due to the distance, no one saw the bulky, tall figures' terrifying rotten faces. The enemy forces continued their march and positioned themselves in regimented rows. They were followed by tall, broad black armored figures and soldiers of various sizes and races.

Cassius did not want to send his men to their death without reason. He ordered them to wait until further orders. The attacking army seemed less in numbers than his own. If you looked at their numbers, his forces outnumbered the invading force by a large margin.

At first glance, the forces that appeared from the massive gate could not be counted more than 20,000 persons. But he was not stupid. The enemy soldiers seemed to wear sturdy armor with oversized weapons, and he saw numerous robed figures amongst their ranks.

The robed figures were most likely mages, and he knew well enough how dangerous a mage could be towards his simple soldiers. With a small mage squad, a clever commander could turn the tide of a seemingly lost battle.

Seeing the enemy troops' terrifying spiked black armor and the seemingly skeletal horses which they rode on, the rookie soldiers in the expedition force started to tremble. The veterans who had experienced many battles just steeled themselves, thinking that the invading force only wore skeletal masks. The terrifying looking black spiky armor and their mounts masquerading as skeletal horses was an act of psychological warfare.

It was commonly used by every nation in Falmart. Even in the Empire, using various methods to discourage the attacking army and force them to retreat or intimidating the defenders to give up their positions was the best way to win a battle without casualties. Every commander and veteran soldier knew it.

The invading force finished the arrangement of their lines. The bulky black armored figures opened a path in the middle of the army. All of them moved like some kind of puppeteer controlled them.

From the opening, two persons escorted by similar black armored figures behind their back walked towards the front of the invading force. It seemed the two of them were either the enemy force's top warriors or the commanders of the army.

As they left the army behind, the opening automatically closed behind their back. The pressure just grew and grew on the soldiers of the Empire. Waiting for the enemy to attack was really nerve-racking. Even for the veteran soldiers.

But, to keep their defensive position and advantage, none of them moved. A lot of those amongst them did not understand why the General didn't just overpower them with the sheer numbers of their forces. Most of the soldiers thought the enemy was just a bunch of barbarians and didn't have a chance against the highly trained forces of the Empire.

But it was not their place to question General Cassius' orders. The order was relayed, and they would follow. It was no accident that the military leadership existed. Without it, everything would fall into chaos on the battlefield.

The white haired individual turned to the gray-armored man who from his looks wore some kind of strange horned head garment.

"Kid. Here they are." The white haired girl indicated with her hand the enemy army that had already taken a defensive position.

The young soldier and heir stepped forward. "Then we will start the charge!"

Esdeath put her hand on his shoulder. "Kid. Don't you want to relay a message to them before you blindly charge into the battle?"

The gray-armored figure turned back to his aunt with a dumbfounded expression. "Why would I relay a message towards them? They are the enemy." inquired Beelzebub.

His aunt sighed. "Kid. Now it actually seems that you only attacked the enemy blindly without any negotiations in the few battles that you have participated in before. You know the rules of war, don't you?"

He nodded. "Yes, Demiurge taught me about them. But the enemy seems to be weak. Why don't we just slaughter them? Our forces are more than enough to do it."

Esdeath rubbed her eyes in an exhausted motion. "Then let me give you some advice before you charge into the unknown. You are here to gain experience after all. If you die your father will surely manage to make my life miserable. That was your first lesson. Here's the next: Good Captains never come to an engagement unless necessity compels them, or the opportunity calls them."

Beelzebub turned towards the white haired girl and asked, "Then, what is your advice?"

Esdeath turned her face back towards the army. "As I said. Relay a message to them. Make them understand. If they fight, they will die. No one likes the waste of precious resources in war. That only leads to defeat."

The young heir turned his face towards the enemy and reached into his personal storage. A black void swallowed his hand and from it, he equipped an item. It resembled a brooch. The item was a projector that, when activated, projected the wearer's image into the sky.

"Don't forget to equip the translator item that I gave you. The enemy speaks some kind of foreign language. We don't want your speech be in vain, do we?"

Beelzebub nodded and reached again into his void storage. From it, he pulled out a golden necklace. It was a unique item that was enchanted by [Greater Arcane Language]. The enchantment was very rare because only Esdeath could enchant items with such high-grade magic due to her Knight Enchanter job class.

The items enchanted by her were worth quite a sum in the kingdom. As Beelzebub equipped the item, he felt the enchantment activate, and he understood every possible language.

He stepped forward and activated the [Projector Brooch]. His image automatically appeared in the heavens.

"Listen well, commander of the enemy forces!" everyone on the battlefield heard his voice and looked up to the sky where his projection appeared. Everyones eyes widened as they saw his face. He was quite handsome in human standard, but instead of normal pupils, he had two vertically split yellow ones. He had spiky black hair (like Son Goku from the Dragon Ball series) on his left and right temples were two thick horns protruding crookedly. He inherited this, like many more things, from his mother.

Cassius walked closer to the edge of the hill where his tent stood and listened to the young looking man carefully. The rookie soldiers were terrified seeing his pupils and horns. The veteran soldiers amongst them thought this was some kind of trick to intimidate them.

"D-Demon..." Many troops in the Empire's army stuttered.

The demonic figure continued his speech. "I am Beelzebub Ooal Gown. First son of the Sorcerer-King, Ainz Ooal Gown and Crown Prince of the Sorcerous Kingdom." He introduced himself.

"Now this is interesting. I don't think he is a demon. But who knows. If the things are true what my fleeing subordinates said, there might be demons on the other side. And Sorcerer King? Their ruler must be a strong mage to use this title."

"Your forces invaded the Sorcerous Kingdom, killed and kidnapped numerous innocent civilians. You did this as an act of war. Without any warning or any good reason."

The General listened to the young man's speech with a great interest.

"For this, we came to take revenge for our dead. But we are not barbarians as many of you might think about us. So we offer you a chance."

"A chance?" wondered Cassius.

"Either you put down your weapons and send a negotiator to negotiate a deal about the Kingdom's compensation and the release of our kidnapped citizens. Or you will face the full wrath of the Sorcerer King himself. He will rain down upon your Empire death and destruction because he is the personification of death himself. Surrender or none of you survive. None of you will live to see another day."

Cassius felt something was not right with that army and that boy. They emitted a strange kind of bad vibe towards them.

"I give you an hour to decide. After that, we will commence our movement." With that, the young man's projection disappeared from the heavens.

Cassius considered his options. If he surrenders or tries to negotiate with the enemy that would be considered treason against the Empire, involving immediate execution on the spot.

If he attacks them, the chance of peace will most likely be forever lost. There was no other way. Either victory or defeat. Emperor Molt does not tolerate failure under his reign after all. All who had failed in the past had been executed.

He turned to the man beside him who held two small signaling flags in his hand and a few more in his belt pockets.

"Signal the siege forces to prepare their equipment for a long range bombardment. The forward cohorts take defensive positions, and behind them, the archers line up. Besides this, have all of our wyvern riders prepare for an aerial assault. They have forty minutes."

The man beside him nodded and started to relay the message.

After approximately fifty minutes everything was ready. The Empire's army prepared itself from behind its fortified defensive positions.

"Well, they take advantage of their time. That's for sure." The one who spoke was Esdeath.

Beelzebub nodded. "I don't like the look of this. Would it not have been simpler for you to use one of your abilities, aunt?"

"Sush. If we, your father and I, do everything instead of you or the people of the Kingdom, how could you possibly grow?"

"Right…" the young heir said in an uneasy tone as he inspected the enemy troops in the distance.

"Look, it seems they are trying to bombard us with siege equipment." She pointed happily to the burning pebbles that flew towards them. "What will you do, commander?" she tilted her head playfully.

"Mages of the Kingdom. Raise the shields!" The defensive branch of the magic casters cast their defensive magic and created an invisible magical barrier in front of the army.

The numerous burning rocks collided with the magic shield and were stopped. None breached the protection, but it slightly weakened the barrier. After all, regular mages in the Kingdom could only use tier three magic.

"Shield squad! Advance!" ordered Beelzebub. The undead who positioned themselves in the front lines slowly started to advance while raising their tower shields in a defensive position.

Esdeath gave a mental command to her summons. The close quarter Nephalem guards started a steady advancement towards the enemy position. The ground trembled under their seemingly synchronized march.

The flesh and blood forces were left behind as a backup, just in case they were needed.

The scorpions, trebuchets, and catapults continued their bombardment towards the advancing unit. The summoned creatures reached the line where the archers could reach them.

"Stretch the string." The Legion archers pulled their bow strings as the appointed officer gave the command. "Release!" The sky darkened for a moment as thousands of arrows rained down upon the attacking creatures.

"Mages of Rondel! Rain death onto them!" the mages started to bombard the advancing enemy.

The monsters were not bothered by the rain of arrows or the weak spells raining down on them. The marching skeleton knights simply raised their massive tower shields to protect themselves from the rain of death. The Death Knights were creatures around level 35. Although their attack power was only equal to a level 25 NPC, the creature's defense was higher. It was equal to a level 40 NPC.

Of course, a few mere skeleton soldiers fell under the assault. It was an acceptable loss. After all, they were automatically spawned in Nazarick, and they respawned without cost.

The advancing invaders just came closer and closer with every moment. "First cohort! Advance!"

The first cohort started to push back when the enemy stepped across the border line where their siege equipment and the archers could rain arrows on them without risking their own men's lives.

The Legion soldier's eyes widened, and a chill ran down on their spines. Seeing the attackers from up close, the soldiers realized it was not a mask or a helmet that the shield bearer attackers wore. It was their face.

The creatures were huge. Equipped with armor made of black metal with red bloodlines engraved on it, the armor had sharp thorns everywhere and looked like an incarnation of violence. Two demonic horns emerged from the helmet, with the face being visible underneath. It had a disgusting, rotted face whose empty eye sockets were filled with hate and killing intent, glowing with a pulsing red light.

Seeing the enemy up close made even the most experienced veteran soldiers in the Legion tremble. Those empty, hateful eyes only promised one thing: Death and destruction to anyone who stands between them and their objective.

The creatures were not bothered by the defenses which the Empire's army had constructed through great effort. The enemy simply stepped across them or just cut down the temporary wooden spikes around the defensive line.

The creatures' continuous march finally reached the first cohorts in the forefront. The trembling soldiers of the empire could barely hold their rectangle shaped shields due to their shaking hands.

The Death Knights raised their huge serrated swords and struck down the Legion soldiers.

The weak defensive equipment of the empire's soldiers could not possibly protect them from the horrifying creatures. The creatures easily cut in half the first line like a hot knife through butter, immediately killing everyone in the process and raising them as low-level zombies right after that.

Cassius gritted his teeth seeing his quickly falling forces. "Send in the Wyvern riders!" he commanded the flag bearing soldier beside him. The person beside him relayed the message to the Wyvern riders who automatically started the counter attack.

The riders approached the enemy from the air, but before they could strike or use their special mount attack, the aerial forces of the empire were countered.

The black armored, strange, magical sword bearing tall and broad creatures sprouted their wings and flapped them them a few times, raising them into the sky. They clashed with the Wyvern riders, cutting down many of them in the first few minutes. After this, they began to fall towards the ground, seemingly with accelerating speed. The creatures aimed at the archer and mage forces under them.

As the Wyvern riders only watched dumbfounded the unnatural act of the most unusual flying creatures, they did not recognize the enemy aerial forces approaching them with increasing speed. When the Wyvern riders realized what was happening, it was already too late. The first Griffin rider had already reached them.

It seemed to be the commander of the Griffin Knights of the Sorcerer Kingdom approaching. A dwarf with unbreakable resolve who held two huge and cumbersome one handed enchanted maces in each of his hands and wore exquisite golden armor that was adorned with his people's runic symbols. He was Magni Ironbeard, the commander of the Griffin Knights.

"Let's show these lads what it means to mess with the Sorcerous Kingdom!"

Behind him, his fellow Griffin riders cheered and clashed with the enemy. It was not a fight in the air. It was a massacre. One after another, the Wyverns started to fall towards the ground, barely killing anyone from the highly trained Griffin Knights.

Below them, an organized slaughter was conducted by the Death Knights, the skeleton soldiers, and the Nephalem Guards. The winged creatures just crashed through the middle of the mage and ranged forces of the Saderan Empire.

The mages of the Empire, seeing the rapidly descending angel like creatures, turned towards them and used their magic to bombard the falling monsters.

The archers did the same, but it was without avail. The black armored Nephalem Guards just elegantly parried the projectiles in mid-air or did not bother with the projectiles at all.

The unique armor that was part of their body protected them from such weak unenhanced items after all. The dimming eyes under the closed helmets only promised destruction to the enemy.

As the Guardians collided with the masses, every one of them left a big crater in their wake, killing numerous ranged fighters in the process and destroying most of the siege equipment at the same time. The soldiers around them were completely terrified and tried to flee from the creatures' immediate area.

The black armored figures just grabbed their own close quarter weapons and started their massacre on the ground like a well-oiled machine. There was no mercy. There was no escape. There was the only bloodshed and severed body parts flung all over the battlefield.

The orcs did not fare well either. They were systematically annihilated by the Undead Knights and the heavy armored Beastman soldiers. The orcs wild nature did not help them at all against the cold killing machines of the Sorcerous Kingdom and the berserkers of the Beastman province.

None of the Death Knights or black armored angelic figures fell in the battle.

After them, behind the wall of skeletal Knights, the ranged units of the Sorcerous Kingdom arrived. Numerous magic casters from various races, archers, crossbow using dwarves and javelin carrying Beastman soldiers marched in multiple organized rows. The mages were led by black robed Elder Liches and the ranged units by the High Ranked Nephalem Legates. As the long ranged units reached the appropriate range, they stopped and started to rain death upon their enemies.

Cassius, seeing his hastily failing forces, gritted his teeth. But he knew what will happen if he ordered a retreat. He and his family would be executed. There was no other way but to continue going forward.

He turned to the messenger beside him. "Send in the reserves and the cavalry."

The soldier beside him relayed his orders using the small flags which he held in his hands.

The ground started to tremble as the Empire's cavalry charged out of the woods. Cassius had held his cavalry in hiding within the nearby forest just to surprise the attackers.

Thousands of horse riding soldiers started to charge towards the Sorcerous Kingdom's ranged units. The heavily armored riders almost reached the target. There was only 100 meters between them when suddenly, all of them heard a terrifying sound from the cavalry side. Many distorted, under-worldly horse neighs could be heard.

The legion cavalry stopped the fast charge. The riders almost lost their control over the horses. The horses became startled and frightened hearing the horrific sounds.

The commander of the cavalry unit looked in the direction of the sound and saw an unimaginable terror that he thought he would never see.

Around a thousand black spiky armored Death Knight on skeletal horses with a deadly aura that shone from a light in their chest charged towards them with impossible speed. The skeletal horses were Soul Eaters and radiated an aura of fear.

The captain of the cavalry managed to regain control of his horse and turned his unit towards the newly arrived enemy. He raised his gladius towards the enemy. "Men! Charge!" he started his charge and his men followed him towards certain death.

As they neared the enemy the horses under them were startled by the undead riders and their mounts' horrific aura, throwing off the riders and killing many of them in the process. It was not a clash between two sides. It was a one-sided slaughter after the Death Knight Riders reached the cavalry of the empire.

The Soul Eaters not only trampled into the ground the enemy soldiers, but after they died, true to their name, the creatures even feasted from the already terrified cavalry soldiers' souls. This gained them a buff and made them even stronger in the process.

The reserves that the General sent in to help out his foot soldiers ended up being worth nothing. It seemed the creatures were invincible. Every attempt to kill them failed. The Empire started to lose its numerical superiority with the newly appeared zombie-like creatures who appeared to be their own soldiers.

Panic began to spread amongst the expedition forces ranks. General Cassius looked across the battlefield just to see that while he was busy trying to change the tide of the battle, two new, seemingly heavy armored units appeared on the two sides of the battlefield, surrounding his forces in the process.

The steadily approaching heavy armored units were followed by long ranged units. As the units took their position, they stopped and the ranged units started to rain death down upon his soldiers.

Cassius gritted his teeth. He knew he had lost. His soldiers were dying. There was no hope of wining against such monsters. Suddenly he felt as if there was a knife pointed painfully in his back.

"In the name of the Sorcerer King. Surrender and your men will be spared." The General heard a raspy female voice coming from behind him. He glanced back and saw a short, green skinned creature.

He looked around, and what he saw he didn't want to believe. He was alone. All of his men in his camp were either knocked out and tied up or missing. He wanted to reach for his sword. But the short female creature grabbed his hand and with a strength he did not expect from her, she firmly stopped him. "I would not do that if I were you. You are alone. Surrounded. Numerous snipers are waiting for the right moment to turn you into a pincushion."

The General gritted his teeth. Then smiled as he lowered his head. At least he can say he fought until the very end. "I surrender…" He said with a smiling expression on his face.

The figure behind him nodded and knocked him out. Blackness covered his vision. He did not remember anything after this.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Point Zero. Fortress Gown (under construction). A forward outpost in the unknown region: One and a Half weeks later:**

The battle only took around two and half hours. If you could call one-sided slaughter a battle . The Kingdoms expedition force barely suffered any casualties, and those few casualties were due some rookies who tried to play hero. The freshly arrived construction forces had already started to build up their fortified position around the structure.

Golems, simple undead labor skeletons, and zombies did the bulk of the work. They were instructed by the nearby Elder Liches whose task was to guide the construction forces that had been assigned to them. Magic casters and architects who specialized in helping construction aided them in their work, accelerating the process by a large margin.

Thanks to the tirelessly working forces of the undead and the golems, the construction was almost complete in one and a half weeks. A huge fortress with sturdy walls stretched out around the massive gate. The living quarters, the barracks, the storage areas, the stables for the Gryphons and the simple mounts and the administration buildings were already constructed. As undead beings, the Soul Eaters did not have the need of a shelter, so it was pointless to build them a stable.

They even built a few inns inside of the fortress. Because as the saying goes, a fortress without an inn is not a fortress. Some people even requested a temple inside the fortress, so they could make their pleas and prayers towards the Forty-one.

The Sorcerous Kingdoms Crests hung on the walls and numerous torches enchanted with [Continuous Light] spells provided the light for the denizens of the fortress. The night had already come and the troops retreated to their appointed barracks to take a good rest.

The Death Knights and Nephalem Guards patrolled the area, searching for any possible threat. Inside the forest, the adventurers had prepared themselves for their new adventure in this brave new world. Thanks to the connection with the other side, the forces of the Sorcerous Kingdom suffered no shortages.

Esdeath stood upon one of the walls inspecting the surrounding area while she held a steaming cup in her gloved hand. She was alone. No one bothered her.

As she mused about what would come next, a tall, broad warrior in a fully jet-black body armor with purple and golden markings on it stepped beside her. The hero wore a red cape along with two giant swords on his back behind him.

"Hmm. I see you managed to escape from the old balls and chains." She teased the full-black-clad warrior beside her.

"You know they hate it when you call them that." Replied the jet black warrior as he chuckled.

Esdeath snickered. "I know, right? This is why it is so damn fun."

The warrior sighed, "You never change."

"Ohh, but this is why you love me." The white haired girl smirked.

"So, what do you think about our little fortress?"

"It will do for a while." answered the warrior.

"The kid really needs to learn some patience. His hot-headed nature he inherited from his mother will cause his end one day. He needs to change his ways."

The black clad warrior nodded. "I know. He needs experience."

"So, you want to go out with the adventurers like old times?"

He nodded and turned towards his friend. "Don't you want to come?"

"Hmm. Pretty tempting offer and I think I will take it."

"I am glad you accepted. It will be just like old times."

"By the way. How did you manage to sneak out without your little harem and your bodyguard's knowledge?"

The black-clad figure chuckled. "A magician never reveals his secrets."

The girl beside him sighed. "Very crafty, Mister Harem King... " she rolled her eyes. "So, you just asked Pandora's Actor to substitute for you while you're exploring the other side."

He nodded. "Well then. It's time for an adventure." The girl used her limited shapeshifting ability and changed her eye sclera and pupils to normal colors. The sclera became white like every average person instead of vantablack, and her heteromorphic pupils became jade green and an almost illuminating sea blue. She grew elf ears and her skin tone became several tones darker while she lost a little bit from her height.

After this change, she used her re-equip magic and changed her equipment out. Her white military uniform was replaced with a metallic suit. A long trench coat with an eagle shaped hood appeared above the metallic armor and she equipped another katana from her inventory, replacing the usual black one.

"Ready to go?" asked the black-clad warrior.

"One moment." She grabbed something from her inventory and handed it to the warrior.

"Here. Take this."

The warrior inspected for a moment. "What is this?"

The girl smiled. "Try it. You will not be disappointed."

"I hope this will not explode in my face like that last little prank that you provided me."

"What are you saying?! I am offended! To say such a thing! I would never have done such a thing! Shame on you!"

He frowned at his companion's behavior and equipped the item. The black warrior immediately felt the difference. He took off his helmet and touched his illusionary face.

"Very lifelike. How do you create the enchantment?"

"Let's just say. It took numerous resources, free time and experimentation but, in the end, I was able to create it. This whole body is illusionary. However, it doesn't make you a human. However, everyone around you will feel and recognize you as one. They can come to you and get in physical contact. The illusion works with all six senses. That means even a person with a third eye could not possibly see a difference. Only individuals with tier ten or Super Tiered perception could spot the difference."

"Hmm. Is that so…? Thank you. This will surely come in handy. One more question. Did you leave the instructions with Beelzebub?"

"Yeah, yeah. I planned to stick it out for a while just to explore the nearby area. I left him a note with a few good pieces of advice." she showed a quotation mark with her fingers.

Momon nodded.

"Well, then. Let's hit the road partner!" she said cheerfully.

Meanwhile.

The fully armored Beelzebub walked towards his aunt's office. He reached the enormous double door that was guarded by two enormous five-meter-tall broad angelic creatures who held halberds in their hands.

The two creatures saluted, sensing who was approaching them. They then opened the door widely for the young man.

The young heir stepped into the room and looked around. He saw a creature about 30cm tall and sporting long bat-like wings, copper-red skin and a tail. It held an envelope in its hand. As Beelzebub reached the massive desk, the imp stood up and flew towards the young Prince.

"What is this?" he asked.

The Imp gave him an envelope. On it there was written, "For the Kid."

He nodded to the Imp who bowed its head and flew away to request another task from an Elder Lich.

The young man opened the letter and became very nervous. "Seriously? Aunt… Why are you always acting like a child? Why do you always do this to me?"

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Well, this is it for now. I hope you enjoyed it. :)**

 **Review. Tell me your thoughts about the story!**

 ** **Many thanks to my proofreaders and new copy editor: WarGod46 (id:** **12135940) without them the whole chapter would be a messed up crap****


	3. Just Some Exploring and Administration

**Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There**

 **by: oblivon2991**

 **copy editor: WarGod46**

 **proofread by: PervySageChuck**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about any grammatical issues that my personal slave, Ol' Pervy, might have missed.**

 **I don't own the Overlord(オーバーロードŌbārōdo?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **I also am NOT responsible for those despicable acts of sexual depravity that Ol' Pervy committed upon the sexy-looking knothole in that poor, innocent tree in his back yard.**

 **Please review my story. I know I will make mistakes that I intend to correct and will try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 3: Just Some Exploring and Administration**

Two weeks before the expedition force arrived in the Special Region.

Legate Octavionaus' eyes popped open.

What came into his vision was a strange ceiling. It was made with stone and had white glowing objects embedded in it. He tried to look around to understand how he got there but realized his head wouldn't move at all. Then he remembered what happened before everything went blank. _"Those monsters..._ _"_ he gulped as he thought about this.

He tried to move his limbs and his head. It was not just his head, but he couldn't move his entire body. It was as if something was tied around his wrists, ankles, waist, and chest.

This incomprehensible situation filled him with fear, and he wanted to scream, but something was stuck in his mouth, so he could neither speak nor close his mouth fully.

When he desperately tried to look around by straining his eyes, a voice spoke.

"Oh my, you're awake now? The others have not awakened yet. But don't worry, they will be awakening when their time comes."

The creature had a guttural voice. It was hard to tell whether the voice belonged to a man or a woman.

It had the body of a human, but the head of a deformed octopus. The six long, squirming tentacles attached to its head extended all the way down to its thighs.

The thing that appeared in his unmoving sight was a disgusting monster.

The skin color was milky white, like the waxy flesh of someone who had drowned. On the bloated, corpse-like body was clothing made with black leather which barely covered anything. The cloth wrapped tightly around its body, like butcher's twine tying up a piece of meat, and it could be described as nothing but grotesque. If a beauty had worn it, it would have been attractive, but on a monster like this, it was nauseating.

On each hand were four webbed fingers. It had long fingernails, with strange and bizarre nail art on them.

Then he heard another voice. But it was clearly a female one.

The other female snickered as she walked into his field of vision. The legate clearly saw who it was. She was a woman around twenty years old, with short blonde hair and delicate features, vertically split red pupils, two cat ears on the top of her head and a tail that sprouted from the upper part of her butt. Her armor was a revealing top with a short battle skirt and two black feathered angel wings sprouted out from her back.

"~Kukuku. Nya. Has our guest finally awakened, Nya? ~"

"As you say Clementine-chan. Our guest has finally woken up." Answered the abomination.

This strange heteromorphic being turned its pupil-less white, blue eyes on him. "Fufufu, did you sleep well?"

"Hff, hff, hff hff." The Legate could not answer because of the mouth lock in his mouth.

Fear and panic welled up within him. Gripped by those two emotions, he could only let out a harsh breathing noise. The monster touched his cheek softly like a mother trying to calm a scared child. But the cold and mushy feelings of the hand sent chills all over his body.

It would have made perfect sense if the pungent smell of blood or rotten flesh had wafted over, but the creature smelled like fragrant flowers. This only amplified his fear.

"My, to think it'd shrink this much. There's no need to be scared."

Clementine sat on his groin and leaned above him. "~Nya. You smell delicious. I don't even know what to do with you first. Play with you or simply torture you until you lose your mind. The last is more tempting by the way. Nya.~"

The Legate's eyes widened.

The two monster's gaze was towards his lower body. From the sensation of air on his skin, he realized that he was completely naked.

"Kukuku…" Snickered the bloated creature." First the work, Clementine-chan, then the pleasure. You know the Supreme Beings will not tolerate failure."

"~Nyaa. You are boring, Neuronist-chan. But if this is the Supreme Being's wish. Then so be it.~" she shot a lustful glance towards the Legate.

"Hmm, mind if I ask your name?"

It tapped its slender finger on its cheek and tilted its head while asking. The pose would have looked good if it was a beauty, but a monster that looked like a drowned corpse with an octopus for a head only evoked disgust and fear.

"…" The Legate did not answer.

The monster smiled at the terrified man who could only move his eyes. The tentacles covered its mouth, and its expression barely changed. Despite that, he knew it was smiling because its bead-like eyes had narrowed.

Clementine chuckled. "~ Ufufufu, it seems our guest is shy. Nya~."

"Ufufu. How cute. Don't be so shy." Neuronist leaned above him.

The monster's fingertip slid across his chest as if it was writing something, but all he could feel was fear that felt as if his heart was being ripped out.

"Onee-san will tell you her and her sister's names F.I.R.S.T."

It was a seductive and sweet tone of voice that sounded as if heart marks would pop out of them.

"I'm the Great Tomb of Nazarick's Special Information Gatherer, Neuronist. Hehe and this cute girl above you is my assistant and helper Clementine-chan."

Clementine waved and smiled with a seductive expression. "~It is nice to meet ya… Nya! ~"

"They also call us interrogators."

The long tentacles squirmed apart and revealed a circular mouth at their base of the tentacle. Amidst rows of razor sharp teeth, a tube that resembled a tongue came out. It truly looked like a red straw.

Clementine used her long nails to damage the skin on the legate's chest a little bit. Small drops of blood started to flow from the injury.

The Legate was utterly terrified seeing the two monsters' sadistic games. He knew many torturing tactics. He had even participated in many torture scenarios. But he never thought about what his victims might be feeling when the torturers were torturing them. He felt fear like never before. He knew the Empire brought the wrath of the gods upon themselves when the Emperor sent an invading force to this world. And he prayed to Emroy, the God of Darkness, to make his death be as painless as possible and to take that damn fool Molt with him.

Yet he wanted to live. He wanted to survive. He wanted to be out of this horrifying place. "Screw the Empire! Screw the Emperor! I just want to live!" he pleaded in his soul.

"Now, now. You were captured by us."

"~Kukukuku. Indeed. You will be our new toy. Nya~ Please entertain us.~" said the blonde woman playfully.

"But you don't even know where you are. Right?" Teased him the bloated creature.

Neuronist laughed. "~Should we tell him? Nya? ~" asked Clementine.

Neuronist nodded and then turned back to him. "This is the Great Tomb of Nazarick. The place where two of the 41 Supreme Beings, Ainz-sama, and Esdeath-sama, reside. It is the holiest of places in the entire Sorcerous Kingdom."

"Heinhu sawa? Esweafth sawa?"

"Yes, Ainz-sama and Esdeath-sama." Neuronist nodded. Neuronist and Clementine understood him perfectly despite his inability to speak properly. Clementine jumped down beside her and started to prepare the torture tools.

"They are two of the 41 Supreme Beings. Ainz-sama ruled over the other Supreme Beings in the past, and he is very, very cool. If you look at him once, you'll want to swear loyalty with all your heart and Esdeath-sama enforces his will by any means necessary."

Neuronist paused for a moment.

"She led his armies through the trenches of the enemy lines and crushed them without hesitation. She developed a very cool torturing device you know? She even bestowed one to me to make my job easier. Ufufu. The Supreme Beings are truly generous towards us lowly beings."

She fidgeted, no, jiggled as if she was embarrassed.

"Hey, do you want to hear something? The two of them are gods, but they still remained amongst us. They did not abandon us. This is why we always remain faithful towards them and pray that the other 39 will return one day."

"What? Gods? Impossible! But thinking back about those creatures. If we attacked the domain of gods… Oh, Emroy. Save us!"

Like a timid girl playing with her finger, she traced letters across his naked body.

Clementine finished the preparations of the torturing tools. '~Neuronist-chan! I prepared the tools! ~ Nya!"

Neuronist turned her tentacled face back to him. "How unfortunate. …Ha, it makes my body feel electrified. Ara, I'm sorry. I've been talking only about myself."

The way her body twitched in delight called to mind the writhing movements of a giant, squirming maggot.

"Don't mind me." Neuronist ignored his thoughts and continued.

"Now, should I tell you about your fate? Do you know what a choir is?"

He blinked at the unexpected question. Looking at his surprised expression, Neuronist assumed he did not know what a choir was and explained.

"A choir is a group of people that sings hymns praising god's love and glory. I want you to become one of them, along with all your little friends." He turned his eyes with a great deal of effort and saw his other soldiers bound to the torturing tables beside him."

If that was all, then it wasn't much. He wasn't very confident in his singing, but he was not tone deaf either. But was this monster really talking about something like singing? He could not hide his unease that arose like the tide and eyed Neuronist.

"~Sing us the melody of your suffering! Nya! ~" said Clementine playfully.

"That's right, a choir. Even fools like you that haven't sworn loyalty to the Supreme Beings can dedicate their voices to sing their praises. The goal is a chorus. Ah, how electrifying! It's Neuronist's gospel music devoted to the Supreme Beings."

A cloudy color spread in its revolting eyes. Was that because it was excited by its thoughts? Its fingers wiggled like worms.

"Fufufufu, now I'll introduce you to the ones who will support you in your chorus."

As if they had been waiting in a corner, several figures came into view.

He stopped breathing the moment he saw them. It was obvious that they were evil creatures. It was as if Hardys' demons from the ancient tales had come alive.

Black leather aprons clung tightly to their figures. Their skin was ghastly pale, almost transparent, and dark veins were visible as if their blood was purple.

They wore tight black leather masks with no visible openings, which made him curious about how they could see or breathe. Their arms were long as well. They were about two meters in height, but their arms were long enough to reach their knees.

Each of them had a belt on their waist, with numerous tools hanging off them.

There were four of them in total.

"They're 'Torturers.' They're going to help me and Clementine-chan assist you and your little invader companions sing a beautiful song." A dangerous premonition. He finally realized what it meant by singing and struggled to escape. However, he still could not move.

"It's no use~. It's not going to break from someone of your strength. They'll cast healing magic over and over, so you can get plenty of opportunities to practice."

Neuronist said this as though she were extending the hand of mercy to him, but she did so in the cruelest of tones.

"Thnd du mus!" (Don't do this!)" Pleaded the Legate.

"~ Ara. It seems our guest does not want to participate in the chorus. Don't you think that is quite rude of him, Neuronist-chan? Nya! ~"

"Mmm? Indeed, Clementine-chan. It is rude for a guest to refuse to sing in the chorus. Please sing to us your melody for the Supreme Beings. Pretty please?"

Neuronist spoke softly to the man who had tears rolling down from his eyes. Then the six tentacles squirmed.

"Listen well. Because the two of them remained, we, who were created by the 41 Supreme Beings, were allowed to exist. Our very existence is to serve Ainz-sama and Esdeath-sama. Do you think we'll show even a shred of mercy to some filthy thieves who invaded the domains of our gods!?"

"Wef aftr lirru gwpph! Igft wdgil nfet hfppfnd sgagn!)" (We are really sorry! It will not happen again!)"

"Hehehe, that's right. Regret is a valuable thing."

"Shall we start the song, Clementine-chan?"

"~Nya! Let's start it. I hope they will last longer than the previous ones. Nya!~" she licked her lips.

Neuronist picked up a thin rod from somewhere. At the end of the rod were spikes that were roughly five millimeters long.

"Let's start with this."

Neuronist kindly explained every little detail to the man who didn't understand anything about the tool.

"My creator used to suffer from a bit of a problem called 'kidney stones.' To pay respects to that, we'll start with this. Since it became so small, I don't think we'll have much problem putting it in."

"Thnd du mus!" ('Don't do this!")

Neuronist took its face closer to the man who was screaming out in the realization of what would happen to him.

"We're going to spend a long, long time together. You shouldn't start crying because this is only the beginning. Clementine-chan and I waited a long time for new recruits for our chorus."

Clementine chuckled while her face twisted into an unnaturally wide smirk. "~Let the song begin. Nya! ~"

* * *

 **Scene Change: Ula Pianca (Imperial Castle)**

Each day, hundreds of lords and nobles would visit the Imperial castle. The Empire used all its effort and resources to build it as huge and ostentatious as the Empire was able to. Showing their strength to the allied countries. Ensuring their loyalty. After all, the Empire enforced its rule mostly through a show of force, not diplomacy.

The castle was always a busy place to be. Senators, nobles, and courtiers came and went each day, treating politics like a chore.

Under the meetings, they would enjoy delicious foods, graceful dancers, gambling, courting before engaging in dialogues... That was the general feel of it. The nobles might even decide on the deployment of armies based on the number of games they played.

However, in the current situation, this was not the case. Now all of them looked worried. According to what the returning troops had reported, the enemy was not even human. They were more like demons with incredibly powerful magic that shattered the sky, raised the dead and even summoned the demons of Hardy from her underworld residence.

According to the reports, the battlefield was like the gods themselves had allied with each other just to punish the Empire for its sins.

All Senators and Nobles knew the Empire was far from perfect but what had they done to deserve such punishment from the gods? No one knew and because of this, they were afraid. Also, because no one knew what could offend the gods to cause them to rain such punishment, they did not know how to make it right.

This is why no one could appreciate the good music, food and the dancers that the palace offered to its guests. Their stomachs churned and just could not take any of the food and drink after reading the report of the crushing defeats.

After all, they had just lost that which caused the Empire to hold its dominant position among the countries while it was under the reign of Emperor Molt Sol Augustus, their overwhelming military force and wealth.

Even a child would know that these were the reasons that the Empire was feared by many countries.

Now, the Empire could be said to have lost an arm. As the generals and nobles in the court were part of the expedition, there was an enormous amount of casualties.

With such an outstanding number of dead people, the nobles had to spend their day rushing around from one funeral to another. The emperor himself hosted the ceremony with mourning clothes and yet the lazy days of the Imperial Castle continued.

"Your Majesty, the Alliance Army has suffered a major defeat. The dead and missing have reached sixty thousand. If we include the ones who were wounded but are still able to resume their duties, it is around a hundred thousand. The survivors of the Alliance Army have each returned to their respective countries."

These numbers had not included the ogres, goblins, and giants. The demi-humans which had inferior intelligence were treated like warhorses. Hearing Domestic Minister Marquis Marcus' report, the emperor nodded his head tiredly.

"Just as planned. The cowardly senators who were afraid after we suffered some losses have nothing to worry about anymore. What about the other expedition force?"

The Senator gritted his teeth before answered to his Emperor. "Th-They are gone, my Emperor."

"What?" Emperor Molt eyes widened. "What did you just say?"

"Th-They are gone. The returning soldiers spoke about some kind of army of gods. Most of them went insane."

The Emperor sighed hearing the shocking news. "Bring before me the highest ranked survivor." One of his guards saluted respectfully and went to fetch the survivor.

"But Emperor, the movement of the enemies from beyond the Gates is a huge concern. According to our scouts, both enemy armies managed to build a fortified fortress around the structures." The senator continued.

"This is disconcerting. But the Empire has won against greater odds before. The Empire will survive no matter what." Stated Emperor Molt as he supported his head with his fist and looked to the sidelines with a bored expression.

"Forgive me, your majesty. But I do not share your opinion about our situation. I am concerned. It is bad enough our first expedition force has been repelled with such ease. But our second expedition armys' defeat was crushing to the empire. We lost two-fifths our overall military strength."

"Still. It is not a problem in the long term. The distance between the capital and the holy Dalnus and Arnus hills is great. We just use this strategic position of ours to our advantage. The enemy will have to penetrate deep into our territory to reach the capital. We will simply use the Scorched Earth tactic combined with attacks upon their supply lines. No army can march without supplies."

The emperor continued.

If the enemies started moving their pieces, all of the cities and villages leading up to the Empire should be burned down, the wells poisoned and the food seized to the last grain of wheat. Therefore, amidst the scorched earth, no army could obtain supplies and thus this will stop their advancement. With this, no matter how strong their army and their mages might be, a chance for them to show their weakness would arise.

If there was no way to forage for supplies locally, supplies would have to be sent from their own country. It would be a substantial burden on their horses, and the supply line would have to be guarded against occasional bandit raids. This way, the enemy's fighting potential would be greatly diminished the closer they got to the capital, giving the Empire's army the advantage when fighting near the capital.

If they built strongholds at various locations and forced the enemies to bleed, the enemies would gradually crumble under pressure. Such was the basis of this world's military science.

Make the enemies advance deep into the enemy's territory and hit them when they are tired.

Without a doubt, it was an easily understandable and efficient tactic in any world. However, scorched earth tactics would turn their own lands into crisped soil, and it would be hard to undo the damage. Such tactics disregarded the livelihoods of the people by robbing them of their food and water, and the support of the people would be lost. Thus, the people would have resentment towards the government that would last for generations. Considering all these cons, it was hard to issue such orders politically. However…

"But...the tax revenue would decrease."

Marquis Marcus used a reserved manner to articulate the damage that would be done to the people.

The emperor only said "Hmph. Just cancel a few planned parades and postpone the plans for the Imperial Villa." and with this, Emperor Molt dismissed the concerns.

For the mighty Empire, the suffering of the people and the approval of the citizens were merely trivial details.

"There was talk of Marquis Casel making a fuss."

"Why do I have to care about Marquis Casel's sanity?"

"It seems like he and some of the senators are conspiring to declare a state of emergency counsel."

The Senate's counsel could veto the orders from the emperor. The Senate even had the power to dismiss the emperor.

In the history of the Empire, the number of cases where the thrones of emperors were threatened due to the counsel from the Senate was not low.

"Hmph, how interesting. Just let them do what they want. Who knows, this may be a chance to round up all of those conspirators at the same time. Order the Privy Council to look into this matter."

Marcus had an astonished expression on his face for a second, but he still bowed respectfully towards the emperor.

The emperor's weapon against the Senate was the crime of treason. It required the Privy Council to present evidence in order to sentence them.

"It seems like many have taken the privilege of being a Senator for granted. It looks like it's time to remove the weeds."

Both Marcus and Emperor Molt looked in the direction of the knocking footsteps on the marble floor. All of them saw a young man approaching them at the end of the throne hall. He wore a standard butler uniform with a vest and white butler gloves. One of his eyes was covered with an eyepatch and the other dimmed with a faint blue light. On his handsome young face, a bland, expressionless settled.

He almost reached Molt and Marcus. The Emperor guards ran out from behind the columns of the throne room and created a wall of shields before their emperor.

Emperor Molt, despite his surprise, still kept his arrogant, superior expression. "Humph. Who are you, boy? I do not remember sending for you."

The young man bowed his head. However, the Emperor, despite his long years of politics could not read anything from his bland face. It was a completely boring and expressionless look. "I am Zero Rei, the faithful servant of the Supreme Beings."

 _"Hmm. Supreme Beings? Never heard of them…"_ Thought Molt.

"Humph. And why are you here? I don't know of any Senator that is called a Supreme Being." the Emperor haughtily said as he mocked Zero.

"I bring a message from the Sorcerer King, Ainz Ooal Gown" he said in his still calm and collected tone.

"Never heard of him and his country. He must be a ruler in a small backwater country if even I, the Emperor of the Saderan Empire did not hear about him. He must be an insignificant ruler."

The stranger's eyes squinted, and he disappeared. The honor guards started to search for him. "He most likely chickened out and left." the emperor said in a mocking manner.

Then he felt someone grabbing his tunic and raising him into the air. "Don't try my patience meat bag. My masters are patient but, the same could not be said for me. I don't care if you mock me. But if you mock the Supreme Beings and their domain, that means you mock my creator and my gods." He said in an extremely cold tone. A cold sweat ran down everyone's spine.

Emperor Molt struggled to break out from his grasp. Despite the thin frame of his arms. His grasp was unreasonably strong. It was like he was being choked by Rory the Reaper, the apostle of Emroy.

"What gods do you serve, boy? Hmm? Emroy? Hardy? Palapon or Duncan?" his smug expression remained.

"I don't know anything about those pathetic beings of whom you speak. But if they rebel against the Supreme Beings. They will be annihilated."

The Emperor just smiled as he struggled in the boy's grasp. One of the guards tried to stab him in the back with his spear. But as the spear reached his opponents back it simply broke into pieces. The young man glanced over his shoulder towards his attacker with his still bored expression on his face.

"Kill the guards." He gave the order with a cold, emotionless tone.

The guards started to collapse all at once as many Eight Edged Assassins appeared from their hiding places and slit the guard's throats with one simple move. The guards quickly drowned in their own blood.

The Eight Edged Assassins are magical beings with a human-like body shape that wear a black spider ninja costume which has eight legs that are like keen blades. They are capable of rendering themselves invisible passively, and they can suspend themselves on a ceiling like a bat.

Each of their eight legs allowing them to stick to the ceiling, attached with a razor. The moment they leap towards their prey; it could launch eight simultaneous strikes. Their ability is to kill their prey with a single blow to the head.

Marcus and the Emperor's eyes widened seeing his veteran honor guards killed so easily by the suddenly appearing creatures. Zero threw Molt to his seat then he threw beside his head a knife. The knife scratched the Emperors' face, barely missing his eye. On the end of the knife, there was an envelope.

He started to stroll away as he dusted his white gloves. "The envelope contains a message and the demands of the Sorcerer King. Obey and survive. Resist, and even your previously mentioned pathetic gods could not save you from the wrath of the Supreme Beings." He glanced back to him with his bored face.

"Remember. We can reach you and anyone you love anytime, anywhere." With that, he and the creatures behind him disappeared like they had never been there.

The Emperor started to massage his face as he inspected the message. "W-What do we do now, your Majesty?"

As Molt read the message, he gritted his teeth. "Double the guards around the palace and the patrols in the city. Place a high bounty on that boy's head."

Marquis Marcus bowed his head respectfully.

Suddenly, a voice that was clear as a bell cut through the quiet air in the palace.

"Your Majesty!" The disrespectful person appearing before the emperor was the princess. In other words, one of the emperor's daughters. She had flame-like vermillion hair and white porcelain skin that was accentuated by her white silk garment. Kneeling on one knee, she displayed flawless court etiquette.

As she stormed into the throne room, she spotted the bodies around the throne. She gasped. "W-What happened?"

"Humph. Somehow one of the enemy assassins managed to sneak into the chamber and tried to assassinate me. Fortunately, my guards chased him off before he could finish his work."

"Your majesty is alright?" Pina asked in a concerned tone.

"I am fine. My attacker was a professional, but even he could not stand a chance against me. Fortunately, he was young and inexperienced." Emperor Molt smiled bitterly.

Marquis Marcus threw a concerned look at his Emperor.

"This is not a game! The Empire is now having an emergency, and you have been almost assassinated! What has Your Majesty done to curb this problem? Is Your Majesty getting senile?" Such sharp words emerged from her beautiful face.

The princess' tongue was sharp as usual.

"Your Highness, what urgent matters do you have to barge into the chambers of His Majesty?" asked her Marcus.

If the emperor's third daughter, Piña Co Lada just sat still with a smile on her face, she would look like an excellent work of art. However, her sharp tongue has been said to have made weak men faint, an infamous ability in the Empire.

"Obviously, it's about the bandits occupying Arnus and Dalnus Hill. It seems that till this day the two holy places are still under their control. I couldn't imagine that your Majesty would still sit with such a relaxed posture after hearing what happened to the Allied Army. Marquis, have you reported the facts to his Majesty?"

"Your Highness, I certainly did give the report. The Alliance Army did suffer heavy losses, but they defended bravely against the enemy's invasion of the Falmart Continent. Thanks to the courageous Alliance Army who sacrificed their lives in the battle, the enemy has received both physical and psychological damage and are shivering in fear as they have built strong forts in panic, hiding within like hibernating bears. Such enemies are no threat to us at all."

After hearing Marquis Marcus's words, Piña replied with a "Hmph! And what about the other invading force? What is your Majesty planning to do with them?"

"Everything is under our complete control." Molt assured her.

"I'm not a kid anymore; I know that is how things are put across to children but, to turn not one but two armies' complete defeat into victory is unheard of."

"It's the truth." the Emperor looked bored because of this conversation but, deep inside he was concerned.

"So you are going to sacrifice the truth and paint the history books with your lies?"

"Even if you put it like that, I cannot answer." Molt dismissed her claim.

"You sly courtier! Aren't the Holy Hills of Arnus and Dalnus still under the enemy's complete control? Did they defend successfully? The truth is that the foot of the hill is filled with corpses."

"It's true that we took some losses…" The Emperor looked off to the side with a bored expression.

"Then, what are we going to do from now on?"

Marquis Marcus played dumb while explaining to her the projects such as recruitment of new troops and their training. Piña clicked her tongue annoyingly at Marcus's words that anyone who was army related would know about.

"How many years do you think it will take? Could you ensure that the two invading forces will just sit quietly and wait?"

"Your Highness. I am aware of that. But currently, all we can do is to follow the steps of recruiting, training and rebuilding of the army. Even the vassal states have lost their troops. Even if another Alliance Army were formed, the time needed for it to become a reality would be proportional to the national strength. Even if the other countries reconstructed their armies later than us, they would catch up sooner or later."

Hearing this, Piña exclaimed astonishingly, "It would be impossible to defend against the invaders if we wait that long!"

Sighing, Emperor Molt held up his hand to stop their bickering.

Based on his observations, Piña had the tendency to cause unrest. Those without responsibilities were like this; always criticizing but had no constructive suggestions. Even if they had made suggestions, it was all wishful thinking that disrespected the traditions and social status of others. If someone voiced objections against them, they would counter by asking "What would you do then!"

For example, the only solution now is to follow the steps Marquis Marcus had said. Buying time for that would be dependent on diplomacy. To achieve that, the emperor's plan to gather the vassal country's troops and eliminate them in one go was successful.

The resigned Emperor shrugged and said to his daughter.

"If you put it this way, Piña, I have something to say."

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Regarding the enemies on the two holy hills, the information we have in our hands right now is very limited. Why don't you go check it out?"

"Me?"

"Yes. We are still rebuilding the Empire's army, so we are lacking scouts and can't draw them from our standing army. The enlisting and training of new recruits will need time as Marquis Marcus said. The only troops that are free and are adequately trained would be your Order of Knights. If the Knights are not your playmates for pretend games, that is…"

Under the provoking gaze of the Emperor, Piña shut her lips.

For knights, who were mocked and accused of playing a game of pretending, although they took pride in being assigned missions, the contents of the mission were dissatisfying.

Also, she and her order of knights had zero experience in a real battle. Could she and her knights complete this dangerous mission?

The Emperor glanced towards her lazily. "Well then. Do you accept this order?"

Gritting her teeth, Piña raised her head with a determined look and... "I have received it."

After she had said those proud words, Emperor Molt responded ceremoniously.

"Umu, then I shall look forward towards your achievements."

"Well then, Father. I shall be on my way."

With that, Piña Co Lada turned her back to the throne as she left the hall.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Somewhere in The Empire's Territory:**

Two figures strolled under the blazing sun of the continent of Falmart. Their way led near the road in the forest, so the two of them did not really recognize anything from the blazing sun above them because the woods covered their steps in shadows.

One of them was a broad, black-clad warrior who wore a crimson cape on his back with two huge two-handed swords that hung on his back beneath the cape. The other was a slender woman who wore a long hooded coat and under it a metallic looking armored suit. On her side, a katana hung lazily.

Everyone who saw this duo would surely say they were no ordinary people. From their equipment, posture and dignity as the two of them carried themselves, anyone might mistake the duo for veteran soldiers or mercenaries who earned enough to buy such expensive equipment.

"I hope you are wearing the [Ring of Concealing] it would be pretty unfortunate if someone recognizes us." Said the black-clad warrior.

The woman beside him nodded. "I equipped it and activated the anti-spy measurements. So no one can spy on us or even hear what we are saying without our will. Here, take this and activate it. So you don't have to be beside me to be affected by the effect of my new anti-spy enchantment."

Momon nodded. Took the item from his companions hand, equipped and activated it.

It had been two days since the duo left the newly built Fortress Gown in the Special Area. Since then they just walked, hoping the two players could find a new adventure and excitement that both of them had been craving for a long time. Being a King in a kingdom that had no inner or outer enemies is utterly boring. No challenges remained in the Sorcerous Kingdom.

"So, what do you think, Momon-san?"

"About what?" The black-clad warrior turned to his companion.

"Well, about this whole gate thing. Do you think we will find anything interesting in this world?"

Momon chuckled. "No matter what we find. It could not be more disturbing than your weird experiments."

"Hey! My experiments are not weird! They are the basis of our future."

"Yeah… Of course, propelling yourself through time and space is for the future of the Kingdom. Brilliant. Just brilliant." said Momon in a sarcastic tone.

The dark skinned woman pouted her face. "Never venture, never win!"

"Do you remember when we accidentally disappeared because of one of your experiments?"

The woman chuckled wholeheartedly. "Yeah, that was fun. According to your Kingdom's time, we disappeared for only one hour, but in reality, we were away approximately one thousand years."

Momon nodded. "That was a great adventure. However, we really need to retire."

"What do you mean by that?" Esdeath turned her face towards him.

"We became too old. After Beelzebub becomes experienced enough, I will step down from the throne."

The woman sighed. "Maybe you are right. We are no longer those young idealists that we were before. I wonder what will come first. Insanity or death. Oh. Sorry. You can't even become insane because of your race nature. You are completely immune to mind affecting effects like madness. Lucky bastard. I hope you will keep me in a sturdy rubber room and a heavily reinforced straight jacket if I go insane. Because I can't even die a natural death due my race immortality. Grah. So annoying." she brushed her head with an annoyed expression.

"Don't say such things. As your king and guild master, I order you to remain sane."

"Yeah, yeah. Sure. Whatever. I'll do my best, Emperor Palpatine." She rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, what are you planning? Do you want to retire too?"

"Nah. I think I'll just continue my experiments, hoping one day I find the meaning of life. I have time you know. I can't die by natural means, and this is just depressing. Existence without end is utterly boring." She looked sad for a moment.

The Black-clad warrior sighed. "Don't worry. I am sure you will find something that makes life worth living."

"For example?"

"Maybe you'll finally think about starting a family?"

"Don't start on that, I have enough with your and Albedo's constant nagging on this theme. I am fine alone. Really. Don't worry about me." She tried to repel Momonga's ongoing concern which has haunted Momonga since they conquered the New World.

Momon sighed with his non-existent lungs.

Then the two adventurers spotted smoke in the distance amongst the woods.

An apparently burned and frightened man crawled out from the forest. He was barely alive and burnt to the point where he was almost unrecognizable. From his ears, the two adventurers knew he was an elf.

Seeing the two heroes, the burned man started to crawl towards them slowly. The two warriors stopped and looked at the burned man with a dumbfounded expression.

The two of them of course always kept their guard up. This was the adventurer's first rule. Always prepare for the worst because Mister Murphy is constantly watching.

As the man reached them, he looked up to them. "P-Please… Save my daughter..." His simple clothes were stained with blood and burn marks and in many places his clothes had fused together with his flesh. He looked to have just survived an attack from a monster or mage that used a fire based attack.

The two of them could only understand his language because they wore enchanted necklaces made by Esdeath with [Greater Arcane Language].

Momon nodded. "Treat his wounds. I'll collect a bit of firewood."

Esdeath nodded in response and started to treat the burned man's wounds. Of course, the two of them could have used one of their red healing potions, or Esdeath could use one of her few healing spells which could heal the man immediately.

Besides this, either of them could use one of their core base building items to conjure a fast house on the location they currently stood upon by using an item that the two players held in their inventory. However, neither of them wanted to blow their cover this early.

They instead were using their adventurer personas so they could do a little reconnaissance, and of course, to revive their old adventurer days.

Momon raised his massive twin swords and with a flash, the black-clad warrior cut a thick tree down. The tree started to fall towards him which he received with quick, flashing slashes. He diced the tree into equal pieces. It seemed his long years of swordsmanship practice had paid off.

Meanwhile, Esdeath treated the man's wounds. She bandaged him with the clean bandages that she pulled out from her void storage. Fortunately, the man had fainted because of his pain, so he did not see what she had done just a moment before. She used her lowest possible aimed healing magic to treat his burns and unseal the cloth that was fused with his flesh.

"[Silent Cast: Minimize Magic: Angelic Healing]" She raised her hands and started to place them above the burned points of the elf's body. Her hands began to glow with a faint brightness of light energy.

She also used a minimal amount of painkiller tonic to cover up the man's burnt body a little bit. Not too much so as to not raise any suspicion. He will still feel pain afterwards, but not as much as he would if he remained untreated.

Momon brought back two huge piles of wood under his strong arms. Esdeath turned to him. "Don't you think you went a little overdrive this time?"

"You can never be quite sure how much firewood you may need." Chuckled Momon before his emotion suppression kicked in and a faint green aura appeared around him. Of course, this atmosphere was only recognized by himself. "Sush. The suppression kicked in again."

(This emotion suppression was one of the Undead Overlord race's unique traits)

Momon put down the two huge piles of wood and started to build a campfire.

Esdeath nodded. "How is our guest?" asked Momon.

"He will survive. However, I am not sure if this would be the case if we arrived only a minute later."

Momon nodded. "Then he is a lucky bastard."

Two hours later the man's eyes slowly opened. As he looked around in his pained delirium, he asked in a panicked voice, "I am alive? I am alive! Where is my daughter? Where is Tuka?!" However, he was still somewhat dazed from the painkiller medicine that Esdeath gave him.

He looked off to the side and saw a campfire with a roasted rabbit above it. The freshly cooked rabbit smell was appetizing, and his mouth started to water. He gulped down the saliva that gathered in his mouth.

He felt good enough to slowly stand up and walk towards the roasted rodent.

"You should not move in this state." He heard a female voice behind his back. He turned around to see the black-clad warrior and the strange armored girl that wore an odd long coat stepping out from amongst the trees.

He recognized them from his dream. The two of them were the ones that he had stumbled into when he had crawled away after the flame dragon attacked. "So it was not a dream." He murmured.

"You must be exhausted and hungry after everything you went through. Please sit and eat." said the dark warrior. The elf nodded uneasily as he sat down on his makeshift bed on the ground.

The dark warrior pulled out his knife and cut off a piece from the rodent. "Here, eat." The man nodded and started to eat. He was still exhausted after what had happened.

He did not even know these two strangers, but the two of them helped him. Of course, he was glad. Still, it was strange for him to be saved by complete strangers. Most of the people whom he would meet in such a situation would simply loot him and let him succumb his wounds.

"Thank you for the meal and for healing me. May I ask the two of you for your names?"

"I am Momon." The dark warrior motioned to himself. "She is Raidyn." He pointed to the woman beside him who ate only a little bit from the rabbit.

"We are the adamantine ranked adventurer team called Darkness."

"Adventurers? Are you some kind of mercenary? Also, what is with that adamantine rank?" he inquired.

The two adventurers looked at each other. "You could say that. The adventurer's task is to hunt down dangerous monsters and explore the unknown. Delve into dangerous dungeons and bring back the treasures from them for the customer."

"Could you tell us what happened to you?" asked Raidyn.

"Yes, our village was attacked by a flame dragon." He explained everything to the two adventurers.

After he had finished, Momon asked his first question. "Could you explain what kind of dragon that 'Flame Dragon' is?"

The man nodded. "Yes, it is a monster beyond imagination. It burns down everything in its way, and its appetite towards human and elf flesh is insatiable after it has first tasted it."

Raidyn smiled and turned to Momon. "What do you say, Momon-kun? Worthy target?"

Momon chuckled. "Most likely."

"What are you saying? You are out of your mind! If you see a fire dragon the best you can do is to run away! It is a monster beyond imagination. You would not have a chance! It either burns you or eats you alive!"

The two adventurers chuckled.

"What is your name?" asked Raidyn.

"Hodor Marceau" he answered.

"Well, Hodor, we are Adamantine ranked adventurers. We are amongst the highest ranked adventurers. We used to hunt dragons on a daily basis." noted Raidyn as she continued her meal.

The man's eyes widened. "What do you mean, you fight with monsters like dragons on a daily basis? Still, from your appearance you are not from around here since you don't know how nightmarish that creature truly is." He glanced to the side with sadness, remembering what had happened to his village.

"Don't worry about us." said Momon.

"There is no hope of you defeating that monster. But at least I would like to hire you to help find my daughter in our village. "

The man moved into a pleading position. "Please! I will give you anything that you wish for!"

Raidyn sighed and looked to Momon. "What do we do, Momon-kun? Do we accept?"

"Hm. It could not hurt if we at least investigate the case. But we do not promise anything."

"Thank you!" he cried out of joy.

"Where did you last see your daughter?" Asked Momon in a cold tone.

"Our village is nearby. Come, I will show you. Maybe, she is still there! I hid her from the fire dragon in the well."

The two adamantine ranked adventurers looked at each other. "I am sorry Hodor. We already investigated the village, and we found no survivors."

"What? That can't be right! You certainly missed something! Let us investigate the village once more!"

Raidyn sighed. "What do you say, boss?"

"It would not hurt if we investigate the village one more time."

"Thank you…" said Hodor. "No problem. We will be going in two hours. Gather your strength."

The blonde bandaged elf nodded and laid down on his makeshift bed.

Two hours passed and the trio walked through the woods until they reached the clearing where the elf village was located.

They searched again. However, the two Supreme Beings already knew. Other than the few rodents who were still around, no living or unliving life was present in the village.

"I am sorry Hodor. There are no survivors."

Hodor looked around with a frightened expression searching for his daughter. "No! No! No! Please just search for her one more time! She will show up!"

Raidyn sighed. "I am sorry. But I scouted the place with my magic multiple times. There is no humanoid living creature remaineing in the village."

Hodor trembled. He trembled because of his anger, he trembled because of his helplessness and finally he trembled because he left Tuka alone.

"Damn…" he gritted his teeth. "Daaamn!" the blonde man fell to his knees as he shouted his cry of desperation.

"We will escort you to a nearby village." Momon placed his hand on his shoulder.

The blonde man brushed his hands off. "Leave me alone…"

He turned towards them and started to shout while tears rolled down on his face. "Leave me alone! Leave my village!"

Then he closed his eyes as he bowed his head downward. "J-Just please leave me alone to mourn..."

Seeing the two adventurers were no longer needed, Momon turned around. "Come Raidyn. We are no longer welcome here."

"B-But…"

Momon glanced back. "Come…"

Raidyn sighed in defeat. "Fine… You are right." She grabbed a red healing potion from her belt and placed beside the mourning father. "If you find yourself between life and death again, drink this, and your injuries will be healed immediately."

With that, the two adventurers left the mourning father.

While they walked away, Raidyn asked Momon, "So, what now, Momon-kun?"

"We can't let a dragon wander around while our forces are out here. We will go and hunt it down."

"Yes! Dragon hunting! I hope it will not be as weak as the dragons that called themselves 'Dragon Lords'" she said while showing sarcastic quotation marks with her hands. "Even the strongest amongst them. Ah. What was he called…?"

"Platinum Dragon Lord." Answered Momonga.

"Yes! Right. He was pretty weak. I remember he said. 'I will stop you abominations!' and 'You will never get away with this, you villains!'" Esdeath imitated the deceased Dragon Lord sarcastically.

"Yet, he was killed by one single spell of yours. It was a quite disappointing battle." She rolled her eyes.

Soon they reached the road near the forest. The two of them became aware of a strange track. They inspected it. "What do you think? Is this what I think it is?"

"We can't be sure. Our first survey did not show any sign of modern technology."

Suddenly the two of them heard a terrifying screech as the huge red flame dragon flew above them.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Raidyn smirked.

Momon nodded, and the two adamantine ranked adventurers started to chase after the massive dragon. Of course, they could use their powers to kill it instantly but, as said before, the two of them did not want to raise any suspicions.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Heaven: The realm of gods:**

Gathered around a large oval table in their heavenly home sat eight gods. Of course, there were officially nine main deities in Falmart. However, as the goddess of the Underworld, Hardy mostly resided in her underworld residence weaving plans on how to catch Rory Mercury, the apostate of Emroy.

Emroy was the God of Darkness, War, Death, Violence, and Insanity and did not really care what that woman was doing in her free time. Moreover, he found it amusing that Hardy was always failing with her plans. He just watched and laughed while leaning back in his heavenly throne as that wench always failed with her plan to capture his Rory. He was the God of Insanity amongst many things after all. He loved crazy things.

The eight deities who sat around the table were Emroy, God of Darkness; Lunaryur, the God of Music; Deldort the God of Covenants, Zufmuut the God of Light and Order; Palapon, the God of Revenge; Flare, the God of the Sun; Wareharun, The Goddess of Trees and Forests; Mirita, the Goddess of Fertility; Duncan, the God of Blacksmithing and La and Elange, the twin gods of Study and Knowledge.

They had called an emergency meeting around a week after the other gate opened.

"What did Hardy do this time? Which backwater world did she open her damned gate to?" frowned Deldort the God of Covenants.

The one who answered was Zufmuut, the God of Light and Order. "We don't know. It seems that the Empire has evidently enraged one of the gods on the other side so much that one of them personally stepped through the Gate with an army of creatures. I assume everyone felt her presence? "

Everyone nodded.

Palapon, the God of Revenge, scoffed. "You speak nonsense, Zufmuut. We are no longer capable of taking the form of the mortals. Why do you assume other gods can? I think you just confused her with one of the God's apostates from the other side."

"Technically it is possible to have mortal flesh again." The harmonious voice of La and Elange spoke. "You just need to take over a human or any other creature." Explained the twin gods.

"Still, mortal bodies are not capable of withstanding the amount of power which that girl emitted, and she completely disappeared from my senses when their mages activated those strange magical wards. Since then, I can't even find her. Moreover, I can't even look behind their wards after they activated their defenses." said Mirita, the Goddess of Fertility.

"It is possible to make such wards? La and Elange?" Wareharun, The Goddess of Trees and Forests, turned her head towards the twin gods.

They thought about it for a moment then both of them shook their heads in unison. "We have no knowledge about such magic."

"This is disturbing. What could a foreign god want in our realm? If she wants revenge, why can't she just come into our realm and demand justice?" said Flare, the God of the Sun.

"I don't know. But the soldiers and those demons of theirs wore armor that I have never seen before. I would not mind the opportunity to study their art." Said Duncan, the God of Blacksmiths as he fondled his long beard and chuckled in a happy manner.

"Maybe she is angry because of Hardy opening the gate on her world and disturbing her slumber. Maybe we should reason with her through a good ballad." Explained Lunaryur.

"Huh. Don't make me laugh! I felt her presence. She is emitting both light and dark insanity and order at the same time. If she is like me, she will not stand down without a good fight. A woman of my liking." laughed Emroy.

"What are you planning to do, Zufmuut?" asked Deldort uneasily.

Zufmuut sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. "We can't do anything in the current situation. The best we can do is to summon Hardy and question her. Everyone agree?" He looked around with a tired expression.

Everyone nodded.

"Good, let close this meeting. Everyone keep their eyes open." With that, the eight deities disappeared from around the table.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Fortress Gown :**

Two days had passed since his aunt's disappearance, and Beelzebub Ooal Gown continued his work to organize his expedition. He was leaning over his huge, expensive looking work table and feeling exhausted. He wore the [Ring of Sustenance] that his father bestowed to him so as not to feel the need for drinking, eating or sleeping while he was working. Still, it could not protect him from mental exhaustion.

As he laid his head on his desk, he mumbled, "Why is there so much paperwork?"

He looked up. "I don't know how my father, mother, Demiurge and aunt do this on a daily basis. But this is just crazy..." Beelzebub mumbled.

He started to look at the papers before him once more. "Supply orders, troop placement, requests from the staff of the expedition force. Why does every request come to me? This is just crazy." He continued his work.

He signed another order. Rolled it up into a scroll and stamped it with the royal signet of the Sorcerous Kingdom. Then he handed it to the nearby Imp who would carry it to its destination. He sighed.

"This is just annoying. Why can't I go with the adventurers exploring the nearby area? Aunt did it too. I wonder what my father said when he read the report about Aunt going off exploring without an honor guard again? He will be furious." He imagined his father's reaction.

"But… Thinking about it, whenever aunt disappears, father just says, 'She is like a cat. She will come back sooner or later. This is merely part of her nature.'" He sighed and continued his work.

Five hours later he laid his head on his table again. "Too much information… My brain can not process… Aunt… Why did you do this to me? Why did you leave me to do this alone?"

The nearby imp tilted its head in confusion.

But Beelzebub knew. Soon this will be over and he will lead the exploration force deep inside the enemy territory and his administration duties will be passed down to Demiurge, who will soon arrive in the fortress. He only needed to endure this for a little more.

He heard a knocking sound at his door.

He looked up and quickly straightened himself, adjusted his hair, he then grabbed two papers in his hand so his subordinates will see that he is working. After all, he was the first Prince of the Kingdom. He could not let others see him in this state. He had to be a good example. "Come in." he said.

His office's massive double doors opened and a man stepped in. The man wore armor that was seemingly made from a crystal like material and adorned with the Sorcerous Kingdom's symbols. He held his closed diamond helmet under his arm. He was Creon Karalis, an elf and the captain of his honor guard.

"Ah. Creon, my friend. What can I do for you?" asked Beelzebub happily. Creon, the captain of his honor guard, was his close childhood friend and sparring partner since the two men's childhood days.

Being a high ranked noble's son, he managed to befriend him early, and since then the two of them became inseparable friends. The two of them had originally met at the age of five during a party that, despite his opposition, he had to participate in.

As his aunt always said, 'If I have to endure this abomination of clothes that I have to wear to these events, you can endure the party too!' He knew well enough what will happen if he contradicts his aunt. She would blight his life with harder and harder inhumane training methods.

Of course his father always just chuckled when he wanted to find excuses for these kind of events. He would rather practice or spar against his training partners. Polish his swordsmanship rather than going to those annoying balls. Of course, his sisters loved these kind of events. 'Girls, who understands them?' He often thought while rolling his eyes.

Back in their childhood, Creon and Beelzebub often played knights and villains back in his father's castle gardens. They enjoyed it more than anything else. But they were no longer children. Now, both of them have duties.

But back to the present...

Creon walked in and kneeled before his Prince. "My Prince! Your honor guard is ready to leave the fortress and start the negotiations with the first city."

Beelzebub stood, walked over to his friend and placed his hands on his shoulders. "Creon. We are friends, aren't we? You don't have to call me Prince." He smiled.

"As you wish, your majesty."

Beelzebub glared at his friend. "Creon… What did I say?"

His friend started to smiled. "To not call you Prince?" he teased his friend.

The heir of Ainz nodded. "Exactly."

"Now, please rise."

Creon rose from his kneeling position, and the two of them set off from Beelzebub's office.

"Demiurge arrived yet?" asked Beelzebub as the two of them left his office.

Creon nodded. "Yes. Demiurge-sama has already arrived. He is waiting for you near the gates of the fortress. He did not come to you earlier because he wanted to check the status of the fort and the operations personally."

Beelzebub nodded. "I see. Thank you…"

Creon bowed his head.

"What do you say? Which city will we go to first?"

"The closest city that according our early reconnaissance is an agricultural town. The town is named Italica."

Beelzebub nodded, and the two of them continued on their way.

* * *

 **Scene Change: In the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick: Ninth Floor: Ainz chambers:**

Behind his massive marble desk sat the avatar of death. Dealing with the paperwork that his Kingdom bestowed upon him. Of course, he was not really Ainz, but his creation, Pandora's Actor in disguise. Pandora's Actor was the NPC Ainz had personally created. Also, he was the guild of Ainz Ooal Gown's treasury vault and financial manager. Since the Kingdom had become officially founded, he also took on the job of Treasurer of the Kingdom.

Sometimes, on rare occasions, when his master wanted to ease a little tension and retire from the world for a little bit, he substituted as Ainz. He was a Doppelgänger. A shapeshifter. His shapeshifting ability was so advanced he could perfectly mimic not just anyone's appearance, but all of their abilities at eighty percent of their power.

As Ainz' personal creation, he knew his master more than anyone else in the Tomb. Currently, he just signed a few papers that contained the financial status of the magical research branch of the Sorcerous Kingdom. He then stamped them with the Kingdom's wax seal.

The nightgown wearing Albedo, Shalltear and Zesshi Zetsumei walked inside his office.

Zesshi was an awakened Godkin and had been the trump card of the Slaine Theocracy.

She was a woman with heterochromia, for both her eyes and hair. Her hair color is silver on one half, while the other half was black. She had quite a good figure.

Although he had easily defeated her, she had seen Ainz' strength and she immediately fell for him and changed sides. You could not imagine the faces of the head priests after Ainz easily defeated Zesshi followed by her immediately swearing loyalty to Ainz. It was hilarious!

Shalltear Bloodfallen was a vampire of short stature and had the appearance of a buxom fourteen-year-old girl. (In truth, she just stuffed her bra to be viewed as a buxom woman. Because she was flat as a washboard and this frustrated her.)

She has been described as a true beauty, with pale shiny skin, seductive red eyes, and fine facial features. Her silver hair was tied in a ponytail, allowing others a full view of her face.

The three woman approached the disguised Pandora's Actor. "Come, dear. Leave those papers for tomorrow." Said Albedo seductively.

"Yes, Ainz-sama. Come! Take your potion and entertain us." said Shalltear with a sadistic grin.

Pandora's Actor, seeing the three-woman assault, backed down in his seat. He did not say anything for a moment.

"Please forgive me. But currently, I have too much work under my hands." He tried to repel their assault.

"Oh. It will not take longer than an hour. Please, Ainz-sama." Zesshi caressed.

The disguised Pandora's Actor became nervous.

"As I said. There is too much work that I need to finish tonight."

Albedo recognized something. She started to look at Ainz suspiciously. Then she pointed at him with an angry expression. "I know it is you, Pandora's Actor! Don't try to hide it! Where has Ainz-sama gone?"

Pandora's actor panicked for a moment. "I don't know what are you talking about!"

"Don't play with me! Tell me! Where is Ainz-sama!? I recognize the small traces that betray you! Did you really think you could deceive us!?" she grabbed his black gown and started to shake him.

Shalltear and Zesshi also started to glare at him with furious expressions.

Sighing in defeat, Pandora's Actor's disguise began to melt away and transform back to his original form.

An egghead started to form from the mass with no distinct facial features. There were only three holes in his head. Two holes were his eyes and one was his mouth. His black gown from the previous transformation started to melt back to his usual yellow Neo-Nazi uniform as his conversion finished. He stood up with an overly exaggerated motion. "Mein Damen. Denunziert!"

The three angry females lunged at the eggheaded Doppelgänger. "Where is Ainz-sama!?"

He motioned in an exaggerated motion. "Mein Schöpfer! Berechtigt, darüber zu speech." (My creator did not authorize me to speak about it!)

"Speak, or we will beat it out of you!" Flames burned in Shalltear's, Albedo's and Zesshi's eyes as they glared at him.

The egghead backed down and started to sweat. _"Mein Schöpfer. Save me!_ " he thought.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Well, this is it for now.**

 **I hope you enjoyed it. :)**

 **Review, tell me your opinions!**

 **Until next time!**

 **May the force be with you! :)**

 ** **Many thanks to my proofreaders and new copy editor: WarGod46 (id:** **12135940) without them the whole chapter would be a messed up crap****


	4. Let's show them! How a pro hunt dragons!

**Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There**

 **by oblivon2991**

 **Proofread and checked by Wacko12**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.**

 **I don't own the _Overlord_ (** **オーバーロード** ** _Ōbārōdo_** **?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **Please review it. I know I will make mistakes that I intend to correct and will try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

* * *

"What do you think Momon-san? Where is our little dragon heading?" Raidyn asked, as she turned her head towards her companion, while the two of them continued their fast sprint.

"I don't know. Maybe something drew its attention. The strangest thing is, it does not bother turn in our direction." Momon replied.

"Now that you mention it, you are right. It is strange to just ignore possible threats that are pursuing you. Only a fool does such thing." Commented Raidyn.

"Maybe our [Ring of Concealing] is more effective than we thought, and the dragon does not recognize us as a threat." Answered the black-clad warrior.

Raidyn sighed. "Such unfortunate event. When I hoped to get a good fight, the enemy just ran away."

"Or maybe, the dragon picked up a scent from that direction. Dragons usually have an excellent nose." Mused Momon.

Raidyn nodded and continued. "What do you think about those traces?"

Momon shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know. Seeing this world's technological level, it would be impossible for them to make cars. This Empire neither has the industry nor the technology to make them."

"Maybe it was a strange animal that left those tracks. However, I found the traces of galvanized rubber on them. Still, we met animals before that left rubber as an excrement." Explained Raidyn.

Momon nodded. "Yes, you are right. For example, the rubber worm that we found in the Forest of the Elves left rubber as a dung."

Raidyn chuckled. "Yeah, those are really weird animals."

Momon nodded. "Indeed… At least, Entoma found some use of them."

From the corner of her eyes, Raidyn spotted a caravan of carts. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Look there Momon-kun."

Momon looked forward. And what he saw stunned him for a moment. "Stop." He said, and the two of them halted for a moment with their wild charge.

"Are those vehicles really what I think they are? You see them, don't you? Or are my eyes deceiving me?" Raidyn asked. "I don't sense any illusions from that direction."

"I see them too. Your eyes do not deceive you." Momon assured.

Raidyn smirked. "Then let's kill some dragons, shall we?"

Momon nodded and lunged forward toward the caravan what was already under attack by the huge dragon.

"Don't forget. We are undercover. We can't raise any suspicion." Explained Momon.

"Oki-doki boss. I will keep my big mouth shut." Under her hood, a closed futuristic looking helmet slide over her face. It did not seem to have any eye holes,instead the full mask resembled made from the samegray material of the metallic exoskeleton that she wore. Lids brimmedin the two sides of the strange mask, and several tubes adorned the sides of it what led under the shadow of her hood.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Fortress Gown:**

The Sorcerer Kingdom paid close attention to the safety of their troops. After all, the people of the Sorcerer Kingdom were the foundation and holders of the pillars of the government structure. Of course, the Sorcerer King and his vassals could easily rule over their lands without people. Still. Without them, the Kingdom would be utterly deserted. Without them, there would be no trades neither any advancement. Thus, the Sorcerer King kept them as his vassals. If his vassals shown their worth. The Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown showered them with miracles and good life.

In cases when an individual worth surpasses its price of losing. What meant death in a given situation. The Supreme Beings even blessed the person either transforming him or her into a heteromorphic being. Such as granting the individual eternal life or extended their life span and giving back their youth. Of course, the two remained Supreme Beings do not force such things. It was the individual choice if he, she or it accepted the gift. If not, the person could ask for another miracle. For example, resurrecting a deceased person or wealth beyond belief in some cases.

In another word, the Kingdom's policy was: Work hard for the Kingdom, respect others, and you will be rewarded with miracles beyond your imagination. But, slack off, act disrespectful towards others and betray the trust the Supreme Beings, and thousands of deaths will not save you from their wrath. This was a simple yet working policy in the Kingdom.

The Sorcerer Kingdom and the two Supreme Beings cared about their citizens. Thus, when they were deployed to foreign lands, a strong magically enchanted defensive base camp would first be built. With that base as their stronghold, they would have a refuge during an emergency, and they could withhold against superior forces easily while either one of the high-level vassals of Nazarick or even one of the Supreme Beings came to take care of the attacking force.

Contrary to the old military view which thought little of an individual life, they were now used to carrying out disaster relief missions to save people. Moreover, the Sorcerer Kingdom paid more attention to defending the Kingdom's citizens than its predecessors. They rather used summoned monsters, such as, for example, Death Knights or Nephalem Guards to go into the meat grinder than sending individuals towards their death. The summons was easily replaceable. However, replacing an individual was not that easy.

Of course, there were many cases when one asked to participate such dangerous missions. Most of the time the superiors granted their wish respecting the desire of theirs following the kingdom's policy.

Furthermore, on the other side of the Gate was their homeland and the realm that the two remaining Supreme Beings inhabited and ruled over. In other words, defending the Gate was the main reason why the Sorcerer Kingdom expedition army was here, and the other was punish the invaders for their sacrilegious act. In another name. 'SKEF' was the nickname as many soldiers called the expedition force.

By using both political and military methods, they were to conquer, secure the land surrounding the Gate and show the invading Empire to not mess with the Sorcerer Kingdom. This was the mission of the SKEF. Mapping the land surrounding the Gate by taking aerial pictures and deploying scouts was also part of their plan.

If the Empire will not bow before the Kingdom and compensate it for the act of treachery towards the Sorcerer King. Then Sorcerer Kingdom will either conquer it using either force or political methods. Or completely burn down the Empire to the ground leaving nothing but ashes then salting the Capital City ground with salt. Like the Romans did after they destroyed Carthage in BC 149.

Of course, the Sorcerer King rather used the resources then dispose of them this way. His vassals known him as a wise King who plans was uncomprehendingly complicated what simple mortal beings mind could not comprehend. After all, he was respected and mentioned in the books like the God of Foresight, Wisdom, and Death and the patron of the Magic casters in the New World. His companion. The other remained Supreme Being was called the Goddess of the Balance and War. Seeing Esdeath's nature, it was not surprising. After all, she was half demon and angel; equally dark and light.

The fort was not a hastily constructed field fortification of dirt or sandbags, but rather, it was built with reinforced enchanted stone blocks, with the intention of making it a permanent defensive structure. It had been two weeks since the SKEF took over the land around the Gate. After working tirelessly for several days and nights, Dalnus Hill had become an impregnable fortress. The uniformly-built hexagram-shaped fortress displayed the character of the aid that thought up this design. Most of the people who viewed the fort with a bird's-eye view said that it looked like the six-sided fortification at Hakodate.

Some deviants would giggle and say this was a magic formation. In fact, it was. The fortress was built this way and had reinforcing wards placed in the key points of the structure to enhance the defender's stats and abilities in the area.

The chapel of the Supreme Beings already built and numerous soldiers made their plea to their patron gods. Each of them of course, respected and worshiped all of them evenly. But they asked the blessing for their patron gods to protect them from harm or bring them good fortune. Each Supreme Beings had its day in the calendar where the practice of the religion of Supremist celebrated the given Supreme being.

Of course, the two remaining deities were worshiped by most of the people of the Sorcerer Kingdom. Due the two of them appearing and granted miracles to the people personally. The two of them promises were not empty ones that many religions offered to the people. The two of them appeared and fulfilled the people's wish if they are earned it.

In the Kingdom, one was freed to practice the religion of their choice. Everyone worshiped whoever they wanted, so long as it does not cause harm or forces other denizens of the Kingdom to change their life. Every religion that was said to have hurt or repress others were banned with an excellent efficiency. Destroying it by its roots, preventing it from blooming and corrupting others with its harmful effects.

Strangely, Ainz and Esdeath always refused that they are gods. And for this, the people worshiped them even more. Saying, 'Such a humble approach from the Supreme Beings!' After a while, it became quite an annoyance and the two of them simply let the people think what they want. Shutting their ears and saying. 'Lalala. I can't hear anything.'

Demiurge walked through the compound, inspecting the construction work that was still underway in some areas of the Fortress. The undead and the golems worked without stop, only slowing or pausing their job when either they waited for new command or for the mages and the Elder Liches to finish their other duties.

The working creatures did not have to stop because they were just tireless tools of the Supreme Beings' will. And because the mages of the Sorcerer King placed silencing wards around the working areas that filtered the noise of the moving forces.

Demiurge was satisfied with the results and smiled sinisterly. Everything went according to plan, and the impenetrable fortress was ready if the enemy tried to attack again. Not as if they would have a chance against the army of the Supreme Beings and their loyal vassals. His plan was to meet the crown prince in the gates and take office from him. He headed towards the newly constructed chapel to make his daily please towards the Supreme Beings then start his work.

As he inspected the construction from the corner of his perfectly cut diamond eyes, he spotted the approaching Beelzebub. He turned towards him and bowed deeply. "Beelzebub-sama." Demiurge bowed.

Beelzebub smiled and nodded while unmounted his mount. "Demiurge. It is good to see you. How do you like our fortress?"

Demiurge looked around. "It is magnificent. Worthy of the Supreme Beings. It seems the Supreme Beings smiled us this day. Seemingly, the constructions are going according to the plans." He said in a happy tone.

"How is my mother, father, and my sisters doing? The kingdom managing right in the other side of the structure?" Inquired the young heir.

"Last time when I saw Ainz-sama and Albedo they were fine. Your older sister is doing her usual political scheme to move you from the first place of inheritance as usual. It seems she vowed what your mother and I taught her." Demiurge explained

Beelzebub sighed. "I don't understand women…" mumbled the young heir.

Demiurge continued. "Furthermore, we are in the process of dealing with that nasty terrorist organization back in the Kingdom. According to the message what the Fleet Admiral sent, our forces almost conquered the other continent."

Beelzebub nodded in satisfaction. "It is good to hear such good news. Did father know aunt went missing again?"

Demiurge panicked for a moment, but he showed no sign of it to the outside world. Then, he calmed down remembering his master would surely have warned him if the other Supreme Being would be in danger. He nodded with his usual calm, smiling expression. "Is that so? I am sure Ainz-sama is as well aware of the situation and will make the necessary steps if he feels like it."

Beelzebub lowered his head. "Right, Father has always seen everything before it's happened in the past. And aunt always wandered off in the worst of the moments. What do you think she do such things?"

"The ways of the Supreme Beings are inscrutable. Only Ainz-sama could say surely know why. Or maybe her creations. If you ask me I advise you seek their wisdom in the theme." Said Demiurge.

Beelzebub smiled. "I will. By the way, as you already know. I am officially tasked to hand the administration duties to you while I will be away to negotiate in the first city." Beelzebub gave a scroll to Demiurge.

Demiurge nodded and accepted it.

"Please take care of the fortress and our forces until we return." Ordered Beelzebub. He then mounted his mount before looking back at Creon who just listened to the conversation all along while sat on his mount saddle. "Come Creon. We have a long journey ahead of us."

Creon the Captain of his honor guard bowed his head. "As you wish my prince." With a simple sign from Creon, the honor guard started their march.

The massive metal double gates of the Fortress opened. The walls were triple layered, so the enemy had to penetrate all three layers even to reach the courtyard where the Forces of the Kingdom awaited them.

Between the layers of the walls were littered with magical and standard traps that automatically activated when the triggering event happened. Releasing various strong creatures from the walls or showering the enemy with various magic.

Beelzebub, Creon, and the massive honor guard moved past the three gates. Some of them had mounts under them, but most of them not. The honor guard consisted various summoned creatures and the golden armored veteran guards of the Sorcerer King that he personally chose, then sent further service training the Sorcerer King private academy. There only the most talented allowed were to enter.

As the three massive metallic gates closed behind them, Demiurge turned around and headed towards the chapel. Later that day, inside Demiurge's office an Eight Edge Assassin appeared. It knocked the double door gently what slowly opened before it.

Demiurge looked up from the papers before him. "Do you have something to report?"

The creature kneeled. "Yes, Demiurge-sama. We have discovered another similar structure like ours. Approximately ten miles away from our location. Here is the report."

Demiurge thought for a moment than read the report. "Interesting. Anything else to report?"

"Yes. We found no trace of magic except their gate what was covered with a strange dome. Seemingly there were only a few individuals who were capable of magic, and they were weak and seemingly were not aware of their abilities. The strongest amongst them was no stronger than a tier three mage. The people were not even capable of sensing us. We just walked in the middle of their base without anyone even noticing us." Reported assassin.

"I see. What else?" Demiurge nodded.

The assassin continued. "Seemingly they use technology to balance out this disadvantage. Cautious actions advised if we attack them with brute force."

Demiurge nodded.

"Zero-sama awaiting your orders. How do we proceed? Do we annihilate them from inside? Or we simply keep them under surveillance." Asked the assassin.

"For the time being. Just keep them under strict observation, gather as much information as you can from them, place hidden remote traps in the key point of the base and on their devices. Occasionally try collect samples from this technology and bring it back for further investigation. But do not raise any suspicion in the process." Ordered Demiurge

The Assassin bowed. "I understand Demiurge-sama. We will do as you ordered. I will relay the message to Zero-sama."

"You can go now. I will call you if I need anything else." Said Demiurge.

The Eight Edged Assassin bowed deeply then disappeared. The double door closed after its left the chamber. The Archdevil started to inspect the magical photos what was taken in the scene. "Interesting architecture. I wonder who they are…"

* * *

 **Scene Change: Battle with the Dragon:**

For now, let's change the scene.

The roaring sounds of the engines of an HMV, a Type 73 Truck and a Light Armored Vehicle (LAV) made a cloud of dust on their trail. (The Komatsu Light armored vehicle (Japanese: 軽装甲機動車; (kei-sōkō-kidōsha?) is a Japanese military vehicle first produced in 2002. Currently used exclusively by the Japan Self-Defense Force (JSDF), it has seen use in the Iraq War. Komatsu Ltd builds it. Defense Systems Division in Komatsu, Ishikawa, Japan. Komatsu's factory designator for the vehicle is KU50W.

The exterior resembles the Panhard VBL, used by the French army, but the LAV has four doors and a large cabin for carrying soldiers. The LAV can also be transported by air in vehicles like the CH-47J and the C-130H.)

The elderly, women, and children in the vehicles had to endure the rocking of the car from sharp turns and changes in speed, causing their heads and bodies to collide with each other. Gritting their teeth, they endured the pain.

Looking out the window of the vehicle, the view was blocked by the escaping Coda villagers. And the black shadow falling on them from the sky.

The Flame Dragon had come.

Thanks to the prior knowledge of the Flame Dragon's appearance courtesy of the JSDF, Coda Village, and a few other nearby villages had all simultaneously fled from the beast. After the Flame Dragon couldn't find any humans or Elves to prey on, it followed its nose to a place filled with people. Since the preparation for escaping had taken some time, and they were weighed down by their luggage, the slow speed of the Coda Villagers had allowed the Flame Dragon to catch them.

It was the third day of the exodus from Coda Village, and the refugees thought they were out of the Flame Dragon's hunting grounds. However, the beast suddenly appeared and immediately began attacking its prey.

"Fighting with monsters is the JSDF's tradition! Who'd have thought that we would be doing it here!" An elderly soldier yelled.

They circled the dragon repeatedly and kept attacking to buy time for the villagers to escape. Thanks to them, many of the villagers survived.

The Flame Dragon turned around to attack the Men in Green. But, the beast could not catch up with their frightening speed. By moving around, they kept themselves safe from the scorching flames of the dragon. But soon, the dragon got used to their tactics. The people in green who could only cast magic from afar were at a disadvantage.

Sergeant Major Kuwabara shouted furiously at Kurata, "RUN! RUN!". Maybe it was due to the over-secretion of adrenaline by the brain, but a hint of joy could be heard in his voice.

The Flame Dragon swooped down at the villagers who had stood frozen in place. Seeing this, Itami shouted in the direction of the speeding LAV. "Suppressing fire! LAV! Shoot him with the machine gun!" He ordered.

Private Sasagawa mustered all the strength in his body to hold on to the handle of the .50 caliber machine gun while it made sounds like a jackhammer in a construction site. The thick cartridges fell messily to the ground amidst gouts of black smoke as 12.7mm bullets created sparks on the Flame Dragon's back However, the tough dragon scales deflected the bullets.

"It's useless!" He gritted his teeth as he continued firing with .50 caliber machine gun what was mounted on the top of the LAV.

Hearing Sasagawa's words, Itami shouted in reply, "Don't worry about that! Just keep firing! Fire! Fire! Fire!"

Although airsoft guns shooting BBs could not kill people, being hit by them was annoying. As such, even though the dragon's body was covered in tough scales which could not be penetrated by bullets, it was still a living thing and possessed the sense of touch. Itami ordered his subordinates to keep firing.

Blossoms of fire erupted from the flash suppressors of the Type 64 Howa rifles. The Flame Dragon could not bear the rain of bullets. Its attack slowed down, which allowed the farmer who was already in its mouth to escape.

The horrifying dragon turned his head towards the men. An arrow protruded from its blind eye, but nobody could look directly at its terrifying visage. It was like a scar on a Yakuza's face. The Flame Dragon breathed fire at them like a flamethrower but was unable to reach the wildly evasive JSDF vehicles.

"Ono! Yuniryu! Ono!" A female teenage voice came from behind them.

As he turned around, golden hair entered Itami's line of sight. The pale Elf pointed her slender fingers at her eyes while shouting "Ono!" revealingly.

At that moment, although there was a language barrier between them, Itami somehow understood what she meant. "Go for the eyes!"

The JSDF troopers trained their sights on the face of the dragon and opened fire. The Flame Dragon looked visibly annoyed as it turned its face away and stopped its movements.

"Katsumoto! Use the Panzerfaust!"

From the LAV, he hauled out a 100mm man-portable anti-tank rocket launcher that had an RHA (rolled homogenous armor) penetration factor of 700mm. It was an infantry weapon that possessed tremendous power.

Exchanging places with Sasagawa who was operating the .50 caliber machine gun, Sergeant Katsumoto clambered up with the Panzerfaust.

However, this weapon was front-heavy and hard to turn. In addition, the safety-conscious JSDF did not have the habit of shooting from an unbraced position.

"Backblast clear!" He shouted.

"Idiot! Just shoots already"—someone scolded under their breath. But after remembering about their training, all they could think was "Heh. It's the JSDF after all…"

While he was aiming, the Flame Dragon attempted to escape into the sky.

The LAV sped up suddenly, causing Katsumoto's body to thrash around and the dragon to shift out of the rocket launcher's sight picture.

"Damn it! Keep it steady, Azuma!"

"Don't ask the impossible!"

Because of that, the rocket launcher did not have a computer guidance system. Thus, shooting while moving was impossible. With that in mind, Katsumoto aimed the rocket launcher at the Dragon again. Due to the LAV suddenly braking and the recoil from firing the rocket, as the trigger was pulled, the Panzerfaust seemed like it would miss.

The rocket accelerated towards the Dragon with flames sprouting from its tail. The dragon which had lost its balance spread its wings to regain its balance while stepping back to evade the warhead. However, it's footing suddenly slipped. Looking closely, there was a halberd stuck straight into the ground.

On the HMV, the goth Lolita girl had cut a hole in the canvas covering the luggage and thrown the halberd from there. Its handle hit the leg of the animal.

The Flame Dragon fell in the direction of the rocket, which should have missed. Due to the Neumann Effect, even the tough dragon scales were unable to resist the blast. It exceeded the Hugoniotic elasticity limit of its armor and broke through, blasting a hole clean through it.

If one compared the anatomy of the Flame Dragon to that of a human, the whole left arm was blown off. The air vibrated with the wail of the Dragon. Its roar was like its eyes, which could shake the spirit and shatter a warrior's courage. All the people present had their souls frozen.

The dragon started to fall towards the ground for a moment because it's unbearable pain what it felt after its loosed one of its arm. The Flame Dragon's piercing roar caused a brief lapse in the JSDF's fire. The animal seized this opportunity and flew into the sky. However, suddenly several blue spectral blades flew towards the dragon penetrating its skin in the process.

The JSDF and the refugees watched with a stunned expression what just happened. The seemingly impenetrable armor was penetrated by some kind strange energy blades. Everyone looked in the direction where it came from.

From the direction where the blades came from, they saw two figures charging towards the dragon. One of them was looked like a knight who wore a fully jet-black body armor with purple and golden markings on it. He wore a red cape and along with two giant swords on his back while carrying it behind him.

He dwarfed the other figure besides him who wore a strange red leather long coat with a hood. With a metallic looking exoskeleton and futuristic closed helmet underneath it. On the figure side. Seemingly a katana sheath hung lazily while she held her katana unsheathed in her left hand. The small figure exoskeleton looked like Raiden's cybernetic armor from the Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance game.

The two characters speed reached fifty-five Km/h easily. The two of them looked like they are high leveled characters who just stepped out from some kind of light novel or RPG. Itami and Kurata, the two Otakus, eyes glittered despite the danger seeing the two magnificently armored figures.

As said before It was like they stepped out from the light novels or some kind of RPG. The two of them reached the dragon with a high speed. The dragon turned in their direction and took a deep breath to release its flames. The two figures started to evade the flames with their fast movement. Itami was realizing this is their chance gave the command. "Herd the refugees to a safe area!" His subordinates being a professional immediately took action. "Katsumoto! Use another Panzerfaust!"

Kazumoto immediately took out an another of his armor piercing weapon and started to aim. The JSDF continued to shoot the Flame Dragon. Tuka and Lelei just watched in awe as the two figures used their incredibly fast movements to outmaneuvers the dragon.

Rory was biting her lower lip in excitement charged into the battle after she recovered her huge Halberd.

The Dragon despite its injuries became faster. It lunged towards the long coated futuristic armor wearing figure, but before the massive tail could squeeze her into a paste, she disappeared. Of course, seemingly she has been killed by the tail.

Rory joined to the black clad warrior against the dragon.

"Who are you stranger?" she asked in an excited tone as the dark knight blocked the dragons strike with the two of his massive two-handed swords.

The dark knight repelled the attack by using his brute strength only, and the dragon stepped back. "We will introduce each other after the battle is over." He replied simply with his deep voice.

Rory smiled, as she felt a dark presence from him that reminded Rory of her master.

"Kazumoto! What are you doing? Shoot down that damned thing!"

Kazumoto just wanted to pull the trigger of his weapon when suddenly the gray armored figure appeared above the dragon. Around her left arm seemingly dancing electrons played the lightning dance of death. She pulled back her fist, and with a sharp motion, she hit the dragon's head with a massive strike. Everything happened in mere moments.

'Crash.' Itami hearing the tremendous noise turned back to the battlefield. The field covered by dust, but he could clearly see a 160 cm tall figure who stood on the top of the dragon's head that had crashed to the ground. The dragon was blacked out. The figure with female proportions turned her head towards the arriving black-clad warrior and a Lolita in goth clothing.

"I see you survived Momon-san. And you gained a new friend. Kukuku" She chuckled. It sounded like her voice went through some kind of voice filter what was built in her mask.

Momon only nodded.

"What do you say? Do we kill it?" The female asked with a metallic voice.

Everyone looked stunned at the two figures' conversation. The members of the JSDF were even more confused hearing the strange warriors speaking the Japanese language. They never meet anyone in the Special Region who spoke the language of the country of the rising sun.

Momon inspected a dragon for a moment. "Kill it. It is too dangerous to live."

"Oki-Doki. Do you want the honor?" Offered the woman who wore gray exoskeleton.

Momon nodded. Equipping his two huge swords and slowly started to stroll towards the dragon.

The creature suddenly regained its consciousness and shook the figure from its head. The female jumped up with a fast motion and stopped the dragon who wanted to swallow her whole. She grabbed its upper and lower jaws.

"Now! Momon!" she shouted, but the Flame Dragon lunged its head backward and showered the figure in its mouth with its hot flames. Sergeant First Class Mari Kurokawa placed her hands before her mouth in horror. Knowing the one who saved them will surely not survive this.

Katsumoto aimed and released the rocket. When it collided with the dragon's tail. It completely blew it off. But the dragon just continued to vomit its fire to the stranger. He hastily started to recharge his weapon with another rocket.

Momon knowing his partner endurance lunged forward. Rory Mercury, the apostle of Emroy, followed him close behind. He jumped high in the air and with a pirouette what empowered his momentum he sliced through the dragon's sturdy scales. As his sword collided with the scales. They held back Mormon's weapon for a moment. His weapons were created by the create item spell as well as his armors.

"Arrrrh!" the warrior increased the pressure under the edge of his blades.

In the end. The scales of the Fire Dragon were not sturdy enough to withstand the power of the adamantine ranked adventurer who was in reality, a mage.

Ainz used his [Perfect Warrior] transformation to gain temporary the stats and abilities of an equal level warrior. In exchange, he was unable to use his spells. He could only use items and his race skills.

Everyone looked stunned as they saw the black clad warrior sliced through seemingly without resistance first the sturdy scales. Then the flesh, and in the end, the strong bones of the dragon. After he completely sliced through of its neck. The body stood up due to the muscles still following the last command that they got from the brain. Then it collapsed to the ground lifelessly. Only the nerve movement remained.

The fire from the dragon's mouth stopped vomiting liquid death, and everyone gasped as they saw the steaming long-coated figure who withheld the dragon only with her hands.

She dismissed the head with a lazy move and the carcass landed on the ground.

'Thud...'

"Huh. This was spicy! What are you eating girl?"

Momon walked beside her. He was followed by Rory smiling form. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. I am fine. I just nodded off for a moment."

Back in the JSDF convoy. "Uwaaa. That was so cool! What do you think First Lieutenant? Who are these guys?" said Kurata as he pointed to the two warriors.

Itami collected his thoughts. "I don't know. But the two of them just saved the villagers and us."

"They look like they stepped out some kind of RPG! Don't you think Itami!?" Kurata exclaimed

Itami nodded while smiled. "Yeah, it seems they are in high level. Seeing their armor and skills."

The two Otaku started to laugh. Shino mumbled from the side of the LAV hearing the Itami and Kurata conversation. "After seeing all of this they are still able to speak such thing. Idiot nerds." She scoffed.

Shino was a cute petite girl with a small frame and chestnut brown hair, with her left side made into a ponytail jutting out from the side. She also had huge breast with a slim waist.

"Sergeant Major Katsumoto! Keep your guns to the dragon. Maybe it will stand up." Itami ordered his subordinate.

Katsumoto was thinking it will stand up again after it had been decapitated gulped nervously. Then saluted. "Yes, sir!"

Itami looked to Mari and Shino. "Sergeant First Class Mari. Sergeant First Class Shino. Come, let's introduce us."

The two of them nodded and headed towards the newly appeared strangers. Lelei the petite blue haired mage followed them, wanting to investigate the case. "Humph. Youth…" mumbled her master.

People who could slay Dragons single handed would only appear in myths and legends. Triumphing over bears and buffaloes barehanded was still possible if one trained hard enough. But to fight an Ancient Dragon was suicidal. Even if an entire order of knights, equipped with magic armor and weapons, magicians, priests, and Elven archers and Spirit users were sent against an Ancient Dragon, it would still be futile. This was common sense in this world. As such, Ancient Dragons meant disaster.

However, the news of the flame dragon defeat did not come from a single source, but from many people. Thus, many people believed it. On the other hand, some people said: "It may be the truth but are you sure it was a Flame Dragon?".

The Flame Dragon's actively occurred every 50 years, as mentioned earlier. Also, it was hard to imagine that anything could defeat an Ancient Dragon. With that in mind, it would be more convincing to say that the Ancient Flame Dragon was actually a large Dragonewt or a Slither Wyrm.

That said, a very old Dragonewt could grow to the size of an Ancient Dragon. Slither Wyrms were also more dangerous than Wyverns. With that, even killing one of those lesser dragons could qualify a person as a Dragon Slayer. With more than half of the villagers still alive, they had more of a reason to believe that "It's only at that level." As the two strangers and the JSDF actually killed a Flame Dragon.

Rory just spoke with the black-clad warrior near the dragon's corpse. "So, who are you, mighty warrior?"

"I am Momon adamantine class adventurer." He introduced himself. "And she is Raidyn my partner also an adamantine class adventurer." The strange armored female stepped beside Momon. Her armor still steamed and glowed because of the heat of the flames.

"Yo!" She welcomed Rory with a strange motion. "I am Raidyn! Nice to meet ya!"

Momon shook his head. "What?" asked Raidyn.

The black clad warrior sighed. "We are the Adamantine Ranked Adventurer team called Darkness."

Rory inspected the two warriors thoroughly. "I feel endless darkness emitting from the two of you. You bathed in the blood of thousands."

"That's true." Nodded Momon. "We are experienced adventurers after all."

"I feel Emroy himself blesses the two of you. I feel insanity emitting from you." She pointed to Raidyn.

"Thanks, I guess…" replied the female with a nervous tone. "You know you need a little bit of insanity if you stood in the mouth of a dragon." she chuckled.

Rory laughed whole heartedly. "I am Rory Mercury! The Apostle of Emroy!" she bowed elegantly."

"Excuse us. But who is Emroy? How do you get this conclusion about us?" inquired Momon.

"You don't know? But you two are blessed by Emroy himself, are you not?" Rory asked, surprised.

"Still no clue. Sorry." Replied Raidyn.

"He is the God of Darkness, War, Death, Violence, and Insanity. And I am his apostate. Rory Mercury at your service." She bowed elegantly. "Answering your other question. I can see the soul of the people. And yours is bathed in the blood of your foes. So magnificent. So huge!" she bit her lower lip in excitement.

[Message]: "Shit! Are the rings working properly? Did you set the rings, right?"

[Message]: "Last time I checked they worked properly. I don't think she realized who we are real. She just feels the stats what I set in the rings."

[Message]: "That's a relief. Still, be cautious. I feel she is not an average girl."

[Message]: "Don't worry." Said Raidyn in the [Message]:

"And what is the task an apostate. Sorry, we are new in this area." Asked Momon.

Rory smiled but before she could answer Itami interrupted her. "Yo." He raised his hand.

He was accompanied by a tall black-haired beauty in JSDF uniform. A short woman in military uniform and a petite girl with blue hair who wore a green dress, with a blue tabard on top. And blue boots. She seemingly carried a staff with a blue wing on it.

"Thank you for your help." Said Itami in broken special region language.

"No problem. We just did our duty." Replied Momon.

Everyone gasped. "D-Do you speak Japanese!?" he asked hesitantly. "You heard him right?" Itami pointed to Momon. The two women, Mari and Shino nodded uneasily.

"When I first heard you speak our language I thought I imagine things. But damn? Where are you from guys? How can you speak Japanese?" he inquired.

Momon and Raidyn looked at each other. Then Momon nodded to his masked companion. The woman turned back to Itami. "We actually do not speak your language. We just wear items enchanted by translator enchantments. So, we understand every possible language. It is quite handy in our work area."

"Whaaaat!" The three JSDF officer gasped. Lelei eyes widened due she never heard about such magic.

"So, it is like in the game! You enchant items with various proportions! That's so cool!" Itami said excitedly.

Shino frowned and almost hit her First Lieutenant. "First Lieutenant! This is not the time!" she warned him.

Itami calmed down. "Oh, right. I am sorry. I am First Lieutenant Yōji Itami. She is Sergeant First Class Shino Kuribayashi." She motioned to the short woman who nodded. "And she is Sergeant First Class Mari Kurokawa." Kurokawa nodded.

"We are from the JSDF." Continued the First Lieutenant.

[Message]: "JSDF? What the hell! They do not resemble the JSDF from our time! Their uniform and the vehicles resembling mostly what the Self Defense Force used early in the 21st century." Raidyn used her [Message] spell to speak with Momon through a mental link.

[Message] worked like the Whisper in every MMORPGS. With it. The user could chat with the chosen individual from a great distance.

[Message]: "What!? Do you mean they are from the past Earth? That can't be right! Right?" Momonga's emotion suppression activated hearing his partner explanation.

[Message]: "I don't know. But if we consider the fact the Gate connect two places through time and space. It is possible. At least this is the results what I got when I examine structure."

[Message]: "Go say something for them. Our communication goes with light speed. But still, if we remain silent that will be strange." Said Raidyn through the mental link.

[Message]: "Right." Said Momon through the mental link.

He stepped forward. "I am Momon, and she is Raidyn. We are the adamantine ranked adventurer team Darkness. It is nice to meet you all."

Itami inner Otaku screamed in joy. _"So, cool armors and a cool team name! It is like I am in an RPG. Gothic Lolita's, Dragons, elves and now adventurers! This world is the dream of every OTAKU!"_

"What does entail being an adventurer?" Itami asked innocently. Of course, as every gamer and Otaku, he knew what it roughly entails.

"Well, we explore unknown regions and ruins. Occasionally slaying dangerous monsters." Explained Raidyn.

 _"It is true! The job adventurer actually exists! Yass!"_ Screamed inside Itami.

"You guys are adventurers. Do you want to come with us in our base?" asked Itami innocently.

"What!? With all due of respect, sir, we have enough refugees already! We can't take them back! What will Lieutenant General Hazama say?" said Shino in an angered tone.

"We already have a whole village under our wings. Two more people will not change anything." Itami smiled at her.

Shino scowled and looked away. "Fine."

"We don't want cause trouble. We just leave after we collected the ingredients from the dragon." Said the Black Clad Warrior.

"No, no. You do not cause us trouble. You just saved a whole bunch of people." Explained Itami.

"Please come with us… I know with you two the place will be more exciting." Pleaded Rory as she looked the two of them with her adorable innocent, shining puppy eyes. Ordinary people could immediately melt from this look.

Momon and Raidyn saw Rory adorable look sweat dropped and stepped one step back.

"Do we accept it Momon-san?" Raidyn looked to the tall warrior.

Momon nodded and bowed his head. "Please take care of us."

Itami smiled. Rory hugged the two of them. "I know the two of you will come! The blessing of Emroy is protecting you!"

[Message]: "This girl is scary Momonga!"

[Message]: "Indeed…" Momon sweat dropped internally.

The little group started to head back to the team where the villagers cheered to the Dragon Slayer heroes who just saved their hides.

Mari slowed her pace and started to walk beside Raidyn. "We need to make a quick examination after we returned to the cars. It seemed that dragon's breath hit you directly. Considering you wear that metal armor. I would be surprised if you would not have at least third-degree burns under that armor. I wonder how you can still walk."

"T-That's not necessary…. Really. I am fine. This armor enchanted to be resistant to fire."

"I insist! As the group Field Medic. My task is to verify my patient's well-being!"

"I am fine really…" Raidyn wanted to break free from Mari's grasp. Even though she could easily do it, she did not want to hurt the medic by accident.

"I insist!"

Raidyn sighed and looked to Momon. The armored warrior chuckled. "Just get it over with."

Mari turned to him. "You come too."

Momon panicked for a moment then he remembered what Esdeath said. The illusion completely covers physical contact and senses. He sighed. "So be it."

The petite mage. Lelei meanwhile followed them with silence.

"I assume it is some sort of transportation, right?" Asked Momon as he pointed to the LAV.

"Yes, they are LAVs. You two are not surprised seeing our vehicles?" asked Itami seeing the two adventurers neutral attitude towards their cars. Every villager was dumbfounded seeing their cars at first. But the two adventurers were completely fine with them.

The two of them looked at each other. "We see weird things on a daily base. This is not a new thing to us." Explained Raidyn. Momon nodded in agreement.

"Right I understand." Itami nodded.

The group reached the LAV's Itami introduced them. "They are Momon and Raidyn, adventurers. They will come back with us to our base."

"But first the medical investigation." Interjected Mari. The two adventurers sighed.

From the car, Tuka gazed them suspiciously. "They were able to defeat the Fire Dragon?" she murmured. She still could not actually want to believe it.

The two of them sit down on a stool. "Could you two remove your helmet?"

Momon removed his helmet. His face seemingly was in the middle of his thirties. He had black eye and hair. His face resembled the older Guts from the Berserk Manga. Kuribayashi face reddened seeing Momon handsome face and suddenly looked away.

Raidyn poked a few times her mask left side, and with a hissing sound it slid down from her face. Then she takes off her hood. Revealing her long white hair heterochromatic eyes, long elf ears, and her face what belonged to a tanned skinned exotic beauty.

Itami's eyes widened. "What is that armor? Are you an elf? And he looks like Guts from the Berserk!"

The two adventurers looked each other with a dumbfounded expression. "Just don't listen to the First Lieutenant. He is just lost his mind." Said Kuribayashi uneasily.

"Where did you get that armor?" asked Itami from Raidyn in an excited manner. He was like a child who is just opening his gifts on Christmas Eve.

Raidyn opened her mouth to answer, but Momon interrupted her. "She found it. It is an artifact armor. Very rare where we came from." Explained Momon.

Itami nodded. "I see…"

[Message]: "Why do you have to wear such flashy armor!? You'll bust us!"

[Message]: "Yeah, right Mister Black Knight. Because your flashy armor will not bust us…" she rolled her eyes inwardly under the examination.

"Hmm…. I found nothing. But you have to see the doctor in our base. Am I understood?"

The two of them nodded. "Understood Ma'am." Replied Raidyn.

Mari smiled and nodded.

Itami went back to his car and started to speak to Kurata about his meeting the two RPG-like characters.

Kurata yelled. "That is so cool!" Every villager looked in the direction of their cars with a frightened expression. The members of the JSDF just sweat dropped.

The group continued its way towards the base.

There were two types of survivors from Coda Village. The first were villagers who could seek out their family or friends nearby. Those were the lucky ones, as their family and friends guaranteed their safety while providing them with accommodation and job opportunities.

The second type were villagers who had no family or friends and had to live the life of a refugee. These people, who made up most of the villagers, had no accommodation or job opportunities. Although they worried about how to live through the next day, they still prayed in gratitude that they had survived this disaster and hoped that Lady Luck would help them as they scattered throughout the land.

Each of the surviving villagers grasped the hands of Itami, his subordinates, and the two adventurers under their travel and thanked them profusely. The children's ran around them and asked them numerous questions while their parents remained in the background watching the younglings.

To the refugees, the JSDF and the two strangers who explained their job with the word 'Adventurer' were mysterious beings. They had helped them escape and even defeated the Flame Dragon, although they had no obligation to do so, and asked for nothing in return.

Given that the soldiers of the JSDF could not speak the language; they did not seem like knights or priests of this country. If they were the army of a foreign nation, the villagers would have been slaughtered and pillaged. Of course, they were not bandits. The only two who could speak with the soldiers of the JSDF were the armored figures who appeared seemingly from the nowhere and helped the JSDF defeat the Flame Dragon.

The villagers don't know them. Yet, they were glad for the two heroes to saved them and defeated the Flame Dragon. Under their travel, the strangers explained to them they are adventurers from a foreign country and came to explore the region. The villagers accepted it because it was sensible to send adventurers to explore the area instead of a big force.

But they do not know what to think about the JSDF. The most reasonable explanation for them was that the JSDF was a group of foreign mercenaries that was traveling to look for an employer. Recently, it seemed like the country, and its nobles were recruiting troops. The only thing out of the ordinary was that if they were a mercenary group, they would not aid them without seeking profits. Thus, the villagers were scared about what sort of recompense the JSDF would demand in return for their power.

They asked Raidyn and Momon for help if suddenly the men in green turned against them. The two of them promised nothing, just to try to negotiate with them if the case turns that way. Due the two of them spoke perfectly both language.

Not only that, despite their praiseworthy accomplishment of defeating a Flame Dragon, the troops of the JSDF had gloomy looks on their faces and sunken shoulders that made people think that they were on the losing side. But when they saw Momon inspiring stature every face brightened. They even helped to bury the dead (a priest happened to be nearby and performed simple funeral rites).

As they were parting ways, the JSDF even held their hands tightly and cried. Momon and Raidyn just bowed their head in respect stood in silence in the background. Gazing at the JSDF and the two adventurers who were waving their hands at them even after the villagers were out of their sight, the villagers of Coda Village could only smile bitterly.

The villagers were grateful for their sacrifice and the way they gave aid without asking for compensation, but thoughts of "Can they survive like this?" entered their minds.

"No matter what. Weren't they too kind? If this goes on, how are they going to earn a living?"

"Now's not the time to worry about others. We are also in dire straits, what are we going to do from now on…?"

"Yeah."

"Humph. No matter how idiotic the lords or nobles are, they won't let go of these skilled people. No matter how you look at it, that was a Flame Dragon! They fought on equal ground with that monster and defeated it."

"Yup. But, their hiring price won't be low for sure."

No matter what, they would not be such idiots, right? Although they thought this, the villagers were genuinely concerned; the nobles had a common trait of unquenchable greed.

Anyway, the villagers prayed to their god that this mercenary group(JSDF) and the two strange warriors with their unusual armor and values would be hired by a good-hearted employer.

Incidentally, the luck of the villagers of Coda Village had not yet run out.

On their journey, they met a lot of people who asked for confirmation. In other words, "Was the Flame Dragon actually defeated?"

Of course, most of them recovered some token from the corpse as evidence the Flame Dragon is dead. But the people do not believe such thing that easily and just dismissed them with the quote. 'This is some kind of very good forgery. Nothing else…'

* * *

 **Scene Change: Inn. Unknown location:**

"It was really a Flame Dragon, I saw it with my own eyes. It looked at me with eyes that said, 'pitiful humans'...huh? Who, you ask? They were the people who wore mottled green clothes. They were humans, for sure. Not Elves or Dwarves. Maybe it's the Eastern tribe's attire. Although they could not speak our language, they were smart, and they kept trying to learn our language. "

"Yes! And there was two another warrior. One of them wore a magnificent black-clad armor with a long crimson cloak and held two huge swords each of his hand. He looked like a hero from a tale. He accompanied with a short woman who wore an equally strange but no less exquisite armor. She was beautiful so beautiful only her magic surpassed her beauty. She shot strange magical blades towards the Flame Dragon with her magic what simply penetrated its diamond-hard skin without resistance."

"Yes! I saw it! Those two was incredible! The woman seemingly used her magic to knock out the Dragon with a single strike. Then the dragon tried to burn her alive, but it was without avail. She held it back until the Black Knight Decapitated the Dragon with not more than a single strike. It was like heroes stepped out from legends and tales!"

"Humph. You speak nonsense. No matter how strong you are. You can't kill a flame dragon with a single strike not mentioning to hold it back." Said indignantly the third.

"They were good people; they helped us to escape without asking anything in return. For free, I tell you! It's true!"

Unlike the Bards, they did not have a wide vocabulary, and their description of the events was quite rough. But what they had seen with their own eyes needed no exaggeration.

The listeners' imaginations were easily stirred when they heard the survivor's words, leaving a significant impression on them. Because the witnesses had seen it with their own eyes when they were asked "So what was it like?", they could answer their audience's questions.

When the scene was described where the dragon's arm got blasted off and its head has been cut off by the black clad warrior massive blades. The listeners gulped and quietly said, "How, how powerful."

They parted ways with smiles on their faces and without asking for anything in return.

Even the JSDF troopers themselves would have asked: "Who are you talking about?" After all, a tale of heroes that would not even be found in anime was currently spreading among the people.

In the bars or even on the street, the refugees would be stopped and asked: "Are you from Coda Village?" And because the villagers saw different things from different points of view, what came out of each of their mouths were naturally different. With this, their words painted a surprisingly realistic scene.

The mages of Rondel even sent out mages to the location of the scene to investigate the magical energies what remained after the battle and when they heard about the unknown source of magic in Fortress Gown. Even more aspiring mages headed in its direction to investigate it and learn more about the magic what the invaders using.

Just by telling their story, the people of Coda Village did not have to worry about food or lodging before returning to their village.

Based on these words, it seemed to fit the bill with the Coda villagers' descriptions. The Coalition Army's defeat at Arnus hill and the Second Expedition army defeat in Dalnus Hill must be related to the magic weapons what the invaders used.

Piña called the waitress to ask her a question.

"Woman, have you seen the weapons of those people. What do they look like?"

Melissa tilted her head as she told her what she had seen. Although being addressed as 'woman' made her unhappy, because of the presence of the young female knight who gave her tips, she decided to tell her the truth.

"In other words, those people used staffs that looked like steel. They made an exploding sound, as well as spitting fire?"

"In my opinion, it is a magic weapon. As well as the two appeared knight used magical arms and magic to defeat the dragon."

"Then, the staff they used to repel the Slither Wyrm…it's called the Divine Rod of Steel, right? What does it look like? And what kind of magic employed by those two knights? Try to the best of your abilities to describe it."

"Didn't I say that it was a Flame Dragon, not a Slither Wyrm?" the waitress insisted. With a wicked smile, she glanced at the men around her.

"You're rhetorical. The Divine Rod is good stuff…...Well, I can't blame you, seeing that you were born in an overprotective environment. But, why don't you ask the girls who have husbands? It's the same as a man's thing. Of course, it's so large that you can hug it. I don't think any man here has a thing that's as big or as black as it…"

"And those two knights. One of them wore jet black armor, and I see his face under the helmet. He was handsome! No doubt about it!" she blushed as she thought back to Momon's new handsome illusionary face.

Then continued. "He decapitated the dragon with a single strike. I say you! With a single strike! The other seemingly was a mage who used some kind of summoned swords to penetrate the dragon scales. With a single stroke she knocked down the dragon from the sky, and her armor withstood even the flames of the beast. I see her face when she removed that strange helmet of hers. She was a dark elf."

Pina's knights gulped hearing about the strange weapons and the two knights.

The waitress laughed crudely as she went to the other table to take orders.

Confused, Piña looked to the male knights for an explanation.

As if on cue, all of them averted their faces from Piña's gaze. She finally set her sights on Hamilton.

"You...you have a fiancée, right?"

She must have thought that she was safe from the line of fire.

The prim and proper Knight, Hamilton Uno Ro, who was drinking soup, sprayed it out in surprise. Her messy short hair shook her head as she protested, "I-I do…...but I am still a maiden! How would I know about such a thing?"

The men's eyes landed on Hamilton. "Hmm, that kind of thing, eh?"

Piña's suspicious gaze pierced her. Hamilton could only blush furiously as she cowered down in her seat.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Arnus Hill: JSDF Base: Hazama's office:**

"General… the reports from the recon platoons we dispatched have come in."

"Oh!" The man who responded was Lieutenant-General Hazama.

He had been a student of philosophy at Tokyo University, a graduate of that school which only accepted the best of the best. However, the truly inspiring part of his life story was how he enlisted as a private with the JSDF and climbed the ranks until he became the mighty Lieutenant-General he was now. One could say that, although he could have taken the fast-track, he chose to go a long way instead. His catchphrase was "No pain, no gain."

Hazama took off his glasses and looked at the pile of documents on his desk to 1LT Yanagida.

1LT Yanagida had graduated from the National Defense Academy of Japan (NDA) with flying colors, and under normal circumstances, he would have been considered an elite thinker. However, in front of Hazama, he never seemed to be able to raise his head. The reason for that was apparently because he failed to get into Tokyo University.

People compare themselves to others by many metrics; academic records, resumes, performance records, and, for members of the JSDF, their ability as warriors. They would always look for fields in which they could surpass others. Then what would happen if an individual who was excellent in all areas appeared before them? Most people would unconditionally accept their inferiority and think, "That guy's amazing," but Yanagida was far too proud for that. Perhaps he had an unfortunate encounter as a child, or his parents had raised him that way, but in the face of a superior individual, he did not feel respect, but rather resentment from the bottom of his heart.

"What's the matter? Did you realize something?"

Hazama raised his crew-cut head and leaned back against his chair. The cheap office furniture creaked under his weight. He didn't think too much about Yanagida's resentment, though he did think, "I need to keep an eye on this fellow."

"Several reconnaissance reports have arrived, but I didn't believe that they were that important because they're just raw data…"

"That's true, make sure they do a good job."

"However, we got a strange report from our early flight survey."

"What strange report?" asked Lieutenant-General Hazama as he leaned forward.

"The two pilots reported they were chased off by black armored angels when they want to investigate newly built fortress ten miles away from our location. According to their reports the fortress built around the same type structure what appeared in Japan. And surrounded by some sort of force field."

"What? You say, angels? I assume they are managed to escape." Asked Hazama in a surprised tone.

"Yes, however. They just barely managed to escape. According to them. Those angels almost overtook them and used energy-based weapons. The Jets were full of holes when they returned."

Hazama listened his subordinate uneasily.

"The pilots only managed to escape due they changed into the maximum throttle to reach Mach two. Only after that, they managed to leave the area. After the pilots were approximately two miles away from that fortress only then those creatures stopped chasing them. If you ask me General. Those creatures only wanted to scare our pilots off. They protected the area from invaders."

Hazama nodded while he thought what he heard. "Did they managed to make any photos?" asked Hazama.

Yanagida nodded. "Yes. But only from the angels. Strangely when they tried to make infra cameras from the inside of the fortress, all of the captured photos became corrupted."

Hazama thought for a moment. "Hm. Maybe, they are using a jamming equipment of some kind?"

Yanagida replied. "Most likely. If the other forces are like us, they are just protecting their own home."

Hazama nodded. "You are right. Until further notice, that area is a restricted flying zone. No one flights in or out without permission. Dismissed." He commanded his subordinate.

Yanagida concluded his briefing by placing a sheet of photocopied A4 paper on Hazama's desk. He excelled in this field of work and rarely made mistakes. Then, he saluted and left.

Hazama leaned back in his cheap chair and started to massage his nose temple with an exhausted motion. "Just what we needed. A civilization who can use energy-based weapons. We may have to send envoys to them discuss the situation before they consider attacking us."

Hazama did not feel that a simple reconnaissance would give him a full picture of the situation. However, he was looking forward to understanding the inclinations of the locals. But after he heard about those strange angels who used energy-based weapons and they almost hunted down the F-2 jets. He was a little frightened.

Their relationship with the locals, the safety of the JSDF units, and the opinions of the Special Region with respect to Japan and governmental influence were all closely interlinked. Ignoring the locals' feelings would breed contempt, or worse, active insurgency and that would outweigh any benefits of such callousness. As such, it was critical to understanding what the locals meant by righteousness, evil and so on. For instance, Islamic cultures hated dogs and preferred men to have beards.

The only common point between the teams was that, despite the difficulty, they all made the first contact. The locals, which superficially resemble human beings, primarily make their living through agriculture, with forestry being a close second.

Their population is distributed into settlements and is generally low. The 6th Recon Platoon has only found mercantile installations in villages with populations of over 500 people. They mainly sell clothes, tools, farming equipment, oil lamps and other miscellaneous living essentials... This is the stock list and the price catalog. Several photos are also enclosed."

Hazama went through the materials as if he were reading a table of figures. However, this information was critical for understanding the economic situation of the Special Region, so he had to send it back through the Gate for study by government experts.

Then he started to read the reports of the two pilots and inspecting the photos what they take from the creatures. The black armored creatures reminded him the angels from his son's video game. The angels almost looked exactly like them except their armors were black, and one of their wings were black as well the halo above their heads what was outlined with brimming white light.

He sighed. "I hope our little air space violation does not cause war. I don't really want figure out how strong these creatures and what kind of surprise held us the other civilization"

* * *

 **Scene Change: Arnus Hill: JSDF Base entrance:**

There were three ways of evacuating the refugees. Two had already been touched on.

The method Itami and the others picked was the third. They chose this approach of evacuation because there were only about 20 to 30 people they had to worry about.

Following an armed group of unknown affiliation was just as risky as jumping into a ravine for the people of this world. They might as well have been stripped naked and sold into slavery. However, they had no choice. They were children who had lost their parents when the Flame Dragon attacked or elderly people who had lost their children, and some were even wounded. Under normal circumstances, the outcome for them would be a long and slow death anyway.

Of course, some of them were different. For instance, there was the Magician Kato and his pupil, who were very interested in the JSDF, as well as the priestess of Emroy and the two adventurers.

However, many of the refugees were asked questions that could not be answered, such as "Where do you want to go after this? We'll take you to wherever you want to go."

Itami decided to ask the village chief about what to do with the remaining 20 to 30 people. The reply he got was "Leave it to God."

Itami tilted his head and asked again. After Momon and Raidyn had helped him with the translation, the replies he got were along the lines of "Where nobody needs to take care of them," "Anywhere," "Wherever you want."

He sighed deeply.

The village chief got onto the wagon his family was riding, and spoke to Itami,

"I fully understand that you are noble and compassionate folk and that we must seem cruel and heartless in your eyes. However, it's already very hard for us just to take care of ourselves… forgive our selfishness in this matter." The village chief left without looking back.

Itami and the others had been struck dumb by the sheer callousness of that statement. They knew that everyone left behind had been abandoned.

The HMV was loaded with the orphaned children, the wounded, the Elven girl… all their eyes were on Itami and the two adventurers. They were very uneasy about the decision he was going to make here. Because they could not understand his language, they studied the minute changes on his face. Among them, the black-clad Goth Loli looked at him with a keen interest in her eyes. But after a while, she got bored and went to the two adventurers to speak with them.

While they walked, the adventurers told the children a few stories about their adventures. Every child listened to their stories with wide ears. About demons, angels, dragons and other mythical creatures. The two of them even spoke a little bit with Kato and Lelei about the magic of the Special Region.

Itami did not feel the great weight of the responsibility everyone was placing on him. "Well, who cares… Never mind, we'll take care of it." He said and continued his work. His innocent smile removed the tension in the air.

Itami's duty was to investigate the inhabitants of this world. Communicating with them, building good relations with them, and collecting the knowledge of this world was a critical part of that mission. Wouldn't it be great if he could bring natives back of their own free will and improve their understanding of this world's language and culture? At least, that was what he thought. In truth, a civil servant who thought like this would be nearly impossible to find. Anyone who didn't realize the problem with that sort of thinking would never have become a public servant. What public servants hated the most were people who increased their workload.

"You, you, you…" Major Higaki grabbed his head, in front of his subordinate who didn't know what he had done.

The officers from the other Advance Reconnaissance Teams remained silent, while the refugees who had been left outside the camp looked around in curiosity.

"Who, who said you could bring them here?!"

"Eh? Was that a bad thing?"

Itami idly scratched his head. Higaki paced around a little, before saying "Follow me" and walking out of his office.

* * *

 **Scene Change: The Capital of the Sorcerer Kingdom:**

The Capital of the Sorcerer Kingdom. In its old name Carne Village. In its new name simply Carne.

Under the last two hundred years, it grew itself out from a poor village to the Kingdom's capital. According to the historians, this was the first place where the Sorcerer King and his enforcer first appeared and started their crusade against the corruption of the New World Kingdoms and governments. To show the people the right way.

The capital stretched miles across the field. The Great Forest of Tob beside the capital greatly diminished due to the rapid expansion of the Capital. Carne littered with gold and magnificent buildings which could not have been constructed without the help of the Supreme Beings and their vassals. Even when you looked at the sky, you could see several floating buildings what usually served as the home of the higher ranked mages and nobles whose could allow themselves to buy such house.

The biggest amongst the buildings was a floating castle what designed to resemble the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from the Harry Potter books. It was the prestigious Magic Academy of the Sorcerer Kingdom where Fluder Paradyne himself continued his research and taught the brightest of the new generation of mages to the mysteries of the arcane here.

Below the floating castle located the main square of the capital where the huge statuses of all the Forty-One Supreme Beings stood proclaiming their greatness. Of course, the statuses were high-level enchanted golems what attack the invading forces if they manage to capture the capital and their activation conditions fulfilled.

In the north section of the capital stretched the mansion of the Sorcerer King. It used mostly by his children to relieve some stress. The King rarely visited the place. The estate littered with luxury. Numerous bathing and relaxing chambers waited for the exhausted nobles and heirs to relieve their stress and retreat from the everyday political and other kind pressure. It was a reserved middle ground where only a few invited could step in. In its chambers, there were no enemies just chatting people who wanted enjoyment in their life.

In the mansion's private guest room two female sat before a laid table. On the table various delicious looking cakes, coffee, tea, and alcohol placed. One of the females was short shiny pale skinned. Barely 160 cm. Her silver hair is tied in a ponytail, allowing others full view of her beautiful face. Her seductive crimson eyes seemingly burned a hole into your soul when you looked at her.

She wore her usual red, royal dress what she used to wear in her everyday activities. Despite her mother flat chested syndrome, she had a modest proportion. What most likely she inherited from her father's side. She was Eleanor Ooal Gown. One of the daughters of the Sorcerer King. As you surmise, she is Shalltear, daughter. She inherited her mother sadistic nature as well her father foresight and tactical thinking.

Before her. Sat a woman with a great figure and beautiful face. She inherited her mother heteromorphic black and white eyes and hair. Like her mom. She was always ready to battle. Despite that she loved good fights and training, she does not despise the balls like her brother. She loved to embarrass other men and woman by flirting them. Often leading misunderstandings and the disapproval of her father. She was in her teens after all. She rebelled against control. She was the third child of Ainz Ooal Gown. Serene Ooal Gown.

In the current scene, the two of them just enjoyed their breakfast cakes and drinks. Discussing the topics what happened in the kingdom and of course just to chat with each other about insignificant things. Girl talk, in another word.

"Did you heard father appointed Beelzebub to lead the expedition?" asked Eleanor.

"I heard. I just don't understand why…." Serene said in a disappointed tone.

"What why?" said Eleanor while sipped a sip from her tea elegantly.

"I don't understand why my father chose my foolish brother? Why he doesn't choose me!? I am as good as him! No, even better in military tactics!"

Eleanor answered in a calm tone. "He is the first in the line of succession. I think father just wants to give him some experience."

Serene gritted her teeth. "That stupid oaf does not distinguish win or lose from each other. Either in the battlefield or in a political situation."

"This is why we could easily take care of him then inherit the throne after father retire."

"What do you mean by that? Is Father stepping down? I don't understand." asked Serene.

"Don't say to anyone but… My little birds whispered me a secret." She leaned closer to her sister.

"What secret?" inquired Serene.

"Father considered his retirement from the politic and the country. If we make our move now. We may have a chance to disposition our brother from his place or even more kill him without our father 'notice'." Eleanor explained showing quotation marks.

"Do you really think we could kill Beelzebub without our father knowledge? You speak nonsense. You know he know everything. He is everywhere. His spies are everywhere. And what do you think Aunt will do with us if she realizes what we had done!"

Eleanor smiled sinisterly. "Of course, he will know it. After all, He is the god of the death and knowledge. He knows about everything what happened, what happens and what will happen in the future in his realm."

Serene looked uneasily to her older sister. She does not want to kill her brother. She still remembered how he cared about her. How the two of them played in the castle gardens when no one wanted to play with her.

He and her aunt were the ones whose taught her how to be strong. How to protect herself. How to be unfaltering. They made her the person who she is now.

"If you ask me. Our father wants us to be stronger. He wants us to fight for his throne. He wants only to strongest to rule. This is not your desire? The rule of the strong?"

Serene looked downward thinking about what her sister said. "Yes… But…"

"But?" Eleanor tilted her head in a confused look.

"Can't we just disposition him? I don't want to kill big brother. And what will Aunt do with us after she hears about what we have done…."

Eleanor smiled. "Aunt is on the short leash of our father. He will not allow her to touch us even with a single finger. She knows where her place is. And she is too loyal to father to contradict with him. And I am sure. Sooner or later she will manage to remove herself with one of her stupid experiments."

Serene looked away from her sister's gaze. "Still, I don't like the idea."

"Take your time sister to consider it. Think about what we could achieve if the two of us made the alliance? Reflect on the future of the Kingdom." Eleanor dropped her honeyed words in her younger sister's ear.

The massive double door opened, and a butler came in it. He bowed deeply. "Lady Albedo, Lady Shalltear and Lady Zesshi had arrived."

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Well, this is for now.**

 **Thank you for reading my story! I hope you enjoying it.**

 **Until next time! :)**

 **I thank for Wacko12 to proofread the chapter. Without his effort, the enjoyment factor of the chapter would be cut at the half. :)**

 **Send him a few virtual cookies, he deserves it! :)**


	5. Know your enemy Calm before the storm

**Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There**

 **by oblivon2991**

 **Proofread and checked by Wacko12**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.**

 **I don't own the _Overlord_ (** **オーバーロード** ** _Ōbārōdo_** **?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **Please review it. I know I will make mistakes that I intend to correct and will try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

* * *

While his superiors chewed him out for nearly an hour, Itami had put on a mask of carefully feigned ignorance and let the words flow in one ear and out the other. In the end, the meeting (which felt more like an interrogation) had ended with a "Since you brought them back, it can't be helped."

He had to report to Ichigaya (the Ministry of Defense) about how he had been protecting those refugees who were unable to care for themselves, such as the sick, injured, elderly, and the children. While the lecture was unavoidable, when Itami said that he had forced his way through for humanitarian reasons, the other side could only smile bitterly and acknowledge his efforts.

"Although, you'll have to take care of them." They said at the end. That didn't mean that Itami would have to pay for them out of his own pocket. But, he would be in charge of arranging the protection of the refugees. That was the condition placed on him.

Itami thought about feeding the refugees and sleeping arrangements for them and left the black corridor for the staircase. If he put in a requisition with the ration team, he could probably solve the first problem. Granted, they would be eating combat rations, but they could hardly pick and choose. The real issue was arranging beds for them. The barracks on the base were not complete yet, and the team members had to make do with the frames of the buildings. Tents were the only way out; it would seem.

"Preparing the documents, recording the required items, the chops… ah, what a pain," Itami thought as he stepped out into the corridor.

As he continued walking, Itami saw someone sitting on a chair in the shadows. Along with that was a mote of light from a lit cigarette. The wisp of smoke which curled up to the ceiling came from a mouth that was curled up in a sly smile. It was First Lieutenant Yanagida.

"Itami, did you do it on purpose?" Yanagida asked

"Do what on purpose?" asked Itami.

Yanagida was younger than him, but he had been a lieutenant longer than the freshly-promoted Itami. When ranks were the same, seniority took precedence. On the other hand, Itami didn't like Yanagida at all. His principle was to involve himself as little as possible with people he didn't like. That way, it would reduce friction and smooth over unpleasant incidents in the other party's memory.

"Don't act dumb. Everyone knows it. You've never missed a single periodic check-in before, so who's going to believe you when you say comms are bad? Were you afraid of being ordered to abandon the refugees?" Questioned Yanagida.

"Ahhh, well, about that… it's a different world, after all. It's hard to predict the condition of the ionosphere and the magnetosphere, right? Plus, there's probably sunspots here too… ah ha ha ha…" Itami scratched his head while he laughed like an idiot. It felt bad, but he didn't particularly need to convince Yanagida. Even if no one believed him, the report still said, "Because of poor communications, I could not receive further instructions, so I made a judgment call and brought the refugees back to the base."

"Hmph, you're really trying to cover it up, really…" Noted Yanagida as he took a long drag on his cigarette and exhaled. Along with the smoke came a sigh.

"Eh, well, we had to deepen relations with the locals sooner or later anyway, this was just ahead of schedule. Even Top thinks of it that way too. But to us… well, it's a pain in the ass. Our plans are all in a mess now." Yanagida sounded kind of helpless as he said that. When he saw the state Yanagida was in, Itami couldn't help but feel guilty.

"You'll be spiritually rewarded for it, sooner or later." Assured Itami.

Yanagida forcefully put out his cigarette in an ashtray and shrugged. "That's not enough. It's nowhere near enough." Yanagid commented.

"Well, someone's petty today… what do you want me to do to cheer you up?" Asked Itami.

Yanagida smiled thinly, then rose. "We'll talk about it elsewhere."

 **Scene Change: The JSDF base:**

The sun was slowly setting, and to the west, the sky turned red where the day would end. As they watched the sky, the two men at the clothes drying point of the West No. 2 Barracks (temporary) looked at each other. Yanagida leaned against the fence and lit a cigarette before speaking.

"Judging from the information we've collected earlier; this world is a goldmine. The DNA sequences of the creatures here are very similar to ours. For all we know, we could even breed with them. The exact theory is still in the hands of the scholars, but what I can tell you is that we can live in this world. We're breathing this world's air now, and although our food is imported from the other side of the Gate, if the creatures here can eat it, then we should be able to eat theirs with no difficulty. This world's environment has not been destroyed or polluted. There's a lot of lands, and its plants are lush and vibrant. And those elements which would be considered rare earth back in our world are abundant here. The civilization level of the locals is as far from us as an ant would be from an elephant, which is an overwhelming advantage for us. This world has only opened its gates to Japan. This is either good fortune or a disaster in the making. Investments in Japan's resource entrepreneurship are going through the roof in the New York, Shanghai and London Stock Exchanges. Oil and ore-related stocks are going down. Nagata-cho's MPs are in consultation with the Economic Federation people day and night. The diplomatic services are going crazy trying to handle the NATO countries. However, the government, the most critical part of this whole business, is having trouble dealing with it. China, Germany and the other resource-providing nations are starting to demand 'The Special Region should be internationally controlled.' The problem of whaling can be explained away by being our country's culture, so even if the whole world looks down on us, it's fine, but when it comes to the economy, our country still isn't strong enough to make enemies of half the world." Began Yanagida's long winded explanation.

"So, I'm telling you, Itami, this is what Nagata's people want to know. They want to know what this world has that is worth antagonizing half the world for." Finished Yanagida.

"And if there is such a thing?" Itami asked.

"Obviously someone who possesses something is stronger than someone who doesn't, you should know that. The People's Liberation Army massacred many Tibetans and Uighurs, China's poisoning of frozen gyoza, the Russians unilaterally tearing up the natural gas mining agreement because they're wealthy, South Ossetia seceding from Georgia, in the end, all of these people managed to do what they did because they had resources which everyone wanted. You could even say that if we could gain something from the Special Region which was worth antagonizing the whole world, we might resort to any means necessary to secure it." Yanagida said.

Itami shrugged. "Yanagida, I didn't know you were thinking so much about our country. At least now I know you're a patriot. However, people have many uses. In truth, I'm not really interested in all this geopolitical stuff. See, what I'm thinking about now is how the children I brought back are going to eat and sleep. So, what exactly do politics have to do with my job?"

"Didn't I tell you? They want to know what value this place has. No, that's not right, they want to know where the valuable things are. Whether the Special Region belongs to Japan or it's managed by the international community, anyone with that information will have an overwhelming advantage. You do know that you're in the best position to gain this information, right? All the other recon teams did check out what the villages were selling and add a few new words to our vocabulary. What you did was gain the trust of the people here. As long as you're around, we can find out where they build things, where they hide things, how to communicate with them, and so on." Repeated the first Lieutenant.

"Hang on, Yanagida. Do you expect me to ask the kids where the treasure is buried? Where are the oil fields? Do you think they'll tell me if I just ask them? I'm sorry to say this, but I suck at geography, even though I went through university. Do you think these uneducated children will do any better? I can tell you right now that they won't know anything that doesn't concern their immediate daily lives." As he said this, Itami thought about the silver-haired girl with a wagon full of books and the old man that was her master. It would probably be more productive to let the linguists go through their books.

"Finding people with information and obtaining that information is absolutely critical." Yanagida said.

After hearing this, Itami could not go on.

"Itami, as of late, you've been allowed a lot of freedom in your activities. Your next mission is going to depend heavily on how well the officers can write, but regardless of what your orders contain, your final objective remains the same."

"Dammit, I'm tired of this shit." Itami continued cursing bitterly.

"Hmph! Well, you were happily spending taxpayers' money up till now, so how can you say, 'Oooh, I don't like it, I don't want it'? Better work hard. You know Itami. We made an interesting discovery not long before you and the refugees arrived back to the base. And I am sure it will change your attitude towards the things here." Said Yanagida.

"And what is that interesting discovery what are you speaking about?" shrugged Itami in an annoyed tone.

Yanagida tossed his cigarette butt away after he exhaled the smoke. "We are not the only players here."

"What do you mean by that?" inquired Itami.

"Our early flight reconnaissance discovered another gate ten miles away from our position." Revealed Yanagida.

"And?" said Itami uncaringly.

Yanagida glared at him. "Not long after the jets entered the airspace of the other players, they have been chased away by the fucking angel looking creatures whose used energy weapons! Do you understand!? Energy weapons! Think about it! What will happen when a civilization who can construct energy weapons and most likely capable of space travel attack our civilization! What will happen to the Earth if they manage to locate our planet!? The pilots only managed to escape because those who occupied the other gate allowed them! Think Itami! And consider the situation! It is worth to laze around while who knows when the other civilization attacks us!?"

Itami gulped then thought about a moment. "Do you have any proof?"

Yanagida sighed. "If you don't believe me. Ask Lieutenant General Hazama to show you the pictures what the pilots took from the creatures or ask the pilots to show you their F2 jets with full of holes! After that. You will realize. We are not the biggest fish here."

Itami gulped.

Yanagida turned around and left Itami with his thoughts. Although he could not see what the future would bring, practically speaking, he had to handle this carefully. Since the whole situation was a mess, proceeding without a plan would be counterproductive. Even so, the people who lived in these conditions were probably used to it. In any case, he had to get them something to eat, and had to start pitching tents for the refugees to sleep in, as well as take the wounded to the doctors, then distribute clothing. They also needed more information from the other civilization. The seniors or the older children could take care of the younger children.

After a few days of these "In any case" Itami could probably relax a little. Living in tents was not going to be a long-term arrangement, especially since the people who would do so were children and old people. They would obviously want strong walls and a roof over their heads. After listening to Kurokawa and Kuribayashi's suggestions, Itami was currently about two kilometers away from the south of Arnus Hill. They were building a campsite for the Coda Village refugees in the patch of forest located there.

For convenience's sake, they should build the camp closer to the hill, but that ran the risk of involving them in any firefights that occurred, so after studying the local terrain and conditions, they picked this place. Building the place was the job of the engineers, but it was up to Itami to provide resources, expendables, schematics, blueprints, and so on. MSGT Nishina was experienced with this sort of thing and had provided a lot of useful feedback. Though he got frustrated by Yanagida's nitpicky obsession with details (down to pointing out punctuation errors), in the end, he managed to obtain a computer from his superiors to help with his problems, and he spent the whole of the second day sleeping.

"If it were a government bureaucrat doing this, he'd have finished it with one hand." After hearing MSG Nishina's words, Itami gave thanks that he had never entered civil service.

"Well, I'm a public servant too, but because of special duties, we're hardly related anymore. Ah, I'm lucky to be a public servant on special duties!" Sometimes he would mumble these words, and sometimes he would shout them.

Preparing for a task was very troublesome. But once a mission started, the JSDF worked fast. In the blink of an eye, they clear-cut a stretch of trees, and after moving the ground with heavy equipment, they easily built a set of roofed houses.

Lelei could only watch this scene with her mouth open and her tongue-tied.

"...Well, it looks like we can unload our luggage at last. I need my sleep." Her master said with a yawn. Having resigned himself with these words, he vanished back into his tent. After watching her Master, Lelei could not help but agree with him.

Horses did not draw their carriages, but they ran faster than horses.

Their magic staffs could kill a Flame Dragon.

Their sturdy, vast fortress at Arnus Hill.

Their gigantic iron dragonflies soared through the sky while making terrible noises.

The way they could instantly turn huge trees into planks, where even a team of woodchoppers would take half a day just to fell a single tree.

Their carriages with giant shovels that could do the work of a hundred men in a flash.

And then, there was the way they built houses in moments.

Beside the strange carriages, there were the two strange armored adventurers. The Black-clad warrior stood beside the gray armored one and inspected the carriages from afar while he held a blueprint in his hand. While his companion used her strange magic to literally rip out multiple kinds of wood from the earth. Then used the materials what placed beside her and started to build the buildings.

First, the soldiers of JSDF insisted they stay away because it is not safe to stand in the middle of the construction site. But she insisted on helping them and giving her some material and blueprints. So, she can build too. As she said. I quote. 'I am engineer trust me. I want to play puzzle too.'

The soldiers have been fully frightened by her insisting tone and for the advice of the black-clad warrior. 'She is like a child. Just gave her what she wants. Trust me She will never give up until she gets what she wants.'

And thus, the construction workers simply sighed and gave her what she requested. And for their surprise. By a mere glance of the blueprints, she was able to completely replicate the building method with a more efficient and faster way with her telekinesis.

Lelei was growing jaded to these surprises.

The children and elderly who knew nothing had been shocked into silence. They gave thanks in earnest and sincerely accepted these benefits. As for Lelei, who was wiser but still could not make sense of these unreal circumstances, her brain had long since overheated.

The Elf girl, Tuka, had decided to walk up beside her at that moment. "...Papa will be disappointed that he missed seeing something like this. I have to tell him later…" She said.

The Elf girl's body had recovered quickly, and she was dressed in the clothes that the people here had given her, which were a shirt and pants made of a stretchy, yet soft material (which she later found out were called "T-shirt" and "jeans"). She watched the proceedings silently.

Lelei was envious. She couldn't bear to watch any more. All she wanted to do was curl up under her blankets. Well, she had already forgotten that she was supposed to be a guardian of the forest and watched in mute surprise.

However, since she had chosen the path of the sage, she could not leave these difficult-to-explain circumstances as they were. After all, a sage's ambition was to conquer the mysteries of the world with wisdom.

After properly motivating herself, she set forth.

As she got close to the moving iron-skinned carriages, the workers there looked at her with a mix of surprise and fear. They seemed to be shouting something along the lines of "it's dangerous." If she were run over by such a large vehicle, she would probably be squashed into a paste. Because of that, they were probably trying to keep her away. Just then, a vehicle puffing plumes of smoke rolled up from the corner of the construction site. Lelei proceeded to study its structure carefully. She understood with a single glance.

She thought about what the man had said to her with a smile as she stood in front of it. "Please wait a while; we'll be done soon." Sadly, Lelei could not understand his good intentions.

Lelei could tell that they were trying to learn the local language. They repeated their words and were eagerly trying to talk to her. While the results were not very evident, at the very least, they could communicate. However, if Lelei waited until they learned how to speak the local language, she would not be able to learn anything. She wanted to know about the tools and technology they used, as well as what they thought about. To do that, she would have to learn their language. Thus, Lelei steeled herself and began speaking to the man.

Then she felt as someone placed his hand on her shoulder. "The workers said it is dangerous here." The one who spoke to her was the black-clad warrior. Momon. After he warned her immediately returned to his companion side.

To her disappointment, the men in green did not allow her to get closer to the metal carriages. She strolled toward the two adventurers and quietly inspected what the armored woman is doing.

With Raidyn each motion a tree has been twisted out from its place meanwhile with her other hand she constructed another house. It was like she is conducting sonnets.

"What kind of magic is that?" inquired the blue haired mage.

Momon and Raidyn looked at her for a moment. "This is not really a magic. I just manipulate the data content of the world around me." Explained Raidyn.

Lelei tilted her head. "Not magic?"

Raidyn shook her head. "No. I am not really a magic caster. Of course, I know a few spells, and I am capable of using magic. But this is just one of my Esper power. Telekinesis."

"What is an Esper?" asked Lelei curiously.

"The Esper word refer to the Extra Ordinary Perception. An Esper is a person who is capable manipulate the data content of the world around him or her. Inserting new variables of the equation of reality. Changing it, shaping to its own will." Explained Raidyn

Lelei nodded. "What's the difference between your abilities and magic?"

Raidyn continued. "A normal magic user use their spiritual powers as many people calls it mana to channel it to themselves or the environment. They use it to change and bend it to the magic users will. Magic casters use this spiritual energy to shape the world around them. Meanwhile, Espers use their brain computing capabilities to shape the data content of the world around them. As how much you can shape the world around you. That depend on the user brain computing capacity."

"Is there a way to become Esper?" asked Lelei curiously.

"Regretfully not. The people had to born with this ability." Replied Raidyn

 _"Bull shit. You just need to pick up the job class. But she doesn't have to know that."_ She rolled her eyes under her hood.

Suddenly the three of them heard clapping sound behind their backs. Momon and Lelei glanced back meanwhile Raidyn concentrated on her work.

The man who clapped was a tall, eye glass wearing man who wore a military uniform. "Impressive." He said with a grin on his face.

"I keep trying. Hopefully, I can finish before the sun settles." Explained Raidyn as she twisted out another tree and placed the huge log upon the big sack of trunks.

"I hope it is not a problem. But I overheard your conversation with the little lady." The man said.

"Nah. We knew you were here all along. Right Momon-san?" answered Raidyn.

Momon simply nodded.

"In our profession, you had to be aware your environment, or you will die at young age." Explained the girl.

Yanagida nodded. "I see. By the way. I am Akira Yanagida. First Lieutenant in the JSDF." He held out his hand towards Momon who shook it. "I am Momon." He introduced himself. "And she is Raidyn my traveling companion."

"Yo! I can't shake hands right now. As you see my hands are full." Replied Raidyn cheerfully.

"And she is Lelei." Momon motioned to the blue haired mage.

Yanagida nodded to her. The sage in training nodded back.

"It is strange you two could speak our language perfectly." Yanagida noted.

"Translator items." Explained Momon.

Yanagida smiled. "I see. And how do these 'Translator Items' works exactly?" He turned his gaze towards the adventurers.

"It would take a few days only to explain the basic foundation of the magic system those who never used it or learned it before." Explained Raidyn.

"I see… that means the magic can be learned." Yanagida summarized

"Who knows. Maybe yes. Perhaps no Mr. Yanagida. Information is a precious resource after all. You can't give it away without the adequate payment." Raidyn teased him.

Yanagida just smiled sinisterly. "Ah. I almost forget why I am here. I am here to ask you two to come with me. Lieutenant General Hazama wishes to speak with the two of you."

"Why do he wish to speak with us?" asked Momon suspiciously.

Shrugging, Yanagida replied, "I am merely the messenger, but It would be the best If you can come with me immediately."

Raidyn glanced to Momon who simply nodded.

She sighed. "Fine. I'll finish this house, and we will go."

Yanagida nodded with a satisfied expression. "When you finished here, please come to the nearby guard post. I will be waiting for you there." And with that, he left.

[Message]: "Be aware of him. I feel he is suspicious about us." Said, Momon.

[Message]: "You don't have to tell me twice. He gave off the feeling when I speak with Demiurge. The chill ran down my spine from that guy."

[Message]: "Indeed…." Nodded Momon in agreement. "I spotted a few of our Eight Edged Assassins around the base. Do you recognize them?"

[Message]: "Yes. Strange. I don't remember to the left behind such order for the Kit."

[Message]: "Hmm… Maybe it was Demiurge who gave the order. You know he often acts on his own when he thinks this is all part of my plan." Said Momonga in the Message.

[Message]: "Yeah. Right. He is annoying when he do that." Noted Raidyn.

[Message]: "We need to contact with the assassin units around the base and ask them about it."

Raidyn finished with the house. "Well, this is for today. Sorry, Lelei-san. But it seems we have to take care of some business. Talk to you later." She smiled to Lelei cheerfully as she waved goodbye to her. Momon only nodded to her and left.

Lelei nodded, and the two adventurers left her with her thoughts. She had so many unanswered questions. She needed to note them before she forgets them.

The two adventurers met Yanagida at the guard post. He turned his glance towards them. "Are you ready?"

The two adventurers simply nodded and sat in the LAV that was already waiting for them. After approximately fifteen minutes later, the three arrived before Hazama's office door. Yanagida raised his hand and gently knocked on it. A moment later all three of them heard a distinctly male voice from the office. "Come in."

Yanagida opened the door, and the three of them entered. Behind his desk sat Lieutenant General Hazama who currently inspected the reports. He looked up from the papers. "Ah. So, you two are finally here." He stood up from his chair, and the cheap office furniture creaked under his weight. "I am Lieutenant General Hazama. The commander of this base."

Momon and Raidyn stepped closer and shook the man's hand. "I am Momon, and she is Raidyn." Momon introduced themselves.

"Please take a seat." Hazama motioned the seats near them.

Raidyn looked to the dark warrior who nodded to her approvingly. The two of them took the seats.

"We thank you for your generosity Lieutenant General. May I ask why you called us here?" Inquired Momon.

"Straight to the subject. I see you are the man of the action. Not the words Momon-dono." Hazama commented.

Momon remained silent.

"I called you two here because I have a few questions about the events connected to the Dragon. The reports what I got from the events is quite foggy, and I need another perspective to strengthen the reports." Explained the General

"Ask away." Said, Momon.

Hazama considered his first question. "According to First Lieutenant Itami report. You Momon-dono used your weapons to severe the dragon's head from its body with a single strike. You severed the creature's head with a single blow that according to the First Lieutenant, could only be damaged when Leading Private Katsumoto used his armor piercing weapon. Please answer me honestly. You two are a threat to the people around you?"

The two of them looked at each other. "We have no ill intentions. If our presence here is undesired. We will leave immediately." Answered Momon honestly.

"That's not necessary. You saved the villagers and most likely the lives of our soldiers from that creature. You are guests here." Hazama assured.

"Thank you. We appreciate it." Raidyn bowed her head.

Hazama nodded skeptically. "Let's continue. My second question: What entails the job of the 'Adventurer.' I am sorry, but I never heard of this kind of job description besides fantasy novels and stories."

Momon looked at Raidyn. Raidyn answered to Hazama. "Hmm. Imagine us like mercenaries who delve in ruins, explore unknown areas and exterminate monsters for the right price."

Hazama lowered his head. "I see. You two are mercenaries then."

"No. We are adventurers. We do not participate in wars and do not choose sides in the war. We are completely neutral. However, there are cases when adventurers contract with the military of the Kingdom for exploration purposes." Momon cleared.

Hazama nodded. "That's leading me to my third question. Which kingdom are you coming from? According to the First Lieutenant report. You came here to explore these lands."

"That's correct. Our contractor hired us to explore these lands. We came from the Sorcerer Kingdom." Answered Momon.

"Sorcerer Kingdom? Interesting name for a country. Where is this Sorcerer Kingdom? If you don't mind me asking." asked Hazama suspiciously.

"Very far away. We are sorry, but our contract states we can't give away our country location without clearance." Said Momon.

Hazama nodded. "I understand. It is strange for you to speak our language so well. How is that? You seem uninterested in our machines while the refugees are watching them like they were some miracle of the gods."

"As we stated before, we use translator items what makes us enable to understand every language and writings. Please don't ask how it works exactly, Hazama-dono because it would take days to explain the foundation of the magic behind the enchantment. As for why we are so calm in the presence of your machines and unknown soldiers. It is easy, we see weird things every day, and we know how those metal things work in a basic way. And from the smell that they are emitting. The machines use some kind of fossil fuel. Correct?" Answered Raidyn.

Hazama nodded. "Correct. You have excellent observation skills Raidyn-dono."

"I try my best." She answered cheerfully.

"Back to the topic. It seems you know how magic really works? And you have a basic education in science. Fascinating. Could you share the information with us? I assure you. It would be a benefit for both sides." Hazama said hopefully.

"As we said before. We need clearance from our superiors to do that. Please understand Hazama-dono. Information is a precious resource." Said, Momon.

Hazama sighed in disappointment. "What a pity. But, back to the questions."

The two adventurers looked each other and nodded.

"Raidyn-dono. According to the report of First Lieutenant Itami, you stood in the dragon's mouth and survived its flames that completely scorched the surrounding and held back the dragon only with your hands. How is that possible? Your armor seems pretty futuristic and well made. Compared to the ones we had seen since we arrived there."

"Our armor made of adamantine alloy. The alloy is heat removal and its resistance are one of the best in the Kingdom. And why her armor looks like that? I don't understand the concept futuristic. Maybe because the translator item does not work as intended. But her armor is an artifact armor that she found when we delved in some ruins and thanks to her unique abilities she could equip it and use it." Answered Momon.

"I see. I assume you can't give us a sample from your armors for further analyzation." Hazama said.

Momon shook his head. "Maybe you should ask the higher ups. We are only here to explore the area."

Hazama was dissatisfied after he saw the dark warrior response, but he does not show it on the outside. "I understand. My last question is." The tension raised in the air as Hazama took out a map from the drawer of his desk. He showed the pictures of the armored angel looking creatures to the two adventurers. "Do you recognize this creature?" he asked suspiciously.

Raidyn and Momon inspected the picture. "Where did you take this picture?" asked Raidyn.

"Our early flight survey took the pictures. We have a nasty encounter with the creatures." Answered Hazama.

[Message]: "Do you know any mental information about this? Why didn't you warn me!?" Momonga asked in a nervous tone. Then a green aura surrounded him because his emotion suppression kicked in.

[Message]: "I don't have memories about invaders in our flight space. I have so many summon! I can't watch out every single one of them! Of course, you can. Don't you, Emperor Palpatine!"

[Message]: "Sorry… I-I just lost my head for a moment. You are right. Sometimes even I lose the count of how many we have already summoned."

[Message]: Sigh. "No. I am the one who should be sorry for my sudden outburst. What do you think? Do we answer his question honestly?"

[Message]: "We need to answer his question carefully. As foggy as possible. This Hazama and the glass wearing man are suspicious enough already. But considering he already suspects us, I think we need to reveal a little information to him. Just to lessen their suspicions."

[Message]: "Right." answered Raidyn.

The two adventurers looked to Hazama. "These are Nephalem Guards." Answered Raidyn.

"Nephalem Guards? So, you know them. What kind of creatures are they?" Hazama asked suspiciously.

"They are hybrids." Answered Momon.

"Hybrids?" asked Hazama.

"Part angel. Part demon." Answered Raidyn.

"I see. You two encountered them before. Allow me to ask, but which Kingdom use angels and demons as soldiers?"

Momon nodded. "They are part of the army of the Kingdom where we came from. Angels and demons are not the only race in the military of the Sorcerer Kingdom."

"I see. What do you think? Why did the creatures attack our flying machines?" inquired Hazama carefully.

"Hazama-dono. You said your men took the pictures under flight survey. Did they fly above a fortress?" inquired Raidyn.

Hazama nodded uneasily.

"Then you have your answer. The creatures are very territorial. They protect their territory at all cost. Of course, first, they always warn the victims and try to chase them away." Explained Raidyn.

 _"At least. This was the last command that I gave them."_ She rolled her mental eyes.

"Thank you for your honest answers. May you allow me to ask? You two are from another world like us?" Hazama asked.

Raidyn smiled. "You are a sharp man Hazama-dono. Yes, we are from the other side of our gate."

Nodding, Hazama said, "I see. I hope our little air space violation does not cause any international problem between our nations in the future."

"That depends on the politicians. If it depends on us, we are against the war and we would appreciate our identities remain safe in your hand. We are only here to explore after all." Answered Momon.

Hazama smiled. "I am glad you see it my way. Your secret is safe with me for the time being. I assure you, my reports have only been read by the higher ups."

Raidyn and Momon nodded.

Hazama closed the map and put it away. "Thank you for your time. I hope we can speak in the future." The three of them stood up and shook hands.

They turned their heads in the direction of the knocking sound. "Come in."

The man entered through the door. It was Itami. "Lieutenant General Hazama! You sent for me?" He saluted.

Then he recognized Raidyn and Momon. "Oh. Hello, guys. What are you doing here?"

"Yo! Itami-kun. We just finished our discussion with Hazama-dono." Answered Raidyn.

"We need to have a short discussion with the First Lieutenant. After that, he will escort you two to your appointed quarters. Please wait patiently before the door." Instructed Hazama.

"That will be not necessary. We used to camp under the night sky." Protested Momon.

"I insist. You two are our guests here. I would be a horrible host if I would not ensure your wellbeing." Hazama said.

"Then we accept it. Thank you." The two adventurers bowed their head and left Hazama and Itami to speak.

After they had closed the door, Itami and Hazama started to discuss things. A few minutes later Itami came out from the Lieutenant General office with a tied look. "So… The Lieutenant General gave me the task to show you around the camp and lead you to your quarters."

"Please take care of us." Momon lowered his head.

"Please follow me then." With that, the trio started the trip around the base.

Under their tour, Itami bombed them with his questions that the two adventurers, although just a little bit, found amusingly annoying. Questions such as, "How many monsters you two killed? Which was the biggest one? Do you meet sexy animal maids under your adventures? Do you have any good novels where you came from? Etc."

The bombardment of questions mentally, completely exhausted the two adventurers. But suddenly they met Mari Kurokawa. "Oh. You here! I looked everywhere for the two of you. Come, according to the doctor, you two did not participate in the medical examination."

"Sergeant First Class Kurokawa. I am in the middle of showing them around in the base. Could it wait a little longer?" Itami said.

"Did you show them our medical wings, First Lieutenant?" inquired Kurokawa.

"Not really." He scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Then. Our next stop will be the medical wings of our encampment. Come!" Kurokawa demanded.

"But…"

"No, buts, First Lieutenant. I have orders to take them to medical investigation."

Itami sighed in defeat. "Fine. Sorry guys." He looked at them, with the eyes of regret.

Raidyn sighed. "It is really necessary? I have dreadful experience with doctors."

Kurokawa nodded. "Absolutely."

Raidyn looked to Momon who said. "Get over with it."

The woman shrugged. "Argh. Fine."

The four of them walked over to the medical wing and took of their armors so Kurokawa and the base doctor could examine them properly. Everything went fine until...

Momon just sat in the waiting room while read some magazines that the staff placed in the chamber when he heard vicious screams from the surgery room.

"A NEEEDLEEE! STAY AWAY FROM MEE!" Raidyn screamed as she ran out from the room half naked and darted behind Momon.

"Momon-kun! Save me from that fiendish thing!" Raidyn begged.

Itami jumped up from his seat because of his surprise.

Momon sighed and looked at his friend. "What happened this time?"

Raidyn pointed to Kurokawa. "She wanted to give me an injection! And INJECTION! With a needle!"

Mari Kurokawa tilted her head as she walked out from the surgery room. "I just wanted to take some blood sample. I never saw such intense reactions from my patients."

"Please excuse her. She is just a little afraid of needles. She had bad memories with them." explained Momon.

Mari nodded. "I see. Does she need a therapist? We have a good one in the base."

Raidyn took a deep breath and stopped trembling. "I am fine. J-just please keep me away from those fiendish things. I gave enough blood for multiple lives."

"I understand. Then. I will not force you to give a blood sample." Kurokawa said.

Raidyn nodded. "Thank you."

With that, the examination continued. Itami leaned closer to Momon. "Does she really fear needles that much?"

Momon sighed in disappointment. "Yes. Don't ask her why. It only brings back painful memories..."

Itami nodded in understanding then started to mumble under his nose. "She is not afraid to jump in a monster mouth. But she is afraid of a needle" He sighed. "Well, everybody has their fears after all."

The examination soon ended and thanks to the high-level concealment illusion that concealed their presence. The doctors found nothing suspicious. Itami continued the trip around the base. It took approximately one more hour. The three of them arrived at the freshly built house in the refugee camp. "This is it for now, guys. I hope you liked our base."

Momon motioned with his head. "Yes, it was refreshing."

"I leave you two alone then." He turned around. Then suddenly stopped. "Oh. I almost forgot. Lieutenant General Hazama tasked me to ask you to come with us to the nearby agricultural town tomorrow. Of course, only if you want."

"What do you say, boss?" Raidyn looked to Momon.

"We accept the offer." Answered the dark warrior.

"Thanks, guys. You just made my job a lot easier." He smiled. "Good night." He turned around and left the two adventurers. Then he turned around again. "One more last thing. Due to our lack of buildings. Raidyn-kun had to share the room with Rory, Tuka, and Lelei. I hope it will be not a problem."

"Why we can't be accommodated together?" inquired Momon.

"I don't know. Hazama only said it is not a good idea to put a man in a room with four women." Replied Itami.

"Is that so…" Momon nodded and looked to Raidyn.

Raidyn laughed. "He is a big boy. I am sure he will find a way to have some fun by himself."

Momonga became completely embarrassed hearing what his companion said. But his passive emotion suppression immediately kicked in. "It will be all right." He noted.

"Come with me Momon-kun. I show you where you will be accommodated." Itami said.

Raidyn waved them as they left. "Be a good boy Momon-kun! Don't forget to look under your bed before you go sleeping." She teased Momon.

As Itami and Momon moved away from the house. Itami asked. "Are you two together?"

"No. We are only friends. Why do you ask?" Momon looked to Itami.

"I mean. You two acted like you were a couple." Explained Itami.

 _"Hazama told me to keep my eye on them. But he and Raidyn seems nice. Of course, I know the spies always seems nice at first. But still. They don't seem to be spies. Huh, why do I have to endure this? Why I can't just lay at home in my bed while I was reading one of my light novels or go to the anime convention?"_ Thought Itami.

"Is that so?" Momon thought back the few nights when the two of them tried together. But a chill ran down his spine immediately. It was so embarrassing. Even now the thought of it made his emotion suppression trigger. It was not long after that when he became capable of getting a flesh and blood body for a short period. Under their one-thousand-year absence.

Itami nodded.

"Despite her age, she is like a child. She needs constant supervision. Her mind is a little unstable." Explained Momon.

"Why is that? I mean. She seems very capable. And how old is she anyway?" Inquired the First Lieutenant.

"I do not wish speak about her painful past or age without her permission. If she wants to share with anyone. She will share it." Momon said firmly.

Itami lowered his head. "I understand. Sorry."

Momon only nodded in response.

Soon the two of them reached Momon's quarters. Momon shared his quarter with Lelei master. Kato and two more men.

Back in Raidyn quarters, she entered her room. The room was empty. It had four neatly made beds, drawers stood arranged in the four corners of the room. There was no electricity, nor water wired into the room. The JSDF most likely suspected the denizens of this world do not have that kind of luxury, and the JSDF seemingly did not tire themselves with the installation of those things.

There were only four electrical lanterns and a guide how to use them placed beside them. The guide was translated into the language of the Special Region, so the resident of the room could read it. She looked around in the room with heightened her perception to make sure no one was spying on her. She closed the door behind her and activated her item what made others virtually impossible to spy on her.

"[Time Stop]" She cast her magic. And the time stopped moving around her. She looked into the furthers corner of the room. "You can come out now."

From the corner. Slowly a young-looking man appeared. He wore butler uniform and white butler gloves. He stepped forward and kneeled down. "Creator-sama. It is good to see you."

"Likewise, Zero-san. How have you been? I hope you ate regularly." Said Esdeath playfully.

"I am. Thank you for your concern about your servant. But it is not necessary." Zero bowed his head in submission.

"Well, it does not hurt if you ask. By the way, how do you know who I am?" Asked Raidyn.

"You and Ainz-sama use the same disguise two hundred years ago with minimal changes." Explained Zero.

"It was not a good idea after all. I hoped we could play our hide and seek a longer time before our cover was blown." Raidyn puffed her cheeks in a dissatisfied manner.

"No, the idea was splendid Creator-sama. No one besides the denizens of Nazarick knows your adventurer appearance. We made sure the history books had no perfect description of your adventurer persona."

Raidyn sighed in relief. "What a relief. Luckily these two old bones have such capable servants." She said as Raidyn patted her creation head, who smiled in satisfaction. It was like his god gave her blessing personally to his existence. And he was overjoyed.

"We live to serve Esdeath-sama." He looked up to her creator.

"I assume Demiurge sent you there." Raidyn said.

"No, I take the courage to investigate the enemy base with my assassin squad. Only after I become convinced, I reported Demiurge-sama." Zero replied.

"I see… Do you report our sight to Demiurge or anyone else?"

"No, not yet. I assumed you and Ainz-sama have reasons to not tell it to his servants." Zero handed his written report to Esdeath. She inspected it.

Raidyn nodded. "Great work! You deserve a praise and a raise!" She showed him the thumbs up playfully.

"Thank you Creator-sama." He lowered his head.

"What mission has Demiurge entrusted you?" Inquired Raidyn.

"He entrusted my squad and me mostly with intelligence and technology collecting and bobby trapping the base with various traps. So, if the situation requires, we can crush these inferior meat bags from inside out."

"Crafty. But do not underestimate them however inferior they seem to be. Be cautious and sharp. Don't let them discover you and only take technology that does not make them suspicious. If it requires. Fake their registry. Are you able to hack into their system or not?" Raidyn asked.

Zero nodded. Being an Automaton NPC and because Esdeath in her previous life was a program engineer who embedded into him the necessary protocols. He was able to do such things. "Yes, Creator-sama. Their inferior technology is not able to stop me."

"Their technology is inferior. However, we can't let ourselves to be ignorant. We can't let them have the edge even for a moment. Do we?"

"No Esdeath-sama."

"You can go now. Please do not report our discovery either to Demiurge-san or anyone else. It would greatly hinder our work here."

"I understand." He nodded and stood up.

Before he could go away, his creator stepped closer and hugged him. His eyes widened and sniffed deeply his creator's hair. He forever stores up this moment in his mental banks. The moment when his creator showed her love towards him. The worthless, inferior creation. "Take care Zero-san. Make me proud."

He closed his eye. "I will. Don't worry creator-sama."

She let him go, and Zero disappeared. Esdeath dispelled his [Time Stop] and the time started to flow normally again around her.

She hopped down one of the bed and begun to read the report. After she finished with it. She sent the mental information about it towards Momonga.

[Message]: "Momonga-san. I have some interesting information for you. Are you interested?"

[Message]: "Send them." With that Raidyn sent the information package through their mental link.

[Message]: "Hm. Interesting. Send a [Message]: to Zero to meet me later in the night."

[Message]: "As you wish Guild Master. One more thing."

[Message]: "Yes?"

[Message]: "I managed to capture their WIFI signal. We can play games!... Khm. I mean. We can collect information from their network. Do you still have that haptic interfaced holographic DNA computer what I gave you? Do you?"

[Message]: "I have it. It is somewhere in my inventory."

[Message]: "The SSID is JSDF and the password: Hackm3Y2N4B5T6P2. LoL! And they still use WPA2+AES security protocols. You don't know how easily it can be hackable with my tech. Just make sure no one see you when you play or searching the internet. Our security and shielding protocols are easily able to shield us from the detection and cover our digital footprints in the network but still be careful. You know if someone sees you use the holographic DNA computer you need to change the person memories."

[Message]: "I am aware of that.

[Message]: "Have fun Momonga-san. Be gingerly with the porn in the network." She chuckled.

[Message]: "Not everyone is as perverted as you are. Good night. Momon out." With that Momonga terminated the contract.

A half hours later, Rory, Tuka, and Lelei entered the room. Where Raidyn did a few vertical one-handed push-ups.

"Hey!" She greeted them while continued her one-handed pushups." It seems we will be roommates."

Then she became aware the three girls held bags in their hands. "Oh. What are in those bags?" Inquired Raidyn.

"Wyvern Scales." Answered Lelei blandly.

"I ah, I see. If you don't mind, I have already reserved one of the beds." She pointed to her bed.

Rory immediately took the closest bed. Lelei and the still shy Tuka took the other two.

* * *

 **Scene Change: City of Italica:**

Italica city was founded two hundred years ago by gathering merchants in the region to construct a fortress town. Politically speaking, this place was the crossroad of the Dressia and Appian highways and developed as a border town between the nations. But with the expansion of the Empire's borders, its political importance had declined significantly, and it was just a mid-sized local market now. It doesn't have any local specialties, but the crops, livestock and handmade products such as cloth would be sent to the capital, so it served as a collection base.

Right now, this was the territory of the Empire's noble family, the clan of Count Formal. Colt, the head of clan Formal had three daughters, Elle, Loui, and Myui. Aside from the youngest Myui, the other two had been married off to other clans. Colt was planning to find someone to marry into the clan after his youngest grew up to take over the family estate.

Myui was still single, and after Colt and his wife died because of an accident, misfortune started to befall the city. The eldest daughter Elle and the second daughter Loui married into the Count Roen clan and the Count Missna clan respectively, so Myui had the right of succession over them. This was the law of the Empire, and there were no grounds for them to dispute. However, the youngest Myui was only eleven, so whoever became her guardian… would become the de facto leader. And so, the power struggle began.

The talks between the two elder sisters started as a calm discussion and quickly turned into ugly quarrels, pulling the others' hair in scuffles, and even went so far as involving their husbands. The soldiers of Count Roen and Count Missna fought a small-scale war as a result. But their struggle did not escalate further. They had limited forces after all, and the husbands weren't blind with rage like their wives were.

The security within the territory was maintained by the vassals of Count Formal and the soldiers of Count Roen and Count Missna, so there wasn't any threat to the livelihood of the merchants and residents. The value of Italica lay with its trade; there would be nothing to gain if it was laid to waste.

And so, the situation became a stalemate. The dispute of the sisters shifted into the courts of the capital, and Myui's guardian would soon be decided by the deliberation of the Emperor.

However, the situation worsened after the empire's campaign against the other world. The heads of the Roen and Missna clans died in battle at the Gate. With their husbands dead, Elle and Louise couldn't spare the effort to take care of the Formal territory anymore and withdrew their forces, leaving Myui with the vassals of Count Formal.

The young Myui couldn't control her vassals, and the running of the territory became ineffective from neglect. There weren't many loyal vassals left, but there were plenty who had ulterior motives. Before she realized it, corruption and injustice were running rampant. The citizens were wary, and security deteriorated. Loose bands of soldiers turned to banditry and started attacking caravans, grinding trade to a halt and stagnating the movement of resources.

Bandits and trolls formed a group together and numbered in the hundreds. Finally, Italica city itself was attacked. Standing at the city gate, Piña let loose a few arrows at the retreating bandits and took a deep breath. She took a moment to look at the battlefield. Wounded soldiers staggered around or collapsed from blood loss. Arrows were shot into the stone walls, and the surrounding area was a mess. She spotted several citizens holding farm tools and sticks with a glance. Outside the wall, the corpses of bandits and carcasses of horses were scattered all over the ground.

"Norma! Hamilton! Are you alright?"

Inside the broken gate, Norma was defending a barricade. He supported his body by putting his weight on a sword, his shoulders rising and down as he panted. He lifted a hand to signal that he was well, but his armor was covered with arrows and signs of being hit by a sword. His surroundings showed evidence of an intense battle, with bodies from the attacking bandits and defending soldiers everywhere.

As for Hamilton, she was already sitting on the ground.

Her legs were straightened with her palms supporting her body, barely keeping herself from keeling over. Her grip on her sword was loose.

"I am, hah hah, alive."

"What about me, princess? How cold!" An older soldier joked.

"Grey! Of course, you will be all right, that's why I didn't ask."

"Should I be happy? Or sad?"

Grey, a man who looked about forty with a stout build, showed no hint of fatigue as he rested his sword on his shoulders.

There wasn't any blood on him. If there wasn't any blood on his sword, he had probably been hiding somewhere, which would explain why he still looked so energetic. He was the Knight Grey Co Aldo, a veteran of the battlefield who rose through the ranks. In Piña's knight order, most of the knights were nobles. Since the knight order didn't have any real battle experience, such veterans were the real core of the unit. The path to knighthood was narrow for soldiers. However, they would be treated like ordinary officers after they made it through.

Hamilton said with a complaining tone, "Princess, why are we fighting with the marauders here?" It was a bit rude, but she had to say it out loud.

"It can't be helped! I thought the army from the other world would attack Italica! Don't you all agree?" Piña exclaimed.

After completing her investigation of the areas around Arnus, Piña heard some news as she was planning to infiltrate Arnus Hill. She came to this decision because she had more information from the enemy who resides in the Arnus hill. Arnus Hill was a lot closer to the capital than the Dalnus Hill. All that she heard from the surviving soldiers of the Second Expedition force was horrific tales about horrific undead beings and armored demons what systematically destroyed the army without mercy.

So, she decided. To concentrate one enemy at once. She can't rip herself two after all.

That's when she heard the news, "A large armed group appeared in Count Formal's territory and is planning to attack Italica.'

After hearing this, Piña thought the army from the other world had finally started their invasion. 'Are they sending out forces to suppress the surrounding territories before laying siege to the Imperial capital?', she thought.

She had to take countermeasures then. For Piña, instead of meaningless reconnaissance, an elegant battle suited her better. She pulled out of Arnus, ordered her knights to head for Italica, while she and her group rushed there in advance. No matter what kind of battle it was, not knowing the scale and battle potential of the enemy would be useless. If the enemy forces were limited, she would defend Italica and attack with a pincer attack with her knights that would arrive later. However, she soon realized the ones are attacking Italica were a marauding band. Most of the members were remnants of the former Coalition Army. In contrast, the head of clan Formal in charge of the city's defenses was just eleven. She couldn't command in battle, and morale was at its lowest.

Piña was disheartened, but she couldn't stand idle and watch the bandits ravage the city. So, she revealed her identity to the clan and forcefully took over command of the Countess' soldiers in defense of Italica.

"If we can hold for three days, my knights will be here." Piña said.

To be honest, they might arrive even later than that. But the citizens and the countess' troops believed in Piña and fought with all they had. The enemy might be the remnants of a defeated army, but they were former soldiers and proficient in attacking fortresses.

The city didn't fall, but the gate that was supposed to be solid was destroyed, granting the enemy entry. With the help of the citizens and militia fighting with their farm tools, they survived the first day, but it felt like a defeat.

They had lost too much. The small number of troops decreased, and the courageous ones of the militia fell in battle. What remained were casualties and exhausted soldiers. Just one day was enough to plummet the morale of the soldiers and citizens to rock bottom. Piña couldn't think of anything to raise their spirits. That was how her first battle ended.

* * *

 **Scene Change: JSDF base: Next morning:**

Midway up Arnus Hill, countless Wyvern carcasses covered the area. According to Kato-sensei, the claws and scales of Wyverns could be crafted into tough defensive equipment. Hence, they were valuable items. The children thus harvested them from the decaying carcasses, washed away the rotting meat and blood and dried them.

The third recon division with the lead of Itami sat in their LAV's. In the field two persons faced with each other while three watched them behind Momon. The two-person who faced each other was the black-clad Lolita demigoddess Rory Mercury and the legendary dark hero. Momon.

Raidyn, Tuka, Lelei watched them. Itami commanded his squad to stop. He left the LAV and headed towards the little group.

"Good morning." He waved to the little group.

"Good morning Itami-kun." Raidyn waved to him. Thanks to the translator items the others understood what she said and followed her example. They greeted Itami.

"What's going on here?" asked Itami.

"Rory-chan challenged Momon-kun in a duel. You arrived just in time. They will soon start." Raidyn explained.

Itami turned towards the two warriors. Seemingly both of them was ready to shed each other blood.

The third recon team just watched them from afar in their LAV's. "Will they fight with each other?" asked Shino.

"Ohh. Two black warriors will fight each other! I need to make a recording from this! So cool!" Said Kurata, as he took out his digital camera what he always kept with himself and focused to the battlefield.

"What are you doing! We need to stop them!" snapped him the short chestnut-haired woman.

"I think First Lieutenant Itami already stopped them if he felt it. And think about it! How much money can I get for such recording! Two legendary warriors clash in live!" Explained Kurata.

Shino gritted her teeth and got out of the car. Then headed towards Itami.

Meanwhile, Rory and Momon started their battle. The two of them lunged towards each other leaving a small crater in their step. Rory used her massive halberd and swung it with a speed what was impossible to follow to a normal human's eyes. Momon sidestepped from the halberd's path and used his left two-handed sword to strike in Rory's direction.

Rory used her Halberd to dodge the attack and jumped into the air then followed this up with a downward strike what caused a massive crater on the ground.

The battle continued. The two sides became faster and faster. Their strike became more and more reckless after each strike. But seemingly the two of them just can't hit each other.

Raidyn turned towards Itami, Lelei, and Tuka. "Well, who wants to bet?" she smirked. Tuka and Lelei made their bets and offered some wyvern scales from their bags as a bet. Raidyn accepted them. The scales of 'dragons' were actually quite valuable. Dragon scales could be divided into several categories; the market value would be dependent on the type and condition of the scales.

The highest level would be the scale of dragons, one piece in perfect condition was worth ten Suwani gold coins. Armour made from the red scales of a Flame Dragon (very difficult to craft) would be a legendary treasure, enough money to buy an entire nation. If it really existed.

The next grade would be newborn dragon scales. However, these two types of scales were basically impossible to find in the market. As mentioned earlier, it was impossible for man to hunt dragons. The only way to obtain them was from the skin shed by dragons or newborn dragons during molting. In reality, armor made from dragon scales had made appearances in some tales of heroes and legends, and the item itself was worshiped inside the temple of the god of war.

As for wyverns, nations with wyvern riders had a steady supply of them, so these smaller scales were cheaper. One scale was between thirty to seventy Silver Denari.

If you don't splurge, one Silver Denari could feed a person for five days. So, if they sell all two hundred scales, Lelei's group would be rich. But they needed a suitable buyer for them.

"Sorry. Gambling is forbidden during service duty." Said Itami as he nervously scratched the back of his head.

"Don't be like that Itami-kun! Be a little brave. Don't be grumpy like Momon-kun." She puffed her cheeks.

"Hey! I heard that!" said Momon as he blocked another strike from the smiling Rory.

"Ok-Ok. But I don't really have anything that I can put up." Itami protested.

"Do you have any currency?" Inquired Raidyn.

Itami glanced at the sidelines. "Yes. But I don't think you could buy anything from Yen here."

"It does not matter. As long as you can put something up, you can play. After all, this is for fun."

Itami sighed. "Fine." He reached into his pocket and gave Raidyn a 1000 Yen banknote. Raidyn held towards the sun and inspected it then nodded.

"Then who do you want to bet?"

"What do you say Raidyn-san. Who will win?" inquired Itami.

Raidyn glanced towards Momon and Rory. "Hm. If Momon-kun goes all out, he can beat Rory. But if he does not, it will be a draw."

Tuka and Lelei watched Raidyn dumbfounded. They never saw anyone who can beat an apostate beside another apostate. Of course, they did not believe her. So, the two of them waged on the victory of Rory.

Kuribayashi reached them. "First Lieutenant! Sir! You need to stop them!"

"Kuribayashi-chan! Good morning! Do you want to bet? Itami-kun, Lelei-chan, and Tuka-chan already made their bets. So, who do you want to bet?" Raidyn asked cheerfully.

Kuribayashi glared to Itami. "First Lieutenant! Gambling is forbidden under service duty."

"Don't be like that Shino-chan. Be a little brave! You know. Lady fortune will not smile you if you are not brave." Itami joked.

She gritted her teeth. Then she saw as three more members of the team heading their direction.

Raidyn turned to them. "Ah. So, you too came to make your bets. A bet which warrior will win and win the great prize! Bet now! Lady Fortuna will not reward the cowards!"

The three of them looked at each other. A moment nothing happened. Then Sergeant Major Kuwahara stepped forward and made his bet. "I bet on the victory of Momon-kun!"

Then the next. And next member of the third recon team. In the end, the whole third recon team was around the battlefield and cheered for their preferred warrior. Hoping they will win. In the end, Kuribayashi gives up and bet on Momon.

Meanwhile, the fight intensified, and the two warriors strikes became stronger and stronger. Faster and faster, creating miniature shockwaves after each of their strikes. The two sides attacked each other relentlessly approximately five minutes' time.

In the end, Momon surprised Rory with a swift kick in her stomach what make her fly back. Then he jumped on her nailing one of his huge greatsword in her neck.

"I think I have won." Said Momon who stood above Rory.

Rory chuckled. "You think so?" The apostate of Emroy glanced in the groin of Momon where the end of her halberd nailed. Of course, Momon could easily defeat Rory. He just held himself back for obvious reasons.

"Then this is a draw."

Rory nodded with a satisfied expression. Momon helped her up.

"Whaaat!" Everyone yelled.

Everyone lost the bet except Itami and Raidyn who gambled on the match will end with a draw. This is the story how the two of them acquired a 'vast amount of wealth' under a few minutes.

After this, the little group headed back to the LAV's and mounted the metal carriages to start their journey towards the town of Italica.

* * *

 **Scene Change: City of Italica: Before the Gates:**

There was a disturbance at Italica's main gate.

Usually, the traffic here would be flowing briskly, and between the merchants and the taxmen they had to deal with, the area would be very lively. However, that bustle was nowhere to be seen today. A pile of wood and furniture blocked the main gate, denying all who would enter.

On top of the city wall, which was three stories tall, the sentries were lining up and pointing their crossbows at them. They had even installed a polybolos, which could release multiple bolts in sequence. Also, they had many things that were difficult to imagine as weapons. For instance, there were steaming cauldrons, suspended over fires.

If it were located by a river or on a mountain top, one might think it was a cookpot for a witch. But on top of a city wall, there was no way to believe it was there to prepare food.

"I hope they don't decide to give us a bath…" Kurata, who was driving the HMV, muttered those words. Itami thought they couldn't hear you. In variety TV shows, the "bath" in question was little more than a harmless prop, but in reality, it was a horrible device on par with chemical weapons. Dying from being scalded to death by hot water would be a long and painful way to go.

Being scalded by hot water over much of the body would cause the formation of full-body blisters and a consequent loss of body fluids, leading to dehydration. If that were not enough to kill a person, the loss of skin would also invite infection. The dead tissues would then rot and lead to sepsis, plunging the victim into terrible pain. Even if they somehow survived, they would bear the scars and agony for life.

If he had known that this was not water, but rather molten lead, Itami would have ordered an immediate retreat because he was keenly aware of the stories where people tried to kill themselves by self-immolating, but somehow managed to survive after incredible suffering.

"I don't know. I could use a bath." Said Raidyn cheerfully. Everyone looked at her with a dumbfounded expression.

"You know, that is not that kind of bath? Do you?" said Kuribayashi while she sweatdropped.

"Course I am. Liquid death awaits us under the walls." She laughed.

Rory sat between Momon and Raidyn. She looked to Raidyn with a lustful eye as she bit her lower lip. "Your insanity, your thirst for battle is just… just… I can't get enough of it. Plead yourself to Emroy!"

Raidyn glanced at her with one of her eyes under her hood. The other was closed. "Sorry, Rory-chan. I plead to no one. I like to be single. Besides that, your God does not promise any good business opportunities after I die."

Momon sighed. "Please Raidyn. Be quite for a minute."

"Does not matter. I will make you two plea yourselves to Emroy! After all. Everyone will serve him in death. Sonner or later!" Said Rory, as she glanced lustfully towards Momon. Momon turned his head away. Tuka and Lelei just watched this conversation with a dumbfounded expression.

The little convoy continued their way towards Italica. A few minutes later they reached the gates. Italica's defenders used weapons that were quite different from those of Itami and his colleagues. They were sharp, or hot, and at a glance, one could call them "implements for murder."

The term "killing intent" came up often in TV serials, light novels, or manga, but Itami had never felt that sort of thing during his life in modern society. Perhaps one could only sense these things after becoming a martial arts master. What he could feel, right now, was a feeling of pain or heat whenever he looked at this stuff. In addition to the caution coming from the defenders, he could feel eyes filled with murderous intent fixed on them.

"Friend or foe?! If you are a friend, then come out!" A defender shouted.

Although he didn't know the meaning of those words being shouted from above him, he could tell from their tone. He whispered to Lelei, "Doesn't sound like a welcome. Should we try another city?"

"They asked friend or foe?" explained Momon. Itami nodded in understanding.

"The people in the town look very busy too, so it seems like we can't discuss things with them properly. Although I don't know what they'll be fighting against, I don't want to be involved in it. Frankly speaking, my safety and yours are my top priority. What do you think?"

"Yeah, they're dying to have us in there." As Kurata grumbled from the passenger seat, Sergeant Major Kuwabara said over the wireless, "If they don't move, we don't move." The two of them had their rifles in hand and carefully aimed them outside.

However, Lelei used her usual blank expression and steady voice to say, "Rejected."

"But we can't get in here while they're like this."

"There are other entrances. Italica is a plains city. There will be gates on the north, south, east and west. There's no way that there's no other way in."

"Itami, you wait first. I'll go over there to talk to them."

"Lelei is right. I sat enough. My bottom is numb from the idleness. I say, let's give them a visit."

With that Raidyn jumped out the car. Momon sighed. "Why she is always doing this to me..." The black clad warrior stood up and followed his teammate.

With that, Lelei wanted to follow them. However, Tuka immediately stopped her and told her to wait. Tuka, like Itami, wanted to know why they had to go to this town.

Although she wasn't afraid like Itami was, when one thought about it, there was no benefit to getting involved with a city under siege. There was a chance they might be pulled into the conflict… well, if they entered the city, they would definitely be involved.

Lelei replied to her: "It's not a question of entering the city, but I want to let them know we're not enemies. If we leave like this, they will think we're part of the enemy forces. If we come back in the future or go to other towns, that news will spread. It'll be inconvenient."

"However, are you going to pull these people into it because of us?" Tuka gestured to Itami, Kurokawa and the others as she spoke.

"They helped us without asking for repayment. Shouldn't we keep them out of danger? Beside that. Momon and Raidyn are already out here. Momon is reasonable, but Raidyn is a little hot headed."

"That's why I'm going. We've received a lot of kindness from Itami and the others, so I don't want them to think that Itami and the rest are enemies."

"Are you doing this for Itami?"

"Yes. After all, he and the others own this particular riding carriage."

Tuka had to nod as she heard this.

"It'll be okay. We'll just say we came to do business and that we're confirming the situation."

"I understand. However, I can't let you go alone. You need protection from arrows." As Tuka said that, she began chanting a spell in the language of the fairies. Almost immediately, they could feel the motion of the wind.

And so, Lelei, Tuka, and Rory exited the vehicle.

"Itami, you should wait here."

After repeating that line, the three of them slowly approached the main gate where Raidyn and Momon already waited for them and Raidyn just shouted with the defenders of the fortress.

The points of the sentries' crossbow bolts tracked them as they approached.

As Itami saw this, he felt uneasy even though they had told him to wait. His mind was filled with thoughts like, "As a man, as a soldier, as a human being," and so on. All he could do was watch. Though Itami appeared to be frozen in fear, what he felt was actually pride, or something similar.

Of course, most adults would not say "it's my honor," but would deceive themselves with words like "the mission" or "our duty." However, Itami had always been very honest in this aspect, and he quietly said, "I hate scary things, but I hate losing face too…"

After clicking his tongue loudly, he left his Type 64 rifle in the vehicle, carefully secured the heavy No. 2 bulletproof vest on his body and got out of the HMV. By the way, they were all equipped like the troops in Iraq. He had a pistol strapped to his thigh, but he left his rifle behind because he did not want to appear threatening by carrying a weapon-like object.

"I'm going over too. Frankly speaking, I have to go. Let me go."

"Nobody's stopping you, are they?"

After freezing for a few seconds, Itami said, "Sergeant-Major Kuwabara, I'll leave the rest to you. If anything happens, come over and help". With that, he jogged over to Lelei and the others.

Piña was forced to make a decision. She had no basis for her decision, but she had to decide anyway. This would be a big gamble.

"Gray, what should we do?"

Even the experienced Gray could not answer Piña's question. Nobody could guarantee the outcome, and under these conditions, the need to make a big decision like this turned into an immense source of stress. This was called the "Chains of Commanding."

The soldiers gripped their weapons, waiting for Piña's decision. The bowmen's hands trembled as they drew their strings taut. The farmers waited with their metal farming implements. The sword-bearing soldiers, the people of Italica, all their lives rested on her decisions.

Before the barricaded gate stood a menacingly looking black-clad warrior with two seemingly masterfully crafted swords on his back. A shorter hooded, masked woman who yelled to let them in. She wore a strange red leather coat what seemingly made from dragon scales and gray armor underneath it. Gray felt despite her short stature she is equally or even more dangerous than the black-clad warrior beside her. A short while they were followed by the Apostle of Emroy, Rory Mercury, as well as an Elf and a mage, actually join a group of bandits?

As for why… well, if they had been part of the thieves from the start, they would have taken part in the first attack and Italica would have fallen long ago.

However, Rory and the others might not have been with the bandits from the beginning. They might have been waiting for the right time to join in. She could not conclude that they were not part of the bandits just because they did not take part in the first attack. And if they were not part of the bandits, then why had Rory and the others come to Italica? Why had they come to a town under siege? She should just deny them entry, but that might turn them into enemies.

Piña wanted Rory and her friends on her side. After all, the townspeople and soldiers would be certain of victory with the Apostle of Emroy, an Elf, those two strange armored warriors and a mage on their side. She sensed that she lacked the leadership skills to make her men certain of their victory. Although she wasn't sure why Rory and the others had come, if she could talk them into joining, then she could tell the residents, "Help is here!"

No, there was no time for lengthy discussions. She had to make them her allies. Either that or forbid them entry. She had two choices. As Piña was thinking of what to do, the sound of knocking came from the outside of the gate. She held her breath. Then, Piña gulped and made a decision. She would use her dignified demeanor to pin down the other party and drag them over to her side. The thrice-bolted gate was forcefully and powerfully thrust open.

"You're here at last!" She cheered

After feeling a dull thudding sensation through her hands, Piña saw Rory, the black-clad warrior, his companion, the Elf girl, and the mage looking at a man who was collapsed in front of the door. His eyes had rolled up in his head, and he had lost consciousness.

Immediately, the three of them stared coldly at Piña.

"Could it be… that… that was my fault?" She muttered in horror.

The white-clad mage, the black-clad priestess, the legendary black hero and the blonde, blue-eyed Elf nodded as one.

But the strange gray exoskeleton wearing female who stood beside the black-clad warrior started to laugh uncontrollably. "She just. Puff. Hahahahaha…."

Momon looked to his companion and sighed. "Please forgive her. She is like a child."

Itami recovered consciousness after a moment. "Owie," he said as he rubbed his chin while opening his eyes. It was then that he realized the face of Rory, the black-clad priestess, now filled his field of vision. Her black hair grazed across Itami's face. It was a little prickly. Then Itami became aware of the laugh behind him. He looked back, and he saw the still laughing Raidyn.

"Why is she laughing?" asked Itami while he looked at Raidyn.

"Ignore her," Momon said blandly.

He heard Sergeant-Major Kuwabara trying to reach him and pressed the switch on his lower chest.

"Lieutenant, are you okay? I was worried."

"Kind of, yeah. I passed out for a bit."

"If you had waited any longer, I would have ordered our guys to burst in."

Being able to avoid an unnecessary battle was a form of happiness. It would be terrible if they left behind casualties because if this. Kuwabara had waited so long because such thoughts were on his mind. The need to rescue a captured comrade and the need to avoid a needless firefight. It was hard for him to decide which to prioritize.

"I'll contact you again once I figure out what's going on. Stand by for now."

"Got it."

"All right then, who's going to tell me what's going on?" Itami was now addressing the people around him.

Rory looked at Tuka, Tuka looked at Lelei, Lelei looked at Momon. Momon shook his head. Piña looked at the still laughing Raidyn for a moment; then she turned her gaze around pleadingly to everyone around her. In the end, they all looked away, uneasy looks on their faces.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Outskirts of Italica:**

Beelzebub Goal Own and his honor guard Captain. Creon Karalis rode on their mounts. The mounts under them were their summoned mounts. Beelzebub rode on his Demonic Attronach horse that emitted dark aura under its golden armor, and its eyes emitted white fog. This mount created especially for him. It was the result of his father's and aunt's countless hour of summoning experiments. His mount emitted an aura that made every ally around him stronger and demoralized the enemy.

Meanwhile, Creon rode on an armored Bicorn Warlord. A fabulous beast with two horns on its head. The bicorns were in close relationship with the unicorns. Just that they had two horns instead of one. And unlike the unicorns who's only the pure and virgin people can mount, the bicorn only tolerated those who already lost their virginity. If a virgin people tried to mount them. They either throw them off themselves or slowly leeched away their life essence.

They were being escorted with the massive honor guard. Fifty death knights who rode on soul eaters. Fifty Nephalem Guard who rode on their similarly armored horses what seemed made from pure aether energy under their black armor. Fifty golden armored honor guard who rode on their various golden armored mounts that were adorned with the symbols of the Sorcerer Kingdom. On the ground, fifty-five Death Knights and Nephalem guards and two hundred other golden armored honor guards escorted them. Almost all of them were capable of casting magic minimum of the third tier.

Beelzebub sighed. He and his honor guard had left the fortress approximately fifteen hours ago. But because of the constantly attacking bandits and stopping multiple times to help the nearby villagers (Further increasing the Sorcerer Kingdom fame), they progressed slowly. They could reach Italica more than five hours earlier if his selflessness does not make him protect the weak from those marauders. His father often said to him to consider the situation. Not always worth to make a detour. Still, despite being a demon, he just could not stand to see innocent people suffer. 'Quite ironic.' He often thought.

From his thoughts, his friend and Captain of the Honor Guard shook him out. "My Prince! Look!"

He pointed to the smoking city what was already under siege by the bandits.

"Which city is that?" asked the first son of Ainz.

"Italica." Answered Creon.

Beelzebub gritted his teeth. "Prepare yourselves. We ride in and save the city."

"As you wish my Prince!" he saluted then relayed the command.

"Everyone! Prepare for battle!"

The cavalry and the infantry units prepared themselves. It seemed all of them moved at once. Every move was synchronized, not just the summoned units. But the golden armored units' movement happened in a synchronized manner. It seemed the long hours of practice have finally paid off. The battle started. And the honor guard steadily started their march toward the city of Italica.

You ask what happened in the battle? Well, dear readers, you will find out next time.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Well, This is for now dear readers.**

 **In the next chapter.**

 **The Prince arrives on his white horse! The battle of Italica. Political dilemma.**

 **Good night, good luck...**

 **I thank for Wacko12 to proofread the chapter. Without his effort, the enjoyment factor of the chapter would be cut at the half. :)**

 **Send him a few virtual cookies, he deserves it! :)**


	6. Battle Italica: Valkyries versus Demons

**Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.**

 **I don't own the** ** _Overlord_** **(** **オーバーロード** ** _Ōbārōdo_** **?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **Please review it I know I will make mistakes what I will intend to correct and try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

* * *

"You're here at last!" Pina shouted with joy.

The sound of something hitting the ground with a dull thud caught her ears. Opening her eyes, which were previously closed, Piña saw Rory, the Elf, the mage, the black-clad warrior, and his companion looking at a man who was collapsed in front of the door. His eyes had rolled up in his head, and he had lost consciousness. Immediately, the three of them stared coldly at Piña.

Gulping, Pina muttered, "Could it be… that… that was my fault?"

Her answer came from the whole group. The white-clad mage, the black-clad priestess, the legendary black hero and the blonde, and blue-eyed Elf nodded as one. But the strange gray exoskeleton wearing female, standing beside the black-clad warrior, started to laugh uncontrollably. "She just. Puff. Hahahahaha…."

Momon looked to his companion and sighed. "Please forgive her. She is like a child." He said to Pina.

Itami recovered consciousness after a moment. "Owie" He said as he rubbed his chin while opening his eyes. It was then that he realized the face of Rory now filled his field of vision. Her black hair grazed across Itami's face. It was a little prickly. Itami soon became aware of the laugh coming behind him. He looked back, and he saw the still laughing Raidyn. "Why is she laughing?" asked Itami while he looked at Raidyn with a dumbfounded expression.

"Ignore her," Momon said blandly.

He heard Sergeant-Major Kuwabara trying to reach him through the radio and pressed the switch on his lower chest. "Lieutenant, are you okay? I was worried." Kuwabara said.

"Kind of, yeah. I passed out for a bit." He replied in a lazy, slow tone. It seemed his brain had been damaged.

"If you had waited any longer, I would have ordered our guys to burst in." The Sergeant Major said.

Being able to avoid an unnecessary battle was a form of happiness. It would be terrible if they left behind casualties because if this. Kuwabara had waited so long because such thoughts were on his mind. The need to rescue a captured comrade and the need to avoid a needless firefight. It was hard for him to decide which to prioritize.

"I'll contact you again once I figure out what's going on. Stand by for now." Ordered Itami.

"Got it."

Putting his radio away, the Lieutenant stood up. "All right then, who's going to tell me what's going on?" Itami asked, addressing the people around him.

Rory looked at Tuka, Tuka looked at Lelei, Lelei looked at Momon. Momon shook his head. Piña stared at the still laughing Raidyn for a moment; then she turned her gaze around pleadingly to everyone around her. In the end, they all looked away, worried looks on their faces.

Rory and Lelei knew it was just an accident, so they did not blame Piña. Raidyn was finishing her laugh, wiping away her tears of joy and helped up Itami. "That was rich."

Was it lukewarm or confused…? Well, the best word for their mood at that moment might be "leisurely."

* * *

 **Scene Change: JSDF base:**

To describe the officers of the JSDF Special Region Expeditionary Force Headquarters, most of them were field-grade, and they were heatedly debating with each other. If things went poorly, it might even break out into a fistfight. Hazama looked at his subordinates and thought that they had probably held it in for a long time. Many members of the JGSDF Special Region Expeditionary Force were bored and restless. After all, there had been nothing for them to do after they came here. For example, there were the tasks they were doing now, which would be base defense, dispatching small recon teams to gather information for future planning, fine-tuning the unit's operational standards, all of which were primarily administrative tasks. As for base defense, there had only been a few live engagements in total, and the enemy's movements and strength were completely unknown.

So, under normal circumstances, they would maintain perimeter security, build up the base, or maintain their personal equipment. In the end, responsibility for defending the base was given to the 5th Combat Group, while the offensively-oriented 1st and 4th Combat Groups repeated their combat drills day after day in the base. By the way, the 2nd and 3rd Combat Groups were not on this side of the "Gate," while the 6th Combat Group and beyond were not fully formed yet.

At present, the Ministry of Defense was slowly rearranging troop deployments. He cited that there was no need to mobilize everyone since they were not planning a full-scale invasion. The additional mention of "operational budget" silenced all dissent.

Despite that, these restless men must have been intensely jealous after hearing that a certain recon team had "Encountered a dragon," and "Defeated a dragon and saved innocent civilians." In the homeland, where life was peaceful, and nothing of mention was happening, they could endure it. However, this side of the "Gate" was a battlefield, and the artillery and anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) teams could be proud of their showing in battle, while the infantrymen eagerly discussed the tension before firing and the feeling of pulling a trigger. The engineers, on the other hand, were busy building walls and roads, and their uniforms were constantly stained with mud. And yet, some people were given missions where they could win glory, while they themselves…

Their twisted feelings, combined with the daily boredom of the 1st and 4th Combat Groups' lives, rotted the men's hearts. The officers who led these men had been infected by their restlessness as well. And then, like manna from heaven, Itami's request for reinforcements came in. The personnel who got word of this were overjoyed, and naturally, there was a noisy and boisterous response from the troops.

Itami's request could be summarized like this: Within the past month, a group of deserters from the enemy armed forces' central command has committed acts of plunder, violence, arson and wanton murder within the Italica domain. Several villages have fallen prey to them, and many lives have been lost.

3rd Recon Platoon was attacked while attempting to visit the town of Italica. The defenders have tried their best to mount a defensive battle, but losses have been heavy. A second large-scale attack is coming soon. By the request of the town's representative, Piña Co Lada, we have accepted the duty of providing security and protection for the local population. Please send help immediately.

The deserters from the enemy's armed forces' central command, also known as "bandits," are heavily-armed by the standards of the Special Region. We have confirmed the presence of cavalry, infantry, and bowmen in numbers exceeding 1000. The exact abilities of their mages were unknown. The city had no ability to eliminate these "bandits," and although the local authorities as represented by Count Formal's family have already submitted a request for reinforcements to higher authorities, they will take a minimum of three days to arrive. In other words, this was the perfect opportunity to save innocent civilians in the name of justice, beat the crap out of the bad guys, relieve their restlessness, and gain live combat experience!

The Colonels stomped their leather shoes as they argued fiercely beside General Hazama. Col. Kamo of the 1st Combat Group must have been tired of the endless arguments because he came before Gen. Hazama saying, "Please! Let us go!"

The 1st Combat Group was a combined-arms unit, built around a company of infantry. They were supported by artillery, AAA, tank, engineer, signals, sanitations, weapons and logistics platoons. "Our 101st Reinforced Squadron is at full strength and mission-ready! We're ready to go at any time!"

Behind Col. Kamo was Ltc. Tsuge. He stood up as well, saying something very troublesome. It was troublesome because he had gathered his men before the order to move out had been given. At this moment they were probably in full battle gear and running laps. "No, if we take our time jogging along the ground, we'll take too long to get there. Under these conditions, only we can get there in time. Commander, please order the 4th Combat Group into action."

Col. Kengun said this as he strode forward. The 4th Combat Group was a helicopter-centric aerial combat group… in other words, an American-style air cavalry unit.

"We've prepared the amplifiers and speakers, as well as Wagner CDs!" Reported Ltc. Youga of the 401st Squadron.

"Very good, Ltc. Youga," Kengun nodded. It seemed Kengun wanted to bring him along too.

"..." Hazama pinched his nose between his thumb and forefinger, rolling it slightly.

What should he do with them, these guys… were they possessed by the spirit of Colonel Kilgore? (Maybe their brains had rotted away...) Even so, he had no choice but to send reinforcements immediately. That being the case, the fast-moving 4th Combat Group would be the best option.

Hazama gave Kengun his orders. Col. Kamo and Ltc. Tsuge, among others, stood still as though bearing mute witness to the end of the world. Conversely, Kengun and Youga were all smiles.

"And what are you going to play?" Youga asked.

"The Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, of course." Replied Kengun.

As he watched the two of them leave, Hazama could guess what the two of them would be like in a few hours.

The squadrons of AH-1 Cobra and UH-1J helicopters flew on an NOE (nap-of-earth) course, while their loudspeakers blasted Wagner's operatic score through the sky.

All around them, the bandits fled.

What came from the sky were wings of death.

Though there was no way there would be anti-aircraft missiles pointed at them, the helicopters launched flares anyway. These flares were weighed down by gravity and traced a trajectory through the air, and the dozens of smoke trails they left resembled the wings of an angel.

When the locals saw it, they must have trembled in fear at the descent of a goddess of war.

The AH-1 Cobras fired their rocket pods and turned the ground into a sea of fire.

Bullets rained from the sky and moved the bandits down.

There were no blind spots under their overlapping fields of vision. The troops did not even need to dismount, and they cut down the bandits from their perches on their helicopters.

The residents watching this must have taken this apocalyptic vision to be a glimpse of hell…

* * *

 **Scene Change Italica:**

At this moment, the residents of Italica were desperately repairing their walls and barriers. Once they heard that they would be aided not just by the Apostle of Emroy, the Elf the mage, the two inspiring looking adventurers, but even by the "Men in Green," the townspeople's courage multiplied a hundredfold, and the soldiers' morale soared.

If they did have the power to kill a Flame Dragon, then routing these broken men who had become bandits would be a trivial task. Of course, the men in green only numbered 12, so they would still have to fight. However, once they took out their "rods of steel" and the denizens of Italica looked at the silent black warrior imposing figure and Raidyn strange armor and their imposing weapon, they already know. They could destroy the bandits easily.

The despair that filled the town from earlier had vanished. Now their eyes were filled with light and hope. Nobody wanted to leave their homes behind and flee, so if they could, they still wanted to protect this town. The presence of Itami and the others was the source of their hope. The eyes of the townspeople were locked firmly on the backs of Itami and the others.

At Piña's request, Itami had moved his people to the frontline on the south gate together with the two adamantine ranked heroes. This way, it would not be hard for them to respond to requests for help. According to her, the south gate had already been broken through once, and the defensive preparations there were destroyed. As such, it was a weakness in their defenses. In the upcoming battle, it should be the site of intense fighting.

The last time, they had halted the enemy advance with berms and fences, but the ensuing melee had left many dead. Now the townspeople were mobilized into fully repairing the fences and strengthen the berms.

To Itami, in order to safeguard the defensive line of the city wall and gate, it would be best to concentrate their fighting strength there. However, Piña insisted that they would have a second line of defense behind the walls of the fences in the interior. Her tactics seemed to assume that the main gate would be broken down.

Unlike Itami, who was waiting for reinforcements, Piña did not think they could hold out long enough for help to arrive, so her plan was to make the invaders pay in blood for every inch they advanced, in the hopes of breaking their morale. In truth, the idea was not a bad one, so Itami held his tongue.

Itami gathered his men atop the city gate. From there, they had a good view of the beautiful stone streets of a medieval-age town, under the light of the setting sun.

Although it was a regional town, Italica had a population of over 5000 people. It was located at the crossroads of the Appian Way and the Tisarian Way, and there were shops and inns located along the streets that ran in the four cardinal directions. Behind them were various warehouses, stables and merchant offices.

In the forest to the north was the large manor of Count Formal, which was surrounded by other luxurious homes, turning it into a high-class residential district. The south, east and west portions were surrounded by stone walls, while the north was surrounded by cliffs as a natural barrier.

Momon and Raidyn inspected the outskirts of the city. The roads stretched to the horizon. Planting fields and fallow field where the cattle grazed- Fallen trees, forest and a few small houses littered the ground. Thanks to their increased perception the two adventurers spotted from afar the approaching bandit's scouts. The scouts were several men on their horses. The scouts moved slowly. They probably tried to spy the defense of the state of the city defenses. It was pretty obvious our heroes. Beyond them, they could see the bandits' hideout.

"Itami-kun. Our visitors will be soon here." Warned him Raidyn.

Itami looked in the direction where she pointed. "I don't see anything."

"Use your binoculars." Said, Momon.

Itami used his binoculars and spotted the scouts and their hideout.

"So, we're going to take their attack head-on, huh." He turned to the two adventurers. "Thanks, guys. Ahh…." He scratched his face nervously. "How can you spot them from that far without binoculars?"

"Our eyes a lot better than the most humans and elves and we magically enchanted our eyesight." Raidyn pointed to her heterochromatic eyes as she explained it to Itami.

Itami nodded uneasily. "From their camp size and their movement, I guess they are around one thousand, one thousand and two hundred."

Itami nodded. "That means. The bandits did not have the option of an enveloping attack." He noted.

Momon nodded. "It would be a foolish action if they try that."

There were far too few bandits to encircle the town, and a siege would take a very long time. That would be dangerous for the bandits. Similarly, tunneling and a slow, cautious advance by digging trenches were out of the question. That being the case, the bandits could only pick a point and assault it. However, that was not simply an application of brute force, but an attack that would make use of the unique advantage of the attacker.

This advantage was the attackers' ability to dictate the time and place of their engagements. With this freedom, they could feint an attack and then break through the weakened defenses elsewhere. That was the typical approach. The objective they would attack would still be weak, despite it being a feint.

"I see, so the reason they gave us the south gate was…" Itami murmured

"They planned to deliberately make a weakness along the defensive line, which would draw in the enemy's attacks towards here. It seems we got some fun after all." Raidyn chuckled.

"The princess' tactic is understandable. But what will guarantee it will work twice? If you ask me it is a rocky mistake..." noted Momon.

During the last battle, they had also deliberately feigned a vulnerability, so the enemy would think it was an easy target. When the enemy committed themselves to the attack, they began a battle of attrition with them from the strong second defense line. Practically speaking, even if the enemy broke through the city gate, they would be stopped and worn down against the sturdy inner defensive line. Since the attackers' and defenders' forces were too small for a pitched battle all over the city, they favored concentrating their forces like that.

Giving the weaker south gate to Itami and the others was a tacit admission that they were going to be bait, in order to turn the south gate into the site of a pitched battle. Thinking of that, it made more sense that she would focus on reinforcing the inner defensive line.

The enemy should have considered this after being beaten once. Would they really try to attack this weakly-defended location?

Raidyn turned to Momon. "What do you say Momon-kun? Do we go and take care of the attacking army by ourselves?"

Itami and the others looked at the adventurer woman with a dumbfounded expression. Rory just smiled in the courage of the hero in full clad gray exoskeleton. "Raidyn-san! You can't be serious!" shouted Kuribayashi. Raidyn just smiled.

Itami turned to Momon. "Is she serious?"

Momon sighed. "Completely, I know that she is capable of wreaking havoc once she gets lose…" he turned to Raidyn. "Raidyn. "

"Yes?" she turned her head to her adventurer's companion.

"We are here to defend this position and give support if needed," explained the black-clad hero.

"Ok-Ok. Geez. You don't let me live a little. You are like a grumpy granny." She puffed her cheek like an offended child.

Momon patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry. You can indulge yourself after the enemy has been broken the gate."

She huffed. "Fine." Then closed her helmet what slid on her face. "Stupid rules…"

[Message]: "I feel the escort summons that I gave Beelzebub are coming in this direction." said Esdeath.

[Message]: "I feel my summons as well. They are not far from our position. I hope Itami and his troops will not start to fire at them after they see them." replied the avatar of death.

[Message]: "Right… Most people became completely frightened after they seen our summons. Mostly yours. You really need to make them friendlier looking to the people." said the enforcer of Nazarick in a sarcastically tone.

[Message]: "Hm… Why should I? I think they look cool. The Death Knights look exactly like that to strike fear in the hearth of the enemy. This is why they are called Death Knights, not, for example, friendly knights." Answered Momonga sarcastically.

[Message]: "I mean. The children in the kingdom don't really want to sit on their necks and play with them."

[Message]: "Because they are not toys. They are cannon fodder what we use to kill our enemies. Beside that. Your summons is not really better. Whenever the enemy spots them and their energy weapons. They became completely frightened. Did you seen the expression on Hazama's face when we told him we are from another world? I think he thought we are some kind of hyper advanced civilization who can use and make energy weapons." explained Momonga.

[Message]: "This is why I equipped them with those weapons. They will think twice to attack us or interfere with our operations." Explained Esdeath.

[Message]: Momonga sighed in the internally. "You are right partly. I only hope they will not drop an atom bomb on us."

[Message]: "I hope too… If their politics are like the ones in our time. They are too cowardly to do that. That may cause many voters to vote for someone else. Besides that, let them drop their bombs, I really don't care. We are at the level where we can survive such weapons and if we use our defensive abilities we can even survive if the planet collapses under our feet and became a super massive black hole! You know, they leveled up significantly under our absence. " said Esdeath.

[Message]: "Yeah. That place was really freaky. And strangely it was exactly like the Warhammer 40k verse."

[Message]: "Yeah. But you know the infinite universe theory. Everything is possible." Noted Esdeath.

[Message]: "I remember. After we trapped in that universe. Our presence draws the attention of those Demon Princes, the Eldars, The Imperium of Men, The Necrons plus the Tyranids. We were in really deep shit. Of course, we managed and gained some allies in the end. Fought around nine hundred more years. I remember that Necron guys started to worship you after another four hundred years. That was funny." Esdeath laughed.

[Message]: Momonga laughed too but his emotion suppression kicked in. "Indeed, that was rich!"

[Message]: "I must admit. That little exercise gave a good amount of experience. Then those entities what they called themselves? Chaos gods?"

[Message]: "If I remember correctly. Yes, they called themselves that. There was a guy who named himself Khorne, and another one who named himself Tzeentch. A bloated rotting tentacle guy who named Nurgle and a… I don't know it was a guy or a woman. He/she was a little ambiguous. He/she was named Slaneesh" Esdeath spat the words with disgust in her tone.

[Message]: "Yeah. After we managed to defeat their strongest servants. They offered place to us on their side. Then you said to them 'Fuck YOU!' and showed them your middle finger." In his head, Momonga recalled the event.

[Message]: Esdeath recalled the moment as well. "Not my brightest idea if I remember it right. But I am slave to no one and I saw it in their looks. They are not looking for partners but slaves. You know I hate slavery. I remembered they threw you in the other end of that place. What was it called…. Ah, I remember! Immaterium. They strapped me to a chair and tortured me for I don't know how long. It was not pleasant."

[Message]: "It was not a pleasant place indeed. In the Immaterium time is not really an existing thing. So, I don't know how much time it took until I reached you. Fortunately, we learned to draw strength quite early from our surrounding and level up by using it."

[Message]: "Yeah, yeah. I got plenty of time while I was strapped in that chair and went through various tortures. I even lost my sense of time in that place not speaking about my mind. But at least I had time to work out the proper way to level up subtly using my torturers energies against them while they gave me hand to hand to each other. Either for torture or to experiment on me."

[Message]: "I remember. When I found you. You already escaped with that infernal chair and you stood above that ambiguous looking chaos entity. You looked like shit, with all of your restrictions off and your ascended aether form. I'm sorry to say this."

[Message]: "None taken. I must admit. I looked like shit after the torture sessions. I even lost my mind while that Slaanesh guy just laughed. But his/her eyes widened when I found out his/her weakness and took no pleasure killing him/her. Do you remember? I almost killed you because I thought you were just another illusion." Esdeath recalled the moment.

[Message]: "That was not pleasant indeed. I must admit when you attacked me. I feared that was my last moment of my un-life. But at least, in the last moment, you regained your mind when that Golden armored Guy appeared and placed his hand on your forehead."

[Message]: "Yeah. I even today I feel the symptoms of those little torture sessions. But it was priceless to see when after I finished that pleasure maniac and we started our little crusade in their world. Of course, they tried to stop us. But it was already too late, and we figured out their weakness. It was priceless to see when you used your [The Goal of All Life Is Death] on that Nurgle guy. I remember he said. "You can't kill the god of diseases, life, death, and rebirth pitiful creature!' Yet he was the one who completely disappeared after the spell hit and we got another member of our little crusade by that woman joining in. If I remember correctly. her name was Isha." explained Esdeath why her mind is a little unstable.

[Message]: "I don't know how long it took. But we managed to clear out that place. Still, it's true that we managed to destroy their astral bodies. I feel their consciousness remained. They just lost a great amount of power and influence over the place."

[Message]: "Indeed. But don't speak about that anymore. Too much bad memories can cause me to lose my head again."

[Message]: "Do you still have those seizures?" inquired Momonga.

[Message]: "Unfortunately yes. But they are a lot less intense since I used that meditation technique what Goldy and Isha showed me."

[Message]: "Goldy?" asked Momonga.

[Message]: "You know that guy who called himself Emperor of Mankind or Anthema."

[Message]: Momonga nodded inwardly. "I see. But I am glad. I don't want to lose my last friend."

[Message]: "Don't worry Sans. I won't leave you. At least until I teach you how to beat the last boss in Dark Souls 10. You are really crappy at that game."

The two Supreme being laughed in unison in the [Message].

"Furuta! Put the machine gun over here. Azuma, rifles goes there." Kuwabara assigned each soldier their designated Area of Responsibility.

The troopers braced themselves and their Type 64 rifles against the crenelated walls.

They would be firing down from a height of three stories. If the enemy drew close enough, they could start shooting arrows at them, so they designated the range of the bows as the FPL (final protective line), and apart from that, they could pick their own targets at their own pace.

There was only an hour left until the sun completely set. Kuribayashi distributed the night vision gear while Kurokawa was left to mind the vehicles and equipment. She offered a pair to Momon and Raidyn, but they simply refused. Saying they used to fight at night.

Behind Itami and the others were a large number of citizens carrying farming tools or wooden clubs, waiting uneasily for directions. Just then, Nishina came, holding a phrasebook in one hand with both arms out, making digging motions, and indicating that they should fill the sacks they had with earth and bring them over.

The others were collecting burnable wood, in preparation for a bonfire. The townspeople wondered why they weren't making a fire at night as they worked.

Meanwhile, someone asked a question of Itami, who was looking through his helmet-mounted night vision gear with Tuka and Lelei.

"Eh? Why are we helping the Imperials who should be our enemy? Well, it's to protect the people of this town." Itami replied.

Rory laughed as she heard the answer. "Do you really mean that?"

"Yes, I do." Answered Itami.

Itami's attempt at humor made Rory shrug in a "stop kidding me" way.

To Itami, the Empire was his enemy. If they went by the reasoning of "The enemy of the enemy is my friend," it would not be strange to take the bandits as allies, but Itami did not do that.

Piña was an Imperial Princess defending Count Formal's family. Because of that, she had negotiated with Itami and asked for his help.

Rory was there too, but since she couldn't stand Piña's presence, she left shortly after. And when Piña asked Momon and Raidyn help defend the city and against the men in green if they turned against them. They simply said yes for the first and a maybe to the second.

Being the first city where the expedition force will come. It would be quite unpleasant if they had to rebuild it after they killed the bandits. It would be the waste of precious resources.

Officially, they could fight together because they had the same objective of defending Italica.

Even so, Rory still could not understand why Itami and the two adventurers were taking orders from an enemy princess. After all, they should have expected that the south gate would become a forlorn hope and the site of a fierce battle.

"Do you want to know why we help her?" asked Raidyn as she helped Itami who was clumsily tried to attach his night vision gear to his helmet.

"Why?" asked Rory.

Raidyn smiled. "Just… Because it is the right thing to do. Because we don't have another thing to do. And because the simple fact we can't let innocent people slaughtered."

"Emroy is a war God, so he does not forbid killing. However, the motive for the killing is important. Lies stain the soul." Explained Rory.

After she had finished helping with Itami, she looked into Rory's eyes. "That's a good thing. I don't like lies either. At least this Emroy guy has this positive quality." She smiled to the loli half goddess.

Rory tilted her head and smiled. "So, you consider become Emroy acolyte?"

"No. Although, there was another reason why we help…"

Rory looked at Raidyn like she was going to bore through her with her eyes.

"I assume Itami sought reinforcement from their base. I think he wants to make the Princess understand not to mess with them. Hazama asked us personally not to allow such mess. And as the saying goes. 'A promise made a debt unpaid.' " Explained the Supreme Being with a smiling expression.

"H-How did you know that?" asked Itami as he stepped one step back.

Raidyn looked at him with a satisfied expression under her mask. "It is obviously silly. I know your people will not hurt the people of Italica. But we can't be sure right?" She tilted her head. "After all. Human nature is unpredictable. But I think you and the JSDF guys only want to protect the city besides this apparent reason. Right?"

Itami nodded uneasily.

Rory smiled malevolently, as she believed she understood Raidyn's words.

"Interesting. Very interesting."

Itami wanted to carve the word "fear" into the Princess' heart. He would show his fighting power to her without holding back and make her tremble at the thought of doing battle with him. That way, getting along with him would be much more attractive than fighting the JSDF. But a strange kind of uneasiness seized him as he looked to the two adamantine ranked adventurers. He felt. It does not matter if they have superior technology. The two adventurers could cut them down at any moment with ease.

"Well, if that's the case, I'd like to help too. It's been a while since I last had the chance to cut loose."

Momon was not in the scene. Because of the simple reason. He can't really stand Rory presence, unlike Raidyn who found her funny. Instead, Momon helped to organize the defense using his long years of military experience what helped him conquer the New World.

Rory lifted her skirt and curtseyed to Itami and Raidyn, like a dancer bowing to her partner. Raidyn made a curtsey accepting the dance offer.

The battle began when the night was almost over.

The attack was executed just before the sun rose.

In the darkness before dawn, the bandit archers launched flame arrows at the eastern gate.

At the eastern gate was the knight Norma Co Igloo.

Under Norma's direction, the sentries and militia returned fire with their bows. Though they were called militia, they were farmers who had never touched a bow in their lives and expecting accuracy from them was impossible. However, their arrow fire would suppress the enemy and might even cause a casualty or two. In this way, the battle became an exchange of arrows for a time. The soldiers, the farmers, the broken men who had become bandits, they all screamed and fell.

Between the archers marched footmen in armor and carrying sturdy shields. They pressed close to the wall. Their uniforms were varied while their shields were of different sizes and shapes, which suggested that they were of mixed origins. Against them, the stout grocery shop aunties and the older children hurled rocks or poured cauldrons of molten lead down on them. These weapons were more efficient and destructive than the inaccurate bows volleys.

Below the walls, the bandits raised their shields in an attempt to protect themselves from the storm of arrows and rocks raining down on them. Even if they were shot by arrows, knocked out by rocks, or burned alive by boiling oil, they did not retreat. They must have wanted to expand the hatred and frustration they felt at not being able to attack Arnus and Dalnus against this place, and they rammed the eastern gate with huge logs.

As for the bandits… for the remnants of the defeated coalition army and the second expedition force, the Battle of Arnus and Dalnus was not a battle.

In Arnus. Without having even glimpsed their enemy, without knowing what was going on, their own people had simply fallen over. But the soldiers who fought near Dalnus hill the experience was worse. Despite seeing their enemies face to face, they still have nightmares to this day, and most of those who escaped simply went mad. Cursing the gods and the Empire that sent them to their deaths.

That was not battle. No, that was one-sided massacre what composed by the monsters. Every soldier who was present in that battle saw in first-hand how those monsters simply cut down their fellow troopers. Then turning them into undead monstrosities. How those horses ate their fellow soldier's souls. How those black armored looking-angel beings simply skinned them alive with their magic weapons.

The hatred for the Empire, which had cruelly kept them in ignorance of their foe, their grudges against the useless commanders who could only urge them forward to their deaths, these feelings and the fear of facing were deeply carved into their hearts. Without commanders, without comrades, without allegiance, without supplies, without food, without their sane mind. They wandered around in the wilderness, and in the end, they had become bandits, without even their homes. Soon, others who had suffered as they did come together, and their numbers had grown until now.

Their respect for the Empire had become an equal amount of hatred and anger, which ruled their souls. This was war, which sliced with swords, killed with arrows, burned with fire and trampled with hooves. This was war, with its rape, its plunder, its massacres, and its deaths.

Indeed, they had made war their motivation. A personal war, a war that could satisfy them. A simple slaughter, a simple spreading of death. The feelings of stabbing, slashing and being stabbed, bathing in one's opponents' blood, hugging the cold earth as they died. They threw themselves forward to experience this. If not, the war would be over for them.

Several ladders caught on the city wall. The bandits raised their shields and climbed them. Avoiding the arrows that flew at them, the bandits finally reached the top of the wall.

A brave farmer hacked up a ladder even after taking an arrow in the shoulder. The bandits praised his courage as they fired their arrows, cheering for him even as they cut him down. The ladder that had lost its grip on the wall fell with the soldiers to the ground, along with the farmer that had brought it down.

Even the loud crash as it hit the ground brought a round of cheering. It was as if though they had gone mad at a festival, banging on the shields with their swords and screaming in their own tongues. This was the song of praise they sang to Emroy, god of war.

The madness of battle was their sacrifice to Emroy and the flames of war, fuelled by the souls of the dead combatants, burned fiercely.

The flame arrows struck the clock tower, which burned wildly out of control against the black of the night.

The Apostle, Rory Mercury, was trying to endure it.

She hugged herself to endure it.

Sweat gushed down her forehead.

"Wh-why?"

The spirit of battle that floated around her infected her flesh and penetrated her spirit.

"Why aren't they attacking here?"

Momon and Raidyn looked in her direction seeing the data what the souls constructed from flowing through her direction. Entering in her body then vanishing through the connection what connected her to Emroy.

The flames of war-scorched her soul and sweet movements flowed from her heart and up her swaying spine.

Her arms and legs moved on their own, and she shook like a priestess who was intoxicated by hallucinogenic drugs.

"Huuu…. haaaa…"

The pleasure flowing out from inside her nearly brought her to climax, and against the black of night, the demigoddess twisted her body so everyone could see her bewitching form.

"Is she alright?"

Itami wanted to go over to Rory since he was surprised by her sudden frenzy, but Lelei and Tuka stopped him.

"It's because she's an Apostle…"

He did not quite understand, but that seemed to be why Rory was so frustrated.

Raidyn stepped forward. "A massive amount of data flowing through her body."

If she was like this while she was so far away from the battlefield, what would she be like in the center of it?

She would probably see everyone as an enemy and slaughter them all. Nobody would be able to stop her, not even herself.

Lelei's and Raidyn's explanation just made Itami nervous.

Itami turned to Raidyn. "Can you help her?"

She thought for a moment. "I could, but that will irreversibly damage her connection whatever she is connected to. It would like I cut out your spine and expect from you to walk without it like nothing happened."

Itami gulped nervously.

Meanwhile in the other side of Italica.

"Bandits should go attack villages! You're pretty damn bold to attack a town!"

This was Norma the knight's cry. He had discovered that none of the arrows on his side had hit. Even if all the people on his side were amateurs, he could see that the path of the launched arrows had mysteriously diverted from their targets, as though they were protected by the wind.

"Could it be that the enemy can summon spirits?"

Norma drew his sword and cut down a southern bandit who was scaling the wall. The stricken soldier fell off the wall and to the ground.

However, a bearded bandit from the north tried to hack Norma down from behind.

After intercepting it with his sword, the bandits behind continued attacking the militia on defense. They had spears, clubs, morningstars, twin swords, scimitars and more.

The endless flow of bandits overwhelmed the people of Italica, and they had nowhere to run.

There were some differences in the current situation from Piña's battle plan.

They had expected the first line of defense to fall, but it had fallen too soon. Now the tops of the city wall were a battleground, and the sentries and militia had been forced off.

"We're too weak. That's even when you consider the raised morale."

They'd had expected the enemy to be aware of their schemes and to be on guard for it.

However, in truth, the enemy was not on guard at all.

They attacked and attacked, without any tactics or strategy,

And the militia and sentries who took this attack were caught wrong-footed right from the beginning. Thus, they could not pin down the enemy like Piña had hoped. They could not even inflict significant losses. Still, on the whole, the defenders could still fight.

"Reality is different from what you picture in your head." Piña, who knew this, was not surprised that her plan had not turned out exactly as she had hoped.

Even if she felt a vague sense of foreboding, like something stuck between her teeth, Piña followed the plan and moved her main fighting strength from the east gate to the defensive barriers they had built in the interior.

The east and northwest gates were reinforced with a second defensive line of berms and fences.

Although a second defensive line sounded good on paper, they had been built with the assumption that the first line would be overrun. So the first line was essentially a sacrifice.

The militia did not understand this when the battle started. However, now they realized that the people manning the gates had been abandoned from the start.

Their allies stood at the berms and other barriers they built behind them, yet none of them stepped forward to help. They were merely watching them fight and die. How many people would not despair after realizing this?

Some people realized this and gave up, swinging their swords wildly until they soon fell.

"Where are the men in green? Where are those two armored adventurers? Where are our reinforcements?!"

They could not possibly come. After all, they had been stationed at the south gate, as fellow sacrifices.

And so, as the townspeople watched, the gate's last defender finally fell.

Piña had assumed that the bandits would immediately press the attack once they took the east entrance, but the bandits did not do so. They raised their swords and spears and cheered three times. This was a literal sacrifice, after all. After that, the city gates opened slowly, and the cavalry and soldiers from outside entered.

The horsemen dragged the corpses of the militia and sentries who had fallen from the city wall. They began tossing those bodies into the city.

Among them were the bodies of the rock-throwing children and the aunties.

They hurled the severed heads of farmers and merchants at the inner fence.

As the townspeople waited for the enemy to attack, the corpses of their friends, relatives, and family piled up like a small mountain.

The townspeople facing the bandits from behind the fences gritted their teeth against their tears and despair, while the bandits mocked them.

They cursed and insulted them as cowards hiding in a cage.

They toyed with the corpses as though they were puppets.

How could the militia, made of farmers and merchants with weapons, bear to watch this?

"Bastards!"

A hot-blooded young man leaped over the fence, shovel in hand, while others also joined him.

In this way, the battle inside the city was completely different from how Piña had envisioned it, and her battle plan fell apart.

Meanwhile back with our two heroes and the JSDF.

Rory's lewd moaning and physical contortions grew more intense as time passed.

She held her breath and shook her hair. Her body bent backward like a bow. She grabbed her head, on the verge of tears, and her feet stamped the ground.

Her feverish grasping and twisted expression looked like she had been cursed like she was a puppet shuddering on her strings, her body twitching and her arms flailing.

It was a cursed, mad dance she could not control by her own will, but it was beautiful.

According to Lelei's explanations, the souls of the fallen were passing through her body on their way to Emroy. Although she would be influenced by the personalities of the soul and their fighting spirit, to a demigoddess like her, they were like an aphrodisiac.

Just giving into this frenzy would be easy, but she couldn't just give in, or rather, she was not allowed to give in. The heat and anxiety burning through her chest were making her suffer.

"No, no, nooo! I'll go crazy if this goes on!"

You, watching from behind, whispered, "Dammit. I'm hard."

"Shut up, man, so am I."

Although neither of them was into children, Rory's moaning must have made them think of something pleasant. The voice from Rory's shuddering body was just that seductive.

As expected, Kuribayashi whispered, "This is bad, right?" Tuka covered her blushing face, while Lelei's was a picture of calm indifference.

Itami's sigh was his answer.

It would seem both sides had forgotten this place. There was no sign of the enemy, nor were there any messages from their allies. Thus, they had no way of knowing what was happening at the east gate.

The reinforcements from Arnus should be here, and they needed a forward observer to guide their attacks, so he decided to send someone over.

"Raidyn can I have a request?" asked Itami.

"Shoot!" answered the hero lazily.

"Sorry about this, but could you accompany Rory? Having men around might cause problems. After that, we, including Tomita for a total of five people, will head to the east gate. Sgt. Maj. Kuwabara, I'll leave the rest to you. Rory, we're going! Just hang on a bit more!"

But Rory could not bear it any further.

She jumped down from the three-storey high city wall and darted toward the east like a rabbit.

"Well, this is the signal. Don't worry. I will take care of her." And with that Raidyn jumped after Rory and followed her.

Momon stepped forward. "I will follow them. She can lose her head sometimes in the middle of the battle."

Itami nodded to the black-clad warrior who immediately followed his companion. And rushed into battle.

Raidyn and Momon jumped roof to roofs closely following the black-clad demigoddess.

Meanwhile, the honor guard of Ainz's son approached the city with full speed. The charge was being led by a mounted golden armored honor guard. Creon on his armored Bicorn Warlord, Beelzebub on his Demonic Attronach, the Death Knights on their Soul Eaters, and the black armored Nephalem Guards on their armored aether horses.

Twenty-five from the black armored Nephalem guards and twenty-five magic caster who did not have a horse already was in the air using the Fly spell. Backing up the ground forces. Bombarding the enemy with their magic and weapons if it is necessary. Twenty from the Nephalem Guards grabbed twenty Death Knights while they took off from the ground.

They flew towards the city of Italica. The ten Eight-Edged Assassin's that escorted them have already scouted the city and the state of the battle previously.

The foot soldiers followed them rushing close behind "Faster! We need to reach the city in time!" commanded Ainz's heir. "Every second we waste more innocents die!"

With that, the honor guard hastened their charge.

They were in the city range, and under approximately one minute the first rider will reach the first bandit who was on the walls. Beelzebub looked to his guard captain. "Creon, my aunt always said the first impression is the most important thing." He smiled as he activated the audio broadcasting item what magically broadcast whatever music he chooses or even his voice if he needed it. He activated it and used it to play his entrance music what he found in the archives.

After he had finished with it, he unsheathed his blazing sword and ordered his soldiers to hasten their charge.

Insert Music: Two Steps from Hell - Protectors of the Earth

Meanwhile, in the city, the battle raged. Blades carved into flesh and blood sprayed out. A human head came apart like a watermelon being split at the seaside. The sound of the sword hit echoed around. There were shouts of men facing their doom and bitter cries of suffering. Like a train station at rush hour, people were pressed against each other everywhere.

Nobody could spare a thought for the overall situation. All their attention was focused on the enemy in front of them while they hacked and slashed with their swords. Of course, some people were cowering on the ground, trying to crawl to a place without enemies, but they were trampled into the ground by horses.

The ground was strewn with corpses and bodies and remains, and the stone floor was dyed a reddish black by dried blood, and the brighter red of freshly-spilled blood flowed from friend and foe alike.

Then the back guard of the bandits heard as a song starts to play everywhere and nowhere at once.

That was why they did not hear the distant sound that thundered through the air.

A war song. Women's singing rang through the sky, accompanied by drums, trumpets, and violins.

At this moment, time stood still.

It stood still when she leaped over the berms, the fences, and landed on the ground.

She knocked over men and horses, friend and foes, and cleared a space around her.

In that instant, everything stopped.

Under the force of that impact and its destructive power, all sound vanished, and the clamor of battle faded away. In its place, they heard the sound of trumpets and as numerous horses with otherworldly neigh charge in the direction of the gate.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the black object that had appeared before them.

It was a girl in jet-black priest's clothing, edged with lace. She was followed by a full clad jet-black warrior who unsheathed his two enormous exquisite looking swords and a masked, hooded figure who wore some kind of leather coat and underneath it a gray skin tight exoskeleton.

Both her knees rested on the ground as the two warriors fallen in the ground with a big thud.

Her left hand was planted on the floor.

In the other was a halberd that sent chills up people's spines.

She raised her head, and her mad eyes looked forward. A radiant silver glow limned her hair.

At that moment, as the demigoddess smiled mockingly while the horns blew, the top of the east gate caught fire.

The Nephalem Guards started to drop the Death Knights to the ground, and the terrifying creatures arrived in the middle of a battle zone with a bug thud. Causing panic and leaving a big crater in their wake. The massive creatures equipped with armor made of black metal with red bloodlines engraved on it. The armor has sharp thorns everywhere and looks like an incarnation of violence. Two demonic horns emerge from the helmet, with the face being visible underneath. It has a disgusting, rotted face whose empty eye sockets are filled with hate and killing intent, glowing with a flashing red light.

Recognizing the creatures from the battle of Dalnus hill the experienced deserters either started to run away while screamed unintelligible words or fallen on their knees waiting for the inevitable.

Raidyn smiled under her mask. [Message]: "It seems our forces have arrived Momonga-san."

[Message]: "Indeed. It was a quite good entrance and Beelzebub chosen a quite good entrance music. I feel they charge in our direction at the moment."

The twenty Death Knights stood still for a moment. Then unsheathed their serrated swords what emitted a dreadful aura and started their massacre like clockwork.

The attack came from several sides, in several waves as the mages and the Nephalem Guards started their bombardment while flew above the area.

From the east to the west, then doubling back and going over the ground they covered… again and again, from left to right, front to back, an endless hail of spells and energy projectiles sprayed across the land and killed everything that moved.

The bandits scattered, like a swarm of fleeing spiders. However, whether on foot or mounted, none of them could escape.

The bandits, caught in the middle of their burning, killing, and pillaging, had the tables turned on them, and they fell to the ground after being hit by the spells. Stamped down by the various mounts of the Honor Guard or killed by the Death Knights raising the fallen again in the process as low-level zombies.

A brave man actually managed to nock and loosed an arrow at them, but the arrow fired into the sky had little force. Even if they hit the mages and the creatures. The arrow what they let lose does not have enough data content and penetrating power to penetrate the magical shields of the Sorcerer Kingdom mages. The arrows fell swiftly, without any power.

Seeing they had nothing to fear from the sky. Esdeath ordered her summons through their mental connections to land the ground and help the ground forces.

Italica's city gate was wreathed in crimson flame, and the sun that rose into the sky filled the world with heat and radiance.

The fully armored soldiers were sliced to shreds by the Death Knights, The Nephalem Guards, and the honor guards highly trained soldiers and mages.

The sound of Death's wings was different from those of birds. It was a more ferocious, more foreboding sound than their's, which repeated on and on.

The mounted Piña, who was pressing her throat as she shouted orders, suddenly lost her voice and stared mutely at the tragedy unfolding before her.

She watched the horrifying creatures with their energy wings and the small figures whose accompanied them, soaring through the sky that they owned.

The first thing one would think of when one mentioned airborne troops were obviously the Dragon riders. But what Piña saw could not have been possible, but a far more terrible thing. Dragon riders were efficient and elegant as once. But this was an entirely another level.

When the magical flames in various color what shot by the mages and the Nephalem Guards struck the ground, they destroyed everything they hit. Stones were reduced to pebbles; horses were blasted to pieces and men caught in the blasts lay down and died.

It was a symphony of death. She had heard all sorts of music during her courtly life, but Piña had never before heard such a beautiful yet stately display. Horns, trumpets, bassoons and the voice of the singer thundered across the battlefield with incredible volume, playing an accompaniment to a massacre.

Piña shuddered, as though she had been stabbed in the back by a sword of ice. In an instant, everything had been destroyed by an absolute brutality and precise movements that nothing could resist. Her emotions, positive and negative, blended within her and shook both her body and soul. Then she saw the horror on the ground as the undead looking horrifying creatures, the winged beings and the freshly arrived golden armored soldiers continued their massacre. The young Princess never saw such efficient yet terrifying scene, and she will surely have nightmares after this night for a long time.

Piña's mind and soul were battered by the carnage on all sides assaulting her every sense.

She eventually came to the conclusion that humanity was worthless, meaningless, and powerless.

Until now, all the foes she had met had been physically massive beings.

However, this was a mistake.

She could not look them in the eye, yet she could not tear her eyes away.

Piña was defeated by the melancholic orchestra what apparently she heard from everywhere and nowhere. Her pride, her status, everything about her which had worth was denied in an instant.

She did not know what the words meant, but she understood their meaning.

 _"Oh, the minuscule humanity!"_

 _"Oh, the tragic and powerless humanity!"_

 _"What of your power and authority? All those things you pass down through the generations, we shall destroy in the blink of an eye, like so!"_

Piña wept as she felt the demonic disdain. At the same time, she knew there were powerful beings which far exceeded herself.

Powerful beings.

Radiant beings.

What welled up in her heart was respect. Respect and fear.

And there was despair, which such awesome entities were so far removed from her.

"Crap! Rory, she — she's charged into the middle of the enemy!"

As an otaku, Itami was in awe of Rory's and the two adventurers' strength as the three of them sliced through the masses.

In Momon's exception in his eyes, the two little girls did not seem adamant at all. Of course, he knows, of course, they were strong. Witnessing they simply tanked and defeated the Flame Dragon. But he was still worried

He was worried. He had spent time with them, and he was concerned for them. He could not simply leave them alone like this.

Itami jumped off the truck and ordered, "Fix bayonets" while he applied his own bayonet.

Kuribayashi and Tomita fixed their bayonets as well, tapping them to make sure they were secure.

They looked at each other. Their firing selectors were switched from "SAFE" to "AUTO." He told them, "Don't split up," and then they advanced.

However, surging ahead of the rest like a cannonball was Kuribayashi.

Itami and Tomita muttered, "Cheh, that stupid woman" and then sprinted as well, determined not to be left behind.

"Forward, charge!"

They locked onto their targets, advanced a few steps, and fired.

Another few steps, and then they were shooting from the hip.

They repeated the maneuvers they had learned in training.

Several bandits fell amidst sprays of blood then they spotted the horrifying beings in the middle of the battlefield. Despite their training, all of them stopped and stepped one step back feeling the chill ran through their spines, and their blood froze completely for a moment.

Ahead of them was Rory, wielding her halberd in a dance of death. She swung, spun, cleaved her foe's shield apart and then knocked him down. She did not seem worried at all, and her movements were relaxed. However, the bodies were piling up around her.

Momon has been used his precise swordsmanship and seemingly without effort, he blocked and sliced apart the enemies around him. Meanwhile, Raidyn used her summoned spectral blades to rain death to her enemies and her katana. What seemed made from an entirely unknown material. Around her sword black and white lightning danced and seemingly every foe what she sliced apart does not bleed because it seemed her blade cauterized the wounds immediately. After it separated them from the other parts of the body.

Rory foes tried to press her with their shields, thrusting over the tops with their swords and attacking her knees under the bottoms. But Rory simply took a step back and swung her halberd from top to bottom.

She cut them apart, man and shield in one blow like she was splitting firewood.

She did not even look behind at the enemies circling behind her — she simply thrust behind with the pointed base of her halberd.

The enemies surrounding Momon tried to overwhelm him. But the black-clad warrior with a seemingly reckless act started to spin his two huge swords around him, and with a pirouette, he instantly killed everyone in the area. Slicing them to various pieces.

The surrounded Raidyn smiled under her mask as she raised her palm towards the sky what hit by lightning. The sudden power surge surrounded her arm what she used to hit the ground. The power surge vaporized everyone around her. Leaving only the scorched ground beneath her.

Rory against a spear attack from all directions, she jumped up as the shafts crossed beneath her and used them as footholds to vault into the air.

Rory's skirt blossomed like a black rose, showing off her black lace garter belts that connected to her black panties, and the smooth, flowing lines of her legs. She swung her halberd in a full circle.

As if caught in the blades of a food processor, the tops of the bandits' heads came off, spurting blood like a crimson tide.

Her face was splattered in crimson pearls from the bloody rain, as she cleaved the wind, cleaved through flesh, cleaved through steel.

A greatsword filled with equal amounts of fear, hatred, and bloodlust swung down on Rory's head.

But Rory's keen eyes noticed the attack, and her opponent's desperate gamble failed.

With her left hand, Rory grabbed her skirt and ducked the blow like a bullfighter evading a bull's charge.

Then she jumped towards a Death Knight attacking it with all her might. She did not know what those creatures are. But they emitted strange energy what reminded her to her master. The Death Knights emitted Death.

The creature raised its shield and blocked Rory's strike hastily. Answering it strokes back with its long-serrated sword. More creatures turned in her direction and started to attack her. They were fast. Quicker than any normal human being was capable of. She jumped off from another strike.

But she jumped into a trap. She was surrounded

Rory charged into the creatures, but one of them who wore black armor blocked her strike with its energy sword and kicked Rory back. From the strong kick, she felt as if an another apostate kicked her in her stomach. She spat blood and smiled wildly.

Itami and Tomita did not want to fall behind, so they protected the girls. With their rifles, pistols, and bayonets, they kept the enemies from flanking Rory and the two adventurers. But they did not dare to attack the creatures and the golden armored soldiers. He did not want to find out what are those creatures and what they are capable of. Itami only hoped his reinforcements would arrive soon.

If one could take a step back and calmly observe Rory and the two adventurers doing battle, it would be a beautiful sight. The two adventurers worked like they were one entity. Was it because of her battle frenzy, or was because Itami thought the two adventurers were cool? Rory is smiling widely as they were in the throes of pleasure, even though this was the battlefield. Still, any man would want to see a face like that in bed with him.

The Italica citizens and guards in the middle of the fights found that the enemy attack had suddenly weakened. After looking around, they saw Itami and company.

"The Apostle of Emroy is here! The Men in Green are here! The heroes are here!" As they shouted these things, they regained their discipline and began helping each other to fight. After that, they heard the sound of explosions and the blaring of the trumpets.

Rory was surrounded by the creatures, she has been nailed to the ground by the Nephalem Guards and Death Knights tight grips, and she waited to strike down, she closed her eyes. But Raidyn jumped to her rescue in the middle of the circle of creatures who's completely encircled the Apostate. The creatures immediately stopped their weapons before her. The serrated swords what emitted death. And the dimming energy weapons were only one inch from her head. Still, she smirked under her mask.

Rory has been killed around four of them before she nailed to the ground. But with a high price. Their arms only brushed her, but she felt as her soul has been torn apart by their weapons. The worse thing was she did not felt the souls what killed by the undead beings enter her and through her the realm of Emroy. The persons murdered by the undead beings and those black armored creatures simply flew towards an another direction. Maybe towards the creature's masters.

Rory looked up just to seen Raidyn above her who stood between her and the strike. She looked back to her. "Don't attack them. They are our soldiers."

Rory looked her dumbfounded. Raidyn sighed. "I should have warned you about our forces coming to this direction. Sorry, my bad." She said sarcastically.

Rory stood up. "What are those creatures?" inquired the Demigoddess.

"The undead looking beings are Death Knights, The black armored beings are Nephalem Guards, and the golden armored guys are honor guards of the Prince of The Sorcerer King." She explained.

Meanwhile, Momon rushed to Itami and his troops to warn them not to attack the creatures and the golden armored figures.

Meanwhile in the choppers of the JSDF.

The three helicopters, one AH-1 Cobra leading and two UH-1s behind it raced through the brightening sky.

"Col. Kengun! 5 minutes to the objective!"

Ltc. Youga said, "According to the report from 3RCN (3rd Recon Team), the east gate is currently engaged. For safety's sake, we should approach from the east and wipe out the enemies at the gate. We also got reports from strange armored undead forces under the gates."

The soldiers in the chopper looked at each other and started to whisper.

Kengun nodded in approval, and said, "Take care of it, Ltc."

The men in the helicopter cabin loaded the magazines for their rifles.

"Two minutes!"

As Youga said that, he pressed the button on the amplifier.

He turned the volume to its maximum, and then pressed the "play" button.

The sound of horns rang out.

The light sounds of woodwinds raced through the air like a Pegasus, and the main theme commenced with the blaring of the trumpets.

This was a song written in honor of the eight Valkyries.

One of the troopers who had finished loading his rifle placed his helmet between his legs. His curious comrade asked him:

"Why does everyone sit on their helmets?"

"So we don't get our balls blown off!" The soldiers yelled in unision.

「Führet die Mähren fern von einander, bis unsrer Helden Hass sich gelegt!

Der Helden Grimm büsste schon die Graue!

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!」

Aboard the helicopters, a trooper placed the blade of his rifle's front sight into the middle of the rear sight's aperture and centered the bandit's head in his sight picture. He factored in the speed of the helicopter and the movement of the bandit as he took aim.

"Proper aim, proper posture, proper cheek weld, don't snatch the trigger…" As he muttered this to himself, he adjusted the 2.7kg weight of the rifle in his arms.

He fired three times.

His right shoulder absorbed the recoil, and the lack of a need to recover the cartridges was oddly relaxing.

Usually, they would be under strict orders to keep an eye on where all their rounds (or parts thereof) went, but now the empty casings fell to the floor of the helicopter, and eventually out onto the bodies of the bandits.

The muzzle of the rifle did not shine, veiled as it was in thick black smoke.

The warriors' bodies became sacrifices for the flames of war, which blazed brightly.

And then, the attack helicopter appeared, breaking through the clouds of smoke that obscured the sky.

Their sheer majesty awed the people watching. They raised their heads to gaze upon the iron Pegasus that had descended from the heavens.

The AH-1 Cobra's 20mm M197 tri-barrelled getting autocannon swiveled to aim at the bandits which Rory and the others had pressed into a mass.

As though they had been waiting for Itami's retreat, the 20mm rounds, fired at a rate of 680 to 750 rounds per minute, chewed the enemy into mincemeat.

The Cobra descended as it fired. This was the final blow.

The flames of war blazed, and the torrent of shells destroyed everything.

Before long, the Gatling gun stopped. The sound of the trumpets had faded away, and in everyone's ears was the sound of the helicopters' propellor blades. All that remained were wisps of Gunsmoke.

The UH-1J hovered in mid-air.

At first, nobody dared to speak to the "Men in Green." Whether in numbers or strength, it was clear that they were soldiers from somewhere. Someone reverently asked Tomita where they were from, and the answer they received was "We're from the JSDF."

Under the powerful downwash of the helicopter's propellers, Rory noticed that her hair was not being tossed around. As she pressed down her skirt which was being blown up by the prop wash, she looked around. However, there were no more enemies around her.

But the helicopters started to fire to the creatures seeing them as a threat. Most of the cavalry of the Sorcerer Kingdom were already in the city. The gunfire killed a few from the Honor Guard soldiers. But they did not panic. They trained in such situation as every possible situation inside or outside of the book, and they were flexible if it came to the battle tactic. The projectile weapons what the JSDF used was not alien to them, and they have been trained to how to fend off such attacks. The mages raised the magical shields around the Honor Guard and the cavalry. The Death Knights Raised their huge tower shields.

Esdeath and Momonga seeing the approaching choppers ordered their summons to intercept them. A few armored Nephalem Guards took off from the ground, and with a sudden supersonic speed, they rocketed towards the choppers what started their bombardments. Killing the remaining bandits but not causing further damage to the Sorcerer's Kingdom' troops.

Itami tried to radio to the reinforcement what he ordered. But it was too late.

The pilots tried to evade the suddenly appeared black armored creatures what resembled gruesome angels. But even with their experience and training. They can't evade them. A soldier closed the door of the chopper hoping the Flying Guard can't open it.

But instead of opening it simply tear it off then grabbing the utterly terrified JSDF soldiers started to threw them out one by one.

Of course, the terrified soldiers tried to fire at the creature inside the flying machine and stabbing them with their bayonets, but seemingly the bullets simply bounced off their magical armor don't even bunting it in the process. The bayonets simply broke at the half as they made contact with the armor. One soldier in his fear wanted to throw a frag grenade, but the guard sensing the danger simply took the grenade out from his hand with a fast movement and threw out from the 'open' door of the copper. Causing an air turbulence what the pilot barely could stabilize. Then the Nephalem Guards started to threw the panicked JSDF soldiers threw out from the helicopters one by one towards their forces.

Fortunately, Beelzebub ordered his mages to use their [Levitate] spell and do not let them fall to their death. After the guard threw out the pilot. It grabbed the joystick and landed to the ground gently with the chopper. Every helicopter suffered the same fate, and the JSDF reinforcements and their weapons have been confiscated by the honor guard.

The Valkyries whose song their heroic song has been silenced by the demons of the Sorcerer King. The battle has been fought and the Valkyries has lost their heroic battle. The demons win this time.

Piña stood beside of Itami, Rory, Tuka and Lelei, but she had no idea what to say neither what to do. She was out of the options. She, her soldiers, the men in the green. Has been surrounded by the horrifying creatures and the imposing looking golden armored soldiers. She guessed they are the ones who the Empire fought against in Dalnus hill. She filtered this much the stories what she heard back in the Inn and the nursery where she went to investigate the case.

Just yesterday, when she had met the men in green and the two adventurers, she had ordered them to help her, as though she was in charge.

She had been leaning on a table, elegantly sipping her tea, explaining important matters to them like they were her subordinates. This was how Piña and people like her lived in high society.

Well, maybe yesterday's attitude was not so bad, but it was close enough.

But what about her status today? Was she not one of the tragically defeated?

Indeed, the bandits had been beaten back, and the townspeople were happy to have won and survived. Still, they felt uneasy in the presence of those horrifying creatures.

The mourning and getting over the loss of life and lost family members would take a while. Rebuilding the ruined villages and town would be a problem too. However, this victory had been won by betting their lives, so it should be celebrated. Mourning alone would not mean anything to the deceased.

In that sense, Piña should have celebrated, as one of the victors. However, the desolate atmosphere around her was one of defeat.

She did not feel like she had won at all. Moreover, it seemed even the men in green was helpless against the new invaders. As she mused on this the wall what composed off variously raced soldiers, Death Knights, and Nephalem guards. Opened like clockwork and an imposing man with golden irises with vertically split pupils who wore an impressive master crafted gray armor rode towards her. Accompanied by an elf who wore some kind of crystal armor and several other figures in his side. His face was quite delicate and handsome. Like his face has been made by some talented artist.

The winners were clearly not Rory, Itami, and the JSDF. Of course, the JSDF played an important part in the victory, and they helped her greatly. Still, they had been beaten down by the newly coming invaders.

These enemies who had taken control of Arnus, who rode iron Pegasi, who held magic in their hands which could scorch the earth into a roaring inferno, who had exterminated in an instant those bandits that had troubled Piña. Had failed. These demons had beaten them.

If they decided to turn their fangs on Piña and Italica, what could she do? The Empire's Princess Piña and the young Countess Myui of House Formal would become prisoners, and the enemy would take the Empire's breadbasket.

What about the townspeople? Could they resist? No, they would welcome the invaders with open arms. After all, it was the Sorcerer Kingdom forces and the JSDF who had won the day. Talk of the "Men in Green" had already spread from the mouths of Coda's villagers.

The common folk were simple and did not understand governance. They would be hooked by anything that benefited them, even if it was only temporary.

 _"If they demanded this town in exchange… I might have to kneel in front of them and beg for their mercy, and for them to release myself and Countess Myui."_

 _"Me, begging an enemy for mercy? A proud Imperial Princess? Pulling on a man's sleeve like some common whore in an alehouse?"_ Piña gritted her teeth.

If she went down on her knees and kissed their toes, they might actually do it. She would have to accede to any humiliating requests they had.

Piña fearfully awaited the demands of these newly came majestically armored person who from his look clearly was a noble of his people.

She had planned to wait. However, in the next few moments, her vision regained its color, and the sound from around her called her back to her senses. The First Son of Ainz prepared himself and unmounted his Demonic Attronach. He cleared his throat.

"I am the First Prince of the Sorcerer Kingdom. The son of Ainz Ooal Gown the Sorcerer King. Beelzebub Ooal Gown. Is there anyone who I can negotiate?" he asked as he looked around.

Being no other choice, the Imperial Princess stepped out. Seeing Pina beautiful face, Beelzebub suddenly became embarrassed, but she gulped and shook himself back to the reality.

"I am Piña Co Lada. The fifth child of Emperor Molt." She introduced herself. "Please state your claims."

"I am Col. Kengun. State your claims." One of the bound captives stood up.

Beelzebub nodded, and his soldiers unroped the Colonel and led him near the Princess. He glared at Kengun with his golden irises.

But before he could open his mouth he heard a cheerful voice and clapping from the crowd.

"So the Princess and his guards are here. What a surprise. Your father would be proud seeing how you handled the situation." She said in a sarcastic tone. Two figure stepped out of the crowd. They were the black-clad warrior Momon and Raidyn the Spell blade.

Beelzebub turned to their direction lazily. Meanwhile, Creon stepped forward and placed his hand to his sword. "How dare you speak the Crown Prince in such tone!" He said with a voice of anger.

Beelzebub raised his hand. "Let them speak Creon."

His captain nodded and stepped back. Removing his hand from his sword. "Who are you?" inquired Beelzebub.

"How rude of us to not introduce ourselves! Doesn't it? Momon-kun?" she teased her companion as she glanced in his direction.

Momon nodded. "Indeed…"

Everyone in the crowd gasped and started to whisper amongst each other.

"Let me introduce us." Said the black-clad warrior. "I am Momon. Adamantine ranked adventurer." He motioned his companion. "And she is Raidyn. Adamantine ranked adventurer as well."

The golden armored soldiers whispered amongst each other. "The two God kins from the legends! They really exist? Not just tales?"

Raidyn smirked under her mask in satisfaction then continued. "Your father recalled us from our pension to be your bodyguard Princess."

The Crown Prince smiled in this little act of foolishness. "And how do certify yourselves? Where is the proof?"

Momon reached into his purse what hung on his side. He grabbed a badge from it and gave it to the young prince. He inspected it and nodded. "Father… You worry too much. Sending two legendary god kins to my help. You are too generous." He shook his head disapprovingly and looked back to his soldiers lazily. "Lower your weapons." His troops followed his order and lowered the arms.

The soldiers of the JSDF, Piña, her knights and the denizens of Italica gasped in surprise. Itami, Piña, and Rory mumbled. "God kins…"

"Oh, and your aunt gave me an important message what I had to pass."

The young heir nodded. "What is it?"

Raidyn walked close to him and whispered in his ear. "Don't screw it. Kit. Or I will kick your butt," she said playfully.

Beelzebub nodded while smiled in satisfaction. "That's certainly her."

Raidyn turned back to Momon. "Momon-kun. Do mind if you will be the first who accompanying the Prince under the negotiations? My diplomatic skills a little rusty." She cracked the back of her head nervously.

Momon shook his head. "No. But the task to organize the troops is yours."

Raidyn sighed. "Fine…"

From the crowd and exited sound could be heard. "Milady! Milord! You are here!" It was Hamusuke as she charged towards her masters

Everyone looked dumbfounded as the giant armored hamster ran towards the two adventurers.

"Yo! Hamusuke-chan! Long time no see!" she raised her hand in a welcoming position.

Itami and the 3rd division sweat dropped. "A speaking armored enormus hamster... Now I saw everything..." Mumbled Itami.

Creon leaned closer to Beelzebub and whispered to him. "Don't you want to resurrect our fallen soldiers before their eyes as a show of strength?"

Beelzebub smiled then turned his head towards his guard captain. "We resurrect them later when no foreign eyes see us. My father once told me. ' Beelzebub... Never reveal every card in your hand. It may lead your downfall.'" Explained the young heir.

Creon nodded. "I see..."

Beelzebub continued. "Let them think we lost some people. We frightened them enough. In the end, they may be afraid to trade with us. Father also taught me. Fear is a great tool to control masses for a short term. But it fails in long-term ultimately. If you want to gain the trust of the people. You need to be open minded to other ideas and kept your promises." Explained the young heir.

Creon bowed his head. "I see... The Leader of the Supreme Beings is truly wise."

Beelzebub nodded in response.

Later in the negotiations.

Kengun and Hamilton turned to the young heir. "What's your claims?"

"Considering the soldiers of JSDF attacked us without any provocations. We should execute you in order of the old laws."

Beelzebub who was accompanied by his Captain and Momon. Because of the translator items, Both sides understand them completely fine.

Kengun gulped.

"But we are not savages. According to the new laws of my father, we can't do such things and I as well my father believes in second chances. That a rivalry can be turned into a friendship."

Kengun nodded. Beelzebub turned to the Colonel. "Your government need to pay compensation for the damage you caused and the soldiers who're your soldiers killed. But other than that. You are free to go. I only ask two things."

"State your claims?" asked the Colonel.

"I ask you to relay a request for a trade agreement with the JSDF and to do not attack us again without provocation. Or we may have to retaliate the transgression with force what will shake the very heavens. We will burn the very skies and ground under your feet. And it will not matter if you pray to any deity. Because of no one. Not even the gods can save your world if you march to war against us. Consider this not a warning. But a promise Colonel. We have no intentions of war only if your people force us."

Kengun nodded uneasily. Inside he felt the young heir threats, not just empty words. "That's manageable."

Hamilton opened his mouth. "What about Italica? What do you want?"

"Italica will be our protection for the time being. We will not interfere the usual town life but help with the restoration. Italica will become a free city. Free from the influence of the Empire, the JSDF, and the Sorcerer Kingdom. It will become a mid-ground to the tree sides. A ground for negotiation."

Hamilton clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. "So you occupying the city."

"In a sense yes and no. We will not interfere in the city inner life as I said. We are just protecting the city until it recovers. Of course, for the protection, we request a trade agreement, and tax exemption Consider this the good will of the Sorcerer King towards the denizens of Italica. But every military operation against the city. Against the Sorcerer, King soldiers and the denizens of the Sorcerer Kingdom will trigger heavy retaliation."

Hamilton sighed in defeat. Being no choice and completely outgunned. She agreed. "So be it."

Momonga sweat dropped with his non-existent sweat glands under the illusion. _"I hope Beelzebub will not trigger a war with his aggressive tactic. Or we may have to interfere…"_

Kengun and Beelzebub nodded from a rigid posture.

Kengun continued.

"We understand that labor is the key to Italica's recovery. Although that is your practice, We hope that you can treat them humanely."

Beelzebub nodded. "Of course, that's only natural. The Sorcerer's Kingdom's laws prohibit such things. Except if the person is a terrorist or religious fanatic who want restrict other rights to exercising their freedom. There is a clear border to let reasonable things flow or allowing chaos is spreading in the country without stop. We had to draw the line somewhere. Absolute freedom without rules only leads to chaos."

Kengun nodded and looked to Hamilton.

"They don't quite understand the term 'humanely'..."

Lelei was working hard. The fact that sweat was dripping from her forehead onto her expressionless face only underscored that.

She tried to explain in her own words, and said, "Like you would treat a friend, relative or acquaintance." However, Hamilton frowned at that.

"Would our friends and relatives attack peaceful towns and villages, to murder and plunder?"

Piña called out to keep Hamilton, who was shouting angrily, under control.

"All right, then don't treat them too cruelly. You played a big part in this victory, so we can let you have that."

Hamilton relaxed after Piña opened her mouth.

Piña desperately tried to mobilize her brainpower to understand the situation.

And who was this man, anyway? She knows the gray-armored man was a royalty like herself and behind him his captain and his bodyguard. So it was reasonable he handling the negotiations.

But she just can't understand who the man who is sitting the other side of the table was.

The man seated on the other side of the table was a stout-bodied warrior. He wore green as well, but his bearing was clearly different from a mere footsoldier.

His belly was fat, but from the wrinkles in his forehead, he was a grizzled veteran. The man's forthright, open attitude suggested he was confident in himself. That self-confidence must have been born of long experience, and Piña would kill to have that experience and self-assurance.

He seemed to be a JSDF commander.

Piña sat down in Count Formal's seat since she was representing him. Beside her, Countess Myui sat between her butler and the head maid.

The speaker was Hamilton, but the one who would negotiate, make proposals and make the final decision was Piña herself.

Piña carefully considered her words to make sure of the circumstances. But in a situation like this, what kind of agreement could they come to?

She beckoned Hamilton with a finger, and Hamilton, with bandages on her forehead and the rest of her, came close.

"Ah, Your Highness, you've come to, I was worried."

"Forgive me; I made you worry."

After that, they decided to go through the details again to make sure.

"Hm. Then, I would like to clarify the conditions with you."

Hamilton recited them like she was reading out an epic poem.

After reading the contents of the parchment, Hamilton handed it to Piña.

She read it a few times. They had not come off badly. Or rather, these were actually pretty good terms. Besides the fact, Italica will slip out the influence of the Empire and became a free city in the time being. She had no other choice. Either she accepts it, or they will be wiped out. She already knew it is the victor who dictates not the defeated in war.

Piña had confidence in her ability to read people, but Hamilton Uno Ro's negotiating skills were beyond her expectations. How had she managed to make warriors with such incredible fighting power give up their victors' rights? Magic? Or had she used her feminine wiles during the negotiations?

No matter what, if the diplomats heard about this, they would try and headhunt her. Hamilton's negotiation skills would be critical for the Knight band.

Still. With the loss of Italica, the Empire will be severely weakened. After all, The city was an important trade center. But at least they gained a significant ground for negotiations. As the saying goes. You can't win without sacrificing something.

Piña thought about these things, then signed the end of the parchment, and then put a blob of wax on it before stamping it with her signet ring.

Beside her, Countess Myui signed and sealed it with great formality.

Hamilton rolled out the parchment before Kengun and Beelzebub.

First Beelzebub signed the contract. After him. Lelei and Tuka had read and confirmed the terms to the Colonel and he signed it in Kanji.

The Colonel read the contract between the Sorcerer Kingdom and Japan. Strangely his copy of the contract written by perfect Japanese writings. He found it strange, but he dismissed it. Saying. He will worry about it later.

He signed

Rory turned away with an unhappy expression on her face, while Itami stood dumbly, with a black right eye.

Every party got a copy of the treaties what subjected to them.

The terms of the treaty took effect immediately, the soldiers of JSDF has been released, and so the 401st Squadron flew back to base.

The troops of the JSDF who participated in the battle will surely write the interesting thing in their reports. What maybe the officers who will read the reports most likely not believe. But this was to be expected after how easily the reinforcements has been taken care off by the forces of the Sorcerer Kingdom. Strangely no JSDF soldiers died in the battle. Due Momonga and Esdeath ordered their summons. If it is possible only kill bandits.

The townspeople took some time out from the post-battle cleanup to watch them soar into the sky, waving their hats at them until they vanished from sight. They had been helped by the strange creatures. First, they were afraid of them. But after they had been seen they are really efficient and only helping them. The people of Italica were glad their saviors were so generous.

Lelei, Tuka, and Rory went to the home of the trader Ryudo to discuss business.

Being exempted from taxes was a huge selling point for any merchant, so the girls were welcome by all of them. Things were made even simpler since Master Kato had introduced them previously.

They completed the sale of 200 dragon scales for 4000 silver denarii and 200 gold sinks.

However, actually claiming those 4000 denarii in liquid currency was impossible. Ryudo had tried his best, but House Formal's territory had just been ravaged by bandits and trade in Italica had ground to a halt. Also, the Empire did not supply its outlying regions with a lot of currency, so obtaining even 1000 denarii would be a big challenge.

In the end, the remaining 2000 was paid in credit guarantees, while the remaining 1000 was written off as a discount. In exchange, however, Lelei asked Ryudo for information.

This information pertained to the markets in the region and beyond, and she requested him to investigate the prices of certain items in various markets carefully.

Ryudo laughed as he heard this request.

Unlike the buying and selling of regular citizens, the information on the prices of merchants was an important weapon in price negotiations. No trader would ask so bluntly about them, nor would anyone answer so readily.

However, since Lelei was an outsider, she knew nothing about what things cost. Because she knew nothing, she wanted this information, but broader in scope, with more details, in exchange for the debt owed.

"One thousand silvers, huh."

Nobody had ever paid so much for information before, but since a price had been named, it was a sale. And the goods were of a pretty high quality too.

And so, Ryudo agreed to collect the relevant information from all around.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Fortress Gown:**

It was a peaceful day in Fortress Gown. The denizens of the fortress did their daily work for the Sorcerer Kingdom. The works were already finished and the outskirts of the fortress. (around one mile away from the structure) Has been redesigned to a middle ground where the traders who arrived either from the Sorcerer Kingdom or the nearby area can trade their goods.

Numerous mages from Rondel arrived near the fortress the last day. Seeking the new knowledge about magic. What the newcomers brought with themselves. They were awe seeing the unknown magic what heavily surpassed their own and they were eager to learn.

Inside of the Fortress. From the Gate the traffic was high. Nut just by day. But at night too. But now. A steady march can be heard from the inside of the structure. The march has become louder and louder. But no one cared about it. Except for the ten meters tall undead and other creatures who's stood beside the gate. Vigilantly never resting. Guarding it against the attackers. Be it. Inside or outside.

They raised their arms and saluted. Knowing what causing the massive March. The unknown figures stepped across the border of the structure. It was numerous Death Knights, Black Death Guards, Nephalem Centurions, many other creatures and the elite guards of the Sorcerer Kingdom.

They escorted three women. The women were Ainz's three wives. Albedo, Zesshi Zetsumei, and Shalltear Bloodfallen. They rode on their unique mounts elegantly.

The three of them stopped before the golden armored guard captain of this side of the Gate. "My Queens! It is good to see you! What do we owe the pleasure?" He and his subordinates kneeled down immediately. Lowering their head in a submissive position.

The three of them nodded to the captain. "Rise. We would like to speak Demiurge in an important matter," said Albedo while she up kept her always smiling poker face.

The captain and his subordinates risen. "At once! I will inform Demiurge-sama immediately!" He saluted and signed his men to inform Demiurge about their guests.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Well, this is for now.**

 **I hope you liked it.**

 **Tell me your opinion. Like, review, whatever! XD**

 **In the next chapter. Political situation. Surprise attack? Guests of the JSDF.**


	7. Fifty shades of the Princess face

**Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.**

 **I don't own the** ** _Overlord_** **(** **オーバーロード** ** _Ōbārōdo_** **?** **) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **Please review it I know I will make mistakes what I will intend to correct and try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

* * *

Later in the night.

A group of riders raced down the road to the west, heading for Italica.

Above them flew flags emblazoned with red, white and yellow roses. The sound of many galloping hooves thundered beneath them.

Their polished breastplates and helmets reflected gold and silver light, and the waving flags and upraised lances surged forward at great speeds.

The knight at their lead is especially noteworthy.

She was a spectacularly dressed female knight whose golden hair swayed in the wind. She lashed her horse repeatedly. Her mount mutely bore the pain and threw itself forward in response.

The countryside flew past the lady knight's eyes, but it was too slow, far too slow. She gripped the reins tighter and lashed the horse harder.

"Bozes! You're going too fast!"

The woman whose voice was filled with even calmness caught up to the foremost rider.

She was a female knight with chestnut-brown hair. Behind her was a group of mounted warriors, whom she had left behind in her haste to catch up with Bozes.

The lady knight called Bozes replied in a voice like the tinkling of silver bells.

"We're still too slow, Panache!"

"Your horse won't be able to take it, and people in the rear can't keep up with you. If this goes on, we won't be able to fight even if we make it there on time."

"It doesn't matter, our objective is Italica, and the stragglers can catch up later. Time is of the essence now!"

"But—"

"Even if only a few people arrive in the end, there are ways to fight with small groups. The most important thing is to get there is soon as possible, even if it's by just a little."

Bozes had said this much, and Panache could not convince her otherwise. All she could do was follow behind Bozes and convince her to slow down as much as possible.

After Bozes forced herself to loosen the reins and lower her speed, the unit behind her finally managed to catch up a little.

"Panache, will we make it in time?"

"It'll be fine. If it's the Princess, she'll think of a way."

"But—"

It was all Bozes could do to suppress the uneasiness in her heart. Her energies were focused on the road which kept unfolding before her and the tiny point of Italica on the horizon.

Therefore, the first one to notice it was Panache.

"Hm?"

Something was approaching from in front of them.

Although this was supposed to be a major road of the Empire, that meant it had been built long ago and exposed to the elements in the wilderness, and in places, it would become very narrow, certainly not big enough for two wagons to fit side by side. If the riders continued like this, they would collide with the people in front of them.

Speaking of which, the entity approaching from in front of them was drawing near with a speed that surpassed their expectations. It looked like a box, and from a distance, they could not tell exactly what it was, but it seemed to be a wagon of some sort.

"Bozes!"

"I know."

"The hell you know! Look ahead!"

As Panache's scolding brought her around, Bozes straightened up, clicked her tongue and pulled back hard on the reins.

Panache raised her left hand to signal a halt to the rest of the unit behind her, and she pulled on her reins to stop her horse.

The people behind them were slightly relieved because they had a chance to give their exhausted mounts an opportunity to rest. Both man and beast panted heavily, sweating rivers.

"Ahhh, what a pain! Have them make way!"

Just as the knights behind them were about to advance to remove the obstruction, they saw Panache's signal to wait and stayed where they were.

"They came from Italica. I'll check them out and see if they have any useful information."

With that, Bozes slowly urged her horse forward.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Italica:**

Piña Co Lada. 19 years old female. The fifth child of Emperor Molt, the ruler of the Saderan Empire. She was in a really distressed situation. She not only lost the city of Italica. But now she sat before the enemy Crown Prince. Not because she wants. But because she has to. After all, after the negotiations, she offered him, Momon and Creon. Beelzebub captain to dine together.

She must admit. The crown prince of the enemy kingdom who invaded Italica looked handsome despite his horns what curled out from the two sides of his head and she found somewhat appealing his two demonic, yet beautifully shining yellow irises. What strangely has vertically slit pupils instead of normal ones.

Beside the heir of Ainz. Sat his bodyguard who sent by his father. The dark hero. Momon. However, referring religious reasons, he did not remove either his close faced black helmet or consumed anything. This is what Beelzebub did not understand either. He knew there was a religious freedom in the Sorcerer Kingdom. But he never heard such religion what needed to keep these dogmas. But he is in the Princess presence. He will later ask about it, Momon.

Piña thought about why should anyone chose an elf to become the captain his honor guard after Beelzebub introduced her Creon Karailis, his captain in the honor guard. But after seen the variously raced soldiers in Beelzebub honor guard and those horrible abominations. She was not surprised at all. However, Piña became strangely curious what kind of kingdom offer complete equality to all races no matter their nature and use those strange creatures in the brunt of their forces.

But Creon Karailis. Beelzebub captain was not at the scene due he helped coordinate the forces in the city.

Such the Princess and Myui accepted this and let it go.

 _"Their technological and magical knowledge would be way above ours. I had to be cautious. One misstep and this 'Prince' may give the order to the annihilation of Italica. Or maybe…"_ she gulped nervously.

 _"Maybe the whole Empire…"_

Beside her sat Myui Formal. The countess of the town of Italica. She was only 11 years old. But because of her father. The former head of Clan Formal, Colt, died participating in the Empire's expedition force to the otherworld. As her two older sisters were already married into other families, she became the head of Clan Formal. Her two older sisters are battling over who gets guardianship. Clan Formal withdrew its soldiers, having no spare capacity. As a result, crime increased, and public safety worsened.

Around them, the maids went and came. Bringing the newer and newer meals to the table. Count Myui picked her most prestigious guards to oversee the dinner. Beelzebub did the same and brought the best from his honor guards to oversee the dinner. But he did not pick any from the summoned units not to terrify even more the Princess and those who was present in the room from the side of the empire.

He saw how terrified they were already. And it would be indecent for bringing creatures in the room what could cause nightmares for the children and most of the adults from a mere glance. So he decided to bring a few from his best honor guard simply to oversee the event and to avoid further accidents.

Amongst them, there was massive Beastman with massive bulky armor. A Lizardman. But mostly humanoid raced people. A few humans, elf and a few more golden armored honor guard from various races.

Beelzebub inspected the princess with a look of curiously while hid his mouth behind his folded hands. For one moment the burgundy haired princess glanced deep into Beelzebub yellow eyes. Yellow meet burgundy and Piña suddenly turned her head away from the judging stare of her fellow royalty and blushed deeply.

When she looked into his eyes, she felt unburdened power without restraint, confidence, awareness, authority, and in the same time. Calmness, kindness, and nobility.

She did not know what to do with the man before her. The four of them sat in the dining hall of the Count Formal estate ceremonial dining room, and none of them said even a word. The air around them started to become heavier and heavier for the Princess of the Saderan Empire and the young Myui.

Those yellow eyes with vertically slit pupils were like as he tried to stare into directly into her soul.

Piña gathered her courage and her thoughts and slowly opened her mouth. "H-How is the food?"

The sweat started to drip in Piña's forehead and back in streams. " _Why did I say such thing!? I wanted to say something else entirely! But when it comes to the time an entirely another thing came into my mind."_

Beelzebub tilted his head and looked a little bit strangely at her. Then started to smile. His smile was like his mother's. Calming, reassuring. But the two horns what sprouted under his hair gave his face such shade it made his smile a little bit sinister looking.

He closed his eyes and bowed his head. "It is very delicious. Thank you." He answered.

Piña sighed inwardly in a relieved tone. "Princess may I ask a question?" asked Beelzebub.

Piña nodded nervously. "O-Of course."

Beelzebub sighed deeply. The tension just grows and grow in the room. Piña started to sweat again. "Your empire often attacks other nations without any declaration of war or scouting?"

Piña gulped nervously and mobilized all of her brain computing capacity to give the first heir of Ainz an adequate answer. "N-No! Of course, not! My father just thought with the appearance of the new gate. We may get the opportunity to expand our influence and gain new resources!" She retorted hastily.

 _"Please believe it! Please believe it! Please believe it!"_ She prayed deep inside her soul.

Beelzebub nodded. "I see…" he answered with a calm manner.

Piña sighed in a relieved tone.

"Still, it is strange you sent such great amount of force through the gate. You might think if you find an unknown structure in the middle of nowhere you send a few scouts forward to scout the other side. Before you send a whole legion. Funny. Don't you think." Explained Beelzebub with a deadly calm tone as he glanced lazily into Piña's eyes.

Momon glanced at his son from the corner of his helmet eye holes. _"Careful Beelzebub. You are walking on thin ice."_ He thought.

Piña gulped deeply and clenched her fists in her nervousness. _"He saw through it…What now?"_ she thought.

Beelzebub was silent for a moment. Then sighed deeply. "But that is the past. We need to concentrate on the future. And as my father always said. Even the most vicious enemy can be turned into a friend."

A relieved expression moved on Piña's face. "I am glad you say this." She said. "I would like to apologize in the name of the Empire about our intrusion. I hope our nations can negotiate the peace as soon as possible and can form a close relationship. I think it would benefit for both sides. "She said.

Beelzebub nodded. "I agree. But unfortunately, it is not up to me. It is up to my father. If he wants to spread his influence through the gate he will do that. Otherwise, after the empire paid compensation. Our forces retreat through the structure. At least. This is what I would do."

"Can I ask you which path he is most likely take?" inquired the princess with a curious yet frightened tone.

Beelzebub sighed and shook his head. "Unfortunately even I. His own son could not perceive his plans. I only assume if his claims will be satisfied he will retreat our forces and offer a trade agreement between our nations. If not… Well…" Beelzebub left a little pause between his sentences and glanced sideways.

Piña waited patiently for a moment then her curiosity overcame her. "I-if not… What then?"

Beelzebub smile turned sinister. He did not want to look that way. But his race demonic nature and the face structure what he inherited from his mother made him look that way. "Then we may force to vassalage your empire with force if it's necessary. As my father did it countless times back in our home world. According to my best knowledge, our envoy already gave my king claims to your father."

"C-Countless times?! What do you mean he give my father his claims?" asked the princess in a terrified tone. Count Myui's eyes widened.

"It means our envoy already relayed our claims. But unfortunately, your father did not welcome him as well as we hoped. According to my information."

Momonga sighed inside and shook his head. _"I thought it is not a good idea to send Zero to give my claims. His relationship anyone besides of our influence is really severe. True. He is a genius when it comes to information gathering, assassination, and cooking. But when it comes to social skills... Well... Let's just say. Esdeath could write in his program a few social skills."_

"W-What happened?" asked Piña in a panicked tone.

"According to him. After he appeared in the throne hall. Your father ordered his men to kill him." Explained Beelzebub.

 _"This is bad! This is very, very bad…"_ Piña gulped. Her heart can't take too much.

"But this is maybe his fault. You know. He is the leader of our assassination units and information gathering network. He likes to appear in the middle of the meetings without invitation and because he doesn't really like humans. He often leaves bodies behind as a warning."

 _"So that's happened when I got the order from father to investigate the two gates…"_ she thought. _"This is getting worse and worse! If my father goes in this direction, he may get kill himself!"_

"I-Is that so… Please forgive my father. He is a proud man." The burgundy haired princess tried to save the situation as she took out her best smile.

Beelzebub nodded and smiled with a friendly face. "Don't worry. I think he takes no offense. But, you know Princess Piña…" he looked to the sideline.

"J-Just call me Piña. Please." She took out her best friendly smile. Meanwhile inside she shook like jelly.

"Then in return please call me Beelzebub. I am also not a fan of those court pleasantries myself." Replied Beelzebub and chuckled.

 _"I need to gather more information from his nation. Every little bit counts. However, I don't want to hear any more. I need more information."_

"Can you tell me about your country? About your father conquests? Can you tell me about them?" inquired the burgundy haired princess.

Beelzebub leaned forward. " _Clever. Do you want more information about my home? Kukuku…_ "He chuckled inside _. "Two can play the game. I assume I can give her a few hints…"_ he rolled his eyes.

"Very well. I will tell you a few things."

The burgundy haired princess nodded and opened her ears as much as she can. Not to overlook any details what may come handy in the future.

"According to our history. My father and aunt arrived two hundred years ago from an unknown place. Together with their first vassals."

Piña nodded in understanding. Beelzebub continued. "In that time the Kingdom were not yet founded. My father territory was nothing more than a little. Barely a half square mile area near the forest of Tob. Of course, this was before my father started his crusade against the corrupt governments of the New World as he and aunt often called our world in those times."

"How did he manage to grow out a whole Kingdom from that small territory?" asked Piña curiously.

 _"It is all in our history book. Only in more detail. So, I think it is not a problem if I tell her. If she or any other people go into a bookstore. Anyone easily buys a history book for a few coppers or simply go into a free library."_ Thought the heir of Ainz.

"Through political schemes and of course using his and his vassal's strengths. He is not accidentally called Sorcerer King or Overlord of Death, Shinigami-sama, Wisest Being, the leader of the Supreme Beings and many other titles what he did not say it in loud. But hate them. You know?"

Piña nodded nervously.

"He once conquered a whole empire just by showing his strength. Completely annihilating the attacking army with a single act."

 _"Why the history books always overcomplicate things? We just wanted to go adventuring. It is that hard to believe? Seriously. Demiurge and the others were bad enough when they started to find out such things. But you too Beelzebub? Despite I am an undead. Now, I am depressed."_ Momonga screamed inside hearing what his son told the Princess.

Piña started to sweat. _"A-A Whole Empire!? No! That can't be right! Even the_ _apostles are incapable of doing that!"_ she screamed inwardly.

"My father and aunt managed to conquer our whole continent less than three years. And it took so long because they played with the politicians most of the time and went around personally explore the nearby countries. Because they were bored. As the two of them said. 'It would be pretty boring if we did not do that and just simply used force to conquer the lands.'" Beelzebub showed quotation marks with his fingers playfully.

"Prince Beelzebub! Please don't play with me. This is not funny!" Retorted Piña with an angry expression.

"Do I look like who joking with such things? No." he shook his head. "I just say the hard truth. You can ask anyone who lived in that time how things really happened. Long-lived races. Elves or demons for example. And they will say the same thing. What is written in the history book. Nothing else. Lying to the people is pointless. They will find out the truth sooner or later. Most of them not stupid despite what the nobles think about them. You know that?"

Piña looked to Momon waiting for confirmation what Beelzebub said.

 _"Now, that's true. Ordinary people sometimes more clever than you first think_." Momon nodded to himself.

Piña gulped nervously as she saw Momon is confirming with a nod what the heir of Ainz said. "C-Can I ask you how big is your kingdom?"

Beelzebub smiled. "My father domain spread across three continents, and we are close to the complete victory in the fourth. The last unconquered piece of land in our world will be in our complete control. Your nation intrusion may buy them a week delay. Nothing more. So we could say. My father is the sole monarch of our whole world." Said Beelzebub with a satisfied yet sad expression.

Piña's eyes widened. _"N-No. That can't be! Even our Empire was unable to conquer fully of our continent and upkeep its rule! What we have brought to ourselves?"_ she almost fainted in the midst of her panic.

"Can I ask you one more thing?" asked Piña nervously.

"Ask away…" said Beelzebub as he looked his wine with a bored face.

"W-What were those soldiers out there. In black armors and with those dreadful skulls faced masks?"

Beelzebub ate one bite elegantly from the meat before him, he chewed it and swallowed it. "They are Death Knights and Nephalem Guards. My father and aunt summons."

"Summons?" asked Piña.

Beelzebub nodded. "Summons…"

"So they are not human or any other raced creatures. Then… Can you explain to me what are these summons?" Inquired the princess.

Beelzebub nodded. After all, everyone knows this information about his father and aunt summons in the kingdom. There is a high possibility for them to know already. And even if they don't know. What do they will do them if he tells her they are created by his father and aunt.

He rolled his eye. "Well… The death knights. Those soldiers whose you thought only wore skeletal masks. Created by personally my father. They are undead beings. The black armored soldiers with energy weapons are Nephalem Guards. They are the creations of my aunt. I don't really know what her creations race is because she simply avoids the theme whenever I ask. So please forgive me. But I can't tell you."

Piña and Myui gasped. "U-Undead? T-They can create life? Impossible!" Piña stood up suddenly.

"Well… In our lands. My father is revered as the god of unlife, death, knowledge and many other things. And my aunt as the goddess of the war, destruction, creation, balance and many other things. However, she and my father hate these titles."

"G-Gods?" Myui and Piña said in unison in a flabbergasted tone then looked at each other with a terrified look. The soldiers of the Saderan Empire in the room already shook like jelly just by listening to this conversation.

Beelzebub nodded. "Yes, in our culture my father and aunt revered as gods. However, whenever someone refers my aunt as a god and start to pray towards her in her presence. She made the person stood up and start to explain to the person why such thing as god can't exist in the most difficult ways." The young heir shook his head disapprovingly.

Momonga face palmed inside. _"Please Beelzebub. I beg you… Don't start it. We said them numerous times. We are not some freaking gods! At least Esdeath says this since today. I gave up after a few try and just nod to those who want my blessing and trying to suppress their annoying religious prattle in my head. Still, it is freaking annoying!" To assure_ what he thought he nodded to himself.

Piña trembled even more then started to feel the nausea play with her stomach as she saw the silent black-clad warrior reassuring nod. Despite the fact that Momon did not nod to confirm what Beelzebub said. Just to confirm his own thoughts.

"Even listening to her complicated scientific explanation made my head hurt and she wonder why more and more people start to pray towards her when she and father made miracles day by day and walk amongst people like it was a natural thing to gods walks amongst people."

"Y-Your father is a god!?" asked Piña in a trembling tone while a puzzled expression settled on her face.

Beelzebub nodded confirming the worst what she feared. "You could say that. However, my mother and other god-like entities call him and aunt Supreme Beings. According to them. The forty-one stand above gods and killed many gods and demons in the past."

"T-That's impossible!" said Piña with an angered tone. "Gods cannot be killed!" she stood up suddenly.

Beelzebub sighed. "Well… As my aunt always say. Who knows as the god of destruction and balance according to the religion of the forty –one. Everything has a beginning that has an end. If you walloped something enough. If you move it away from its own piece of reality. That sooner or later will die."

Piña looked Beelzebub with the face of an unbeliever.

"You are joking, right? And why should they kill gods?" she asked suspiciously.

"Hey! Don't believe me. It's your call, But when I asked aunt about why they slew gods, she answered with the next sentence." Said Beelzebub lazily while sipped one sip of wine from his golden goblet.

The tension grew and grew between the two sides.

Beelzebub finished with his drink. "According to her. They killed them for items, crafting ingredients, experience and for fun," he answered lazily.

Momonga nodded inwardly. _"Yeah, those were good times. Just us and our thirty-nine friends killing those raid bosses, collecting resources and crafting. Ah. Good times. Even thinking about it trigger my emotion suppression. Damn…"_ A bright green aura surrounded Momonga what was only be seen by himself as his emotion suppression kicked in.

Piña gasped and just don't know what to say anymore. She remained silent and started to stare her food with a bland, emotionless face. She could not process what she heard. And she either can't decide what Beelzebub is said are true, or he just makes it up to terrify her.

In the best case of scenario, he just makes up the whole story. Still in that case these terrifying creatures and their strong soldiers still in the city. They could easily level the entire settlement and kill everyone in the scene with little effort, and she was sure Beelzebub and the mysterious dark warrior who sat beside him are more than they seem.

She is lost either way, and there was no way out the situation. In her desperation, she could only smile.

"You spoke about they perform miracles. Can you tell us an example?" Inquired the young Myui.

 _"Don't start Beelzebub…"_ Thought Momonga desperately.

"Let me think…" Beelzebub thought for a moment. _"I will not tell them about they can resurrect dead without a sweat… That would be too early… Seeing poor Piña face, she is moments away to threw up her dinner."_

"Their miracles for example. Healing crippled people with a single touch. Giving blessings to others what can grant them strength, intellect or simply made them luckier in the life. Making whole islands float with a flick of their hand. Giving back people youth. Appearing multiple places whenever they want wherever they want. Crushing armies with only one attacks. Etcetera. I could list their miracles until the day turns into night… And they still angry when the people call them gods. Funny isn't it?" Beelzebub shook his head while closed his eyes disapprovingly and smiled.

 _"At least he did not blurt out we can resurrect dead people…"_ Momonga sighed in a relieved tone inwardly.

"But that's enough of my home. I would like to hear about your Piña. Your people seems pretty decent, and despite the city state I think it is a great place in the time of peace." He smiled charmingly the turned to the young countess.

"And you Countess Myui. It seems despite your young age. You lead this town successfully. I clearly see. You will be a great leader in the future."

All of Piña and Myui concerns about Beelzebub suddenly flew away when they turned their faces away. Piña started to feel as butterflies starting to dance in her stomach. "T-Thank you… You are too kind Prince Beelzebub. B-But it is all thanks to my advisors." Answered Myui shyly.

Beelzebub smiled. "Maybe, but without you. The whole city would be in chaos, and numerous politicians try to take over the city. Even if that mean they had to assassinate each other. Don't forget. A king is no king without his people, but a people without their king would be lost as well."

Myui nodded. Then started to smiled. "Thank you. It is good to hear some encouraging words time to time. After father death. I don't hear much these kind of words."

"Don't mention it." Answered Beelzebub.

"I also like to genuinely thank you once again to came to our aid in time of need Prince Beelzebub." Myui bowed her head in humiliation.

"As I said. Don't mention it. Do you know what my father old comrade always said?"

"What is it?" asked the little Countess with a keen interest in her tone.

"If the road is harsh, it is only natural to take your sword and help." Quoted Beelzebub the Supreme Being Touch Me words.

Myui nodded. "It is a good saying."

With that the dinner and conversation continued

* * *

 **Scene Change: In the courtyard of Italica main gate:**

The courtyard before the main entrance of Italica was full with life. Well… Not only life. But with unlife as well. The undead soldiers of the Sorcerer King and the black armored Nephalem Guards who've already sheathed away their energy weapons marched across the courtyard with pairs.

Looking for any remaining hiding bandit around the city, keeping up the peace on the fire scorched streets, repairing the damage what the attack caused and helped the citizens with their problems. But this task mostly done by the golden armored honor guards. Due their appearance was less threatening than their undead and black armored colleagues.

Still, many citizens often jumped back when they are approached by either a massive Beastman soldier or a Lizardman.

Rory curiously inspected one of the Death Knight who guarded the nearby area. The energies what it emitted remembered her master. Emroy the god of darkness. The creature emitted pure darkness and death from itself and its weapons. As she leaned closer, the monster remained motionless only periodically releasing a weak growl and small white cold mist of death from its mouth.

Two evil red light dimmed in its eye socket what could easily terrify any normal people around the creature. And Rory felt as the hate just radiates from it towards every living being. Its sword only held back by its strong bond with its master and the command what it gave the creature.

She occasionally poked the creature what it answered with a weak growl. Sensing the girl is currently not a threat. It did not raise its weapons against her. But after being bored by the creature poking and spotting Raidyn in the middle of the courtyard she left it. With that, the lone undead guard continued its endless duty.

Still, Rory would gladly meet this creature creator. If it can create such strong unliving beings, the creator of these creatures must be a strong connection to Emroy. A person who she would gladly meet.

As Raidyn ordered the soldiers. Rory stepped beside her. Strangely she was immediately followed by Itami, Lelei, Tuka and Kuribayashi. The silence descended between them. Raidyn sighed. Thinking about how she could explain the others what happened two hours before.

She looked up to the sky. "The sky is beautiful in the night. Don't you think?"

Everyone looked at the sky and nodded. "Indeed." Said Itami with a smiling expression. But the short Kuribayashi shook him out from the beautiful moment.

"How could you think about such things? Why don't you or Momon told us about you two are with these guys!? We almost died because you did not tell about not to shot those creatures!" he pointed towards the patrolling summoned creatures.

"Not speaking about many of our men could die in the process!" The muscular woman asked in an angered tone as she grabbed Raidyn leather long coat and tried to pull her face towards herself. What Raidyn let.

Raidyn sighed. She wanted to answer. But Itami grabbed Shino's wrist. "Shino it is enough… I think she and Momon-kun would tell us about their role in the events what unfolded tonight if they had the permission from their superiors. Right?" asked Itami with an unusual serious face. At least this face was strange from him.

Raidyn started to scratch her face nervously. "Well… Actually. We had the permission to told you who we are."

Everyone in the group sweat dropped. "Then why!? Why did you not told us?" frowned Kuribayashi.

"No one asked us specifically where are we from. You just asked who we are and where are we came from. What we. If my memories did not cheat me. Told you honestly. We said we are adamantine ranked adventurers from a very far away kingdom. You never actually asked that country is in this world or not." Raidyn held up her arms with an 'I can't do anything about with the situation position.' as she explained the things.

Itami laughed nervously as he scratched the back of his head. "Whoops… Then it is really our fault."

Shino looked at him with an angry expression then turned back to Raidyn.

"This is still not explaining how your soldiers were able to force down a whole combat group with Cooper support above all with barely a few causalities?! If I saw everything right from the ground and what I heard from the guys from the combat group is true. The soldiers of your kingdom were not even afraid when the helicopters started to shoot them with guns. With guns! What by the way! Utterly terrify the denizens of this world!" Lelei wanted to stop Kuribayashi placing her hand on her shoulder.

Rory just inspected the scene with keen interest. Waiting Raidyn retort and her insanity burst out. But she did not felt any kind of insanity from her like before. What she felt was… similar sadness and regret. No. Or the feeling of complete emptiness. She did not know really because some strange spell distorted her perception.

Kuribayashi looked to Lelei with a furious expression. "No. Lelei! I had to say what I had to say!" Lelei stepped back a step seeing the furious expression on Shino's face. She continued.

"What about the reaction time of those combat groups of yours?! They were inhuman! Just what were they?! The guys from the combat group speak about some kind of glowing-eyed black armored demons what simply grabbed them and threw them out from the copters! They were even unable to bend their armors by close range shots, and their bayonets just broke when they stabbed them!"

Raidyn shook her head. "Shino. I…." But she was unable to continue due Kuribayashi cut her off.

"Don't Shino me! Answer me dammit! What about when they simply grabbed the sticks and put down the choppers without any hardship Like they were some kind of professional glorified pilots with decades of practice behind their back! And when I heard the soldiers from your kingdom said you and Momon some sort of glorified God kins! Explain now!" she yelled furiously.

Raidyn sighed and shook her head. Tuka stiffened herself and watched with fear what will happen when Raidyn once loses her head. If her joyful madness once turns into an angry madness. She wanted to be as far as she can from her.

Itami was an easy going guy. But what is enough is enough. He sometimes knows everyone needed to vent their rage. But Shino went too far this time. She was a soldier after all. Proud member of the JSDF. Not a civilian. "Sergeant First Class Kuribayashi! That's enough! If you…"

Raidyn raised her hand. "Itami-kun. It is okay. She is right. Let her finish went her rage." Said the adamantine ranked Adventurer.

Itami nodded shamefully seeing his fellow soldier behavior.

"Please continue. I will promise I will answer your every question as honest as I can."

Shino nodded. Took a deep breath and calmed herself down. "I am sorry… I went too far… Please forgive me." She bowed deeply. Following the traditional Japanese apologetic protocol

"Don't apologize Shino-chan. It is partly our fault." Raidyn sighed. "We should tell you who we are from in the first place. Damn! This is the worst way to start an acquaintance. Let me start again." she straightened herself once again and turned to the little group.

Her sad expression turned into a bright one. "I am Raidyn. Former retired adamantine class adventurer. It is nice to meet you all again!" she joked and bowed playfully.

Everyone mouth curled to smile in this comical act in the group. "It is nice to meet you Raidyn." Joked Itami and started to laugh.

An unknown golden armored broad shouldered elf and Hamusuke walked side by side of each other. on the other side of the courtyard. The elf wore an exquisitely crafted golden armor what was adorned by various sun symbols. He wore a silver shield on his back, a massive two-handed black sword underneath the shield and a shorter sword on his waist. He has long straight, blonde hair what was neatly stitched together to a horse tail.

He had emerald green eyes what seemed shine through the darkness of the night. He was Zeno Cruzerious. Also known as the Sun Knight. One of the strongest adamantine ranked adventurer in the kingdom and the first being who impressed the Sorcerer King in such degree. The Sorcerer King personally knighted him and granted him the title. Knight of Ainz Ooal Gown.

Currently, he was in the town due he came to explore the area with his team and stumbled into the city together with his adventuring companions.

Beside him strolled Hamusuke on her four pawns. She was also known two hundred years earlier as the Virtuous King of the Forest. He is now with Hamusuke. Due his colleagues were gone to explore the city and when he saw Hamusuke, he decided to speak with his old master's mount. Who trained him entirely from his childhood.

The huge Djungarian Hamster who wore her reinforced bluish black adamantine armor and has a long almost three-meter-long metallic tail. Was the mount of Raidyn back in her adventurer's day. But since Raidyn retired from adventuring she served in the Sorcerer Kingdom's army time for time together with her descendants.

Although she was around 400 years old, she kept herself quite well. The two of them walked across the courtyard and conversed with each other. When the elf who walked beside Hamusuke recognized a similar figure, who spoke with four stranger in the middle of the courtyard.

"Hamusuke. Are my eyes play with me? Or is that really Raidyn-sama?" asked Zeno while pointed to the slender female figure in the middle of the courtyard.

Hamusuke looked in her direction and nodded. "Yes, that is the Milady personally." She said proudly and nodded.

Zeno grabbed her armor and pulled her down. "Why don't you told me she is here!? You know how long I did not meet her? More than seventy-five years!"

Hamusuke stiffened. "I-I am sorry. Zeno-dono. I just simply forgot."

Zeno let Hamusuke armor and sighed. "Does not matter. Come let's meet her."

Hamusuke nodded and walked together with Zeno.

They approached Raidyn.

"Master! It is good to see you again!" greeted her Zeno.

After Raidyn finished her laugh and turned to her former apprentice.

"Hey, Zeno-kun! Long-time no sees!" she waved him.

Zeno walked to her and embraced her in a tight hug. In the embrace of the massive man Raidyn completely disappeared. It seemed the well-built man would snap the thin woman at the half at any moment with his tight hug. From behind it seemed Zeno is hugging himself not his petite tutor. Raidyn let her former friend and apprentice hug her little while. Then patted a few times his back.

"It is okay Zeno-kun. I know you missed me, but you know what I think about long hugs. It brings out my claustrophobic nature, and you know what happens then..." Zeno loosened a little bit from his hug as he heard his former tutor similarly honeyed words. And looked at her face.

She smiled at him with 'that' smile. The smile what Zeno know too well to made fun of it. For the innocent outsiders. This was an adorable smile from a beautiful woman what could melt away every man heart from a single glance at it. But for Zeno. It was a dreadful terrifying smile of agony. He is known this smile too well to made fun of it.

He stepped one step back and let his master go from his embrace. Thinking back what used to happened when his master is smiling like that. The expression of dread moved on his face. "I am a sorry master. I just saw you such long time." He explained and bowed his head humiliatingly.

"Zeno-kun! You know what I said. Don't call me master because it makes me feel old."

Zeno bowed his head. "Yes, master. You also said do not call you sadistic queen. Yet I do it anyway." He started to smirk.

Raidyn grabbed his long ear and started to punish him like in old times. "I said. Do not call me that. I am not some kind of queen. I am not some glorified royalty!"

Itami and the others watched them with a dumbfounded expression.

Meanwhile, Raidyn tortured Zeno with various ways. Hamusuke sighed. "Milady. You are not changed at all." Hamusuke shook her head.

Itami jumped up after he looked in the direction of the female voice. "W-Who are you?" he asked in a flabbergasted tone.

"This one get the name Hamusuke from the Milady 200 years ago. And since then this one is the faithful servant of the Milady and the Milord. And Milady personal mount back in her adventurer's days." Explained Hamusuke.

"Milady?" asked Kuribayashi. Hamusuke looked at Raidyn. Then back to Kuribayashi. Lelei watched with keen interest Hamusuke and touched the part of her soft silky fur what was out of her armor.

"Soft…." Said the petite blue haired mage.

Hamusuke turned to her and tilted her adorable hamster head. "Who are you?"

"I am Lelei La Lalena." Answered the petite blue haired mage shortly. Hamusuke nodded. "It is good to meet you Miss Lelei."

Itami grumbled in himself. _"A huge speaking hamster who used as a mount. What is this? Some kind of weird MMORPG where you can collect exotic mounts? I mean this is cool. But everything has a limit."_

Raidyn finished with Zeno's torture. "This will teach you not to call me with those titles."

The bloodied Zeno stood up with difficulty with a big smirk on his face. "Just like old times master. You did not change at all!"

Then he recognized Itami and the others and straightened himself. "I am sorry for this scene. I just don't meet my tutor such long time. I hope I did not offend you."

Itami and the others nodded. Then pointed to Zeno with a surprised expression when he realized what he said before. "Wait!? You say she is your teacher!?"

Zeno nodded. "Yes, and without her, I would not be reached my dreams and would die in the slums of the elf capital a long time ago. I still remember when she first threw me into the pit of nightmares." He fondled his chin and nodded with a satisfied expression.

"P-Pit of Nightmares? Asked Tuka with a direful tone.

Zeno nodded. "Yes, I still remember. I was only twelve, and one of my exams was what decided if she trains me or not was too threw me into that pit what swarmed with monsters with only one knife to use. Then let me here for one month figure out the riddle what she gave me and meanwhile I had to survive." He explained.

A dread moved into Tuka, Itami and Kuribayashi face. Lelei's eyes widened. Rory only smirked.

"But let the past go. I don't even introduce myself." He bowed. "I am Zeno Cruzerious. The leader of the adamantine ranked adventurer group Sun Breakers."

Itami stepped forward and shook hands with him. "I am First Lieutenant Yōji Itami. She is Sergeant First Class Shino Kuribayashi." Kuribayashi nodded. Zeno bowed his head respectfully. "It is good to meet you milady."

Shino turned her head away while blushed.

"She is Lelei La Lalena." He motioned to the blue haired petite mage. The elf adventurer and the blue haired mage nodded to each other with respect.

Then Itami motioned to the still shy Tuka. "And she is Tuka Luna Marceau."

Zeno bowed his head slightly and looked deeply into Tuka's blue eyes. "It 's nice to meet you milady. I did not know such beauties like yourself live in this world," he said in his usual charming tone.

Blue eye met emerald green, and Tuka suddenly caught her head away. Despite she was somewhat found Raidyn more appealing for appearance. She would not say to no to Zeno if he asked her if he wants to date with her.

She only did not ask out Raidyn because of her little crazy nature. Despite this when the four of them spent together a night near the JSDF base. They came out quite well. However, the spirits warned her to be aware of Raidyn because she is hiding something under a strong spell what they were unable to even peek behind it.

And when the two of them spoke. She felt. She is lonely, and she hides it under her cheerful nature.

 _"Marceau? Marceau? I know this was Tuka's last name but every time I hear it something came into my mind, but I don't know what. This name sounds similar to me."_ Though Raidyn. _"It was not that guy last name who we saved back in the forest?"_ she thought for a moment. " _Never mind. Not important right now."_ she shook her head.

Tuka nodded timidly. "Likewise Zeno-san…"

"And I am Rory Mercury. Apostle of Emroy. The god of war, violence, darkness and death." She raised her skirt and made a curtsey.

"It is good to meet you, Miss Mercury. You spoke about this Emroy. But the gods what I know represent these aspects don't wear the name Emroy. Care to elaborate what kind of deity you worship?" asked Zeno curiously.

Rory mouth curled into a smile and nodded. "Of course, after all. As the apostolate of Emroy. It is my duty to spread his name. He is the God of Darkness, War, Death, Violence, and Insanity…" and with that, she started to speak her long speech about her god.

The sun knight patiently listened to her and nodded. "I see… Very interesting."

"So, do you want to follow Emroy? Zeno-san? I feel you have great power. Think about it! What kind of massacre you can accomplish with your strength and the blessing of Emroy! What kind of insanity you could spread across the battlefield!" urged him, Rory.

Zeno just smiled. "Thank you, Miss. Mercury. But my faith is imperturbable in the forty-one. Especially my patron gods. Touch Me-sama, the patron of the Paladins and the Lord of light and Warrior Takemikazuchi-sama the patron of crafters and warriors." He took out two tiny statues under his armor. They are hung on a chain.

Itami thought for a moment. " _What kind of deity is called Touch Me? And_ Warrior Takemikazuchi? _His god names sound like they came from some kind of MMORPG."_ He shook his head. _"Never mind Different culture different habits. I will ask about it Raidyn or Momon later. After all the princess is named after a cocktail. That Touch Me name is not strange at all if you look at that way."_

Rory tilted her head curiously. "Forty-One? I never heard of them."

Itami looked at her. "You don't?" Rory shook her head again.

Then Itami looked to Tuka and Lelei. Both of them shook their head in unison.

Zeno smiled. "Not surprising. We are new in this world after all. Let me give you a quick explanation."

Every one of them listened to him with great care. "Two hundred years ago. The world was in chaos. Corrupt governments, dragon lords, and monsters ruled over the lands. The humanoid races were cornered due they fought against each other constantly and the stronger races like Beastman, demons, Merman were a lot stronger than the humanoid races and used them as a food source. Thus pushed the humanoid races in the edge of extinction."

"Food?" asked Itami.

The sun knight nodded. "Food. You know. Those big guys." He pointed one of his Beastman soldiers.

"Their favorite delicacies used to be living humanoid babies. Consumed by alive." Explained Zeno.

Lelei and Tuka stiffened a little hearing this explanation.

"That's horrible!" said Kuribayashi with a horrified expression.

Zeno nodded. "Exactly. This is why the Sorcerer King banned this permanently and searched for an alternate source of food for them. In the old times. The people lived with a constant fear from the Dragon Lords whose were the strongest creatures in that time." Explained Creon. Tuka a little-stiffened hearing about the dragon lords.

"The people worshiped false deities with false, empty promises. People explained genocide with religious and other pointless reasons. We lived in fear. Then…" he looked around.

"The two Supreme Beings and their vassals has been arrived in the world and started their crusade against the corruption and inequality among races. The two remained Supreme Beings, and their vassals descended from the heavens, and their power was unmatched."

The stare intensified as Zeno continued his story.

"According to the history books and many ones who witnessed their acts personally. They annihilated whole armies with a single spell, transformed the whole facade of the landscape. The sky and the ground shattered in their wake. And the Dragon Lords fell feeling their wrath. They taught us how to survive. They preserved us."

Rory listened more and more curiously.

"This seems a little far-fetched." Said Kuribayashi.

Raidyn sweat dropped. _"When you became this zealous Zeno-kun? I don't remember I raised you like this."_

Zeno just smiled at her. "Miss Kuribayashi. Correct?" asked the sun knight.

Kuribayashi nodded. He stepped closer to her. "What if I say. Two from the forty-one walks among us even today. Granting us miracles personally if we work hard enough."

"Why do you think they are gods?" asked Lelei suddenly.

Rory nodded. "Yes, according to my knowledge. Gods are incapable of walking amongst mortals without proper vessels. And the mortal bodies are too weak to store their consciousness for a longer period without it demanding the host life as a sacrifice." explained the demigoddess.

Zeno smiled. "If my theory is right. Then they are not like your gods. The two of them walking amongst us every day. But despite their power and divine miracles. They always claim they are not gods. According to me. A God can't call itself a God. Because it is not uppish with its position to claim the title. A real god do not claim what it is because it is unnecessary for it. A real God does not need worshippers either require anything in return for their help. The people recognize it if they see or feel one's presence."

"Then why do you call them gods?" inquired Rory with an angry face. "If they do not claim the title. They are not gods."

Raidyn stopped them. "Guys, guys… Stop this. We are not here to prattle about religion. Shall we?"

Everyone amongst them nodded. Zeno and Rory still glared at each other. Somehow the light energies what Zeno armor emitted bothered Rory. It remembered her too much Zufmuut-presence the God of Light and Order. Being Zufmuut the polar opposite of Emroy. Rory did not like such presence at all.

Zeno and Rory stared each other intensively for a moment. Then Zeno burst out in laughter. Rory doesn't understand this tilted her head.

"I like you, little girl! Come let's drink something strong!" he smirked.

Rory puffed her face in an offended way because Zeno called her a child despite her real age.

The golden clad warrior turned back to his old master.

"You are a right master. We are not here to debate religion After all. In the Sorcerer kingdom. Everyone is free to think whatever they want until it does not violate others right or not try to force them to conversion. Even it is offensive towards the Supreme Beings."

Raidyn bopped Zeno's head heavily. "You damn right kid! You damn right!" Zeno caught off his head and turned to his master with a desperate, painfull face. "What was that for master!?"

"You know damn right brat!" she scolded him with an angry expression.

Zeno lowered his head. "Sorry…"

Itami wanted to ask something. But suddenly he heard Sergeant Mayor Kuwahara trying to connect him via his radio. "First Lieutenant Itami! We are waiting for you more than an hour! Please respond. Over."

Itami grabbed his radio and responded. "Sergeant Mayor Kuwahara. A few minutes and we will be there. Over."

"Acknowledged. Over."

Itami sighed. "Well, then this is the to say goodbye. I hope we can see each other again."

Raidyn nodded while smiled. "I hope as well. Take care of yourselves. Lelei, Tuka, Shino, Rory, Itami."

They all nodded to her then turned around and headed back to the cars.

Raidyn sighed then turned her former apprentice. "Come Zeno. I just finished with the task distribution. Let's grab some grubs and drink something. Then you can tell me about how your life went in the last seventy-five years."

Zeno nodded with a happy expression. "Only if you do the same master."

Raidyn eyes started to twitch for a moment. Then sighed and shook her head. "Kids like you made me retire one century ago."

Zeno chuckled. "I am sure Raidyn-sama there is an another explanation for that." With that, the two of them headed towards the closest inn. The armored Hamusuke followed them.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Fortress Gown:**

Multiple silver armored guards from various races escorted three beautiful women in a long corridor. Among them was Albedo, Shalltear Bloodfallen, and Zesshi Zetsumei. As the three of them walked along in the long corridors. The various standing guards and summoned creatures started to kneel one after another. As the three of them reached in their approximate five-meter radius. Approximately one minute walking later they reached a big double door where two five meters tall huge black armored creature guarded the peace of the owner of the office.

As they reached the door. The massive double doors automatically opened before them. In the spacious room. An elegantly dressed devil sat behind of his desk. Inspecting the reports what he freshly got from the scouting forces.

He looked up from the papers as he felt his two colleagues and Zesshi presence. He stood up and bowed before them. "Albedo, Shalltear, Zesshi. What a pleasant surprise."

The three woman nodded to him respectfully.

"The guard captain informed me your arrival. I am very sorry I could not go out to welcome you. As you see I am very busy at the moment." Explained himself Demiurge.

"It is fine Demiurge. You work for Ainz-sama. As expected from you the tactical commander of Nazarick. It is hard to admit. But you were always the one who worked hardest amongst us."

Shalltear turned to Albedo with an offended face. "That's not true! I work as hard for Ainz-sama as Demiurge! You gorilla!"

The Guardian overseer turned her twitching face towards Shalltear with a dangerous gaze and wanted to retort.

"Albedo, Shalltear. As much I am enjoying watching you two. I assume you three are here because you has something important matter to discuss with me." Said Demiurge as he watched them behind his glasses.

Albedo nodded. "Yes, please forgive our behavior Demiurge. But we are a little tense."

"Why is that?" asked Demiurge curiously.

"Is Esdeath-sama somewhere here in the fort? I need her here to discuss something important. And I would…"

"We…" interjected Shalltear.

Albedo scoffed then turned back to Demiurge. "We would like to discuss and important matter. What only can be discussed in private. Among five of us."

Demiurge subtly signed to the guards to leave the room. The summoned and the living guards bowed deeply and left the room. Leaving the four of them in private.

Demiurge sat down and motioned the three of them to sat down in the chair what the servants previously prepared for the three ladies.

Demiurge folded his hands before himself. "Esdeath-sama currently out of the fortress. As usual, she disappeared in the first given opportunity to personally scout the region as an adventurer. After she left her instructions if the situation so far degenerates to require her instructions."

Zesshi nodded. "I see."

"Beelzebub?" asked Albedo curiously.

"Beelzebub-sama journeyed with his honor guard in the closest trade city to made arrangements our further expansion and the vassalization of this empire."

"Then you don't know?" said Albedo with a curious tone.

"What? Can you explain me?" asked Demiurge curiously.

"Ainz-sama disappeared." Explained Albedo.

"How? How this that possible?! Did something happen with Ainz-sama? Answer me!" Demiurge jumped up from his seat and panicked for a moment, and a frightened expression moved in his face. Then calmed himself down and adjusted his glasses.

"Excuse my unusual behavior."

Albedo looked at him. "It seems Ainz-sama as well Esdeath-sama went out adventuring as two hundred years ago. But this time Ainz-sama did this without our knowledge. He managed to get away under our nose. If I assume it right. He is with Esdeath-sama and the two of them work together for the kingdom right now."

"How do you know this?" asked Demiurge with a serious expression.

"Pandora Actor." With that Albedo started her explanation.

Flashback:

After one and a half day of pursuing. The three queens of Ainz managed to corner Pandora's Actor and remove his Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown. Preventing him from teleporting freely anywhere in the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick. They managed to corner him in the sixth floor after they asked the for now already matured floor guardians. Aura and Mare. And the leader of the Pleiades of seven stars. Aureole Omega. To help and seal down the entrance of the exits of the floor.

Aureole Omega was the leader of the Pleiades seven stars, and she is charged with the task to oversee the teleportation gates of Nazarick.

Mare Bello Fiore and Aura Bello Fiore were the twin dark elf Floor Guardians of the sixth floor, and the two of them oversaw and ruled the regions of the world where the elves lived.

The three woman stood above Pandora's Actor tortured body. His previously stainless uniform was full of dirt. His body became full of the bruises what caused by the guardian overseer, Shalltear, and Zesshi unending assaults.

"Erbarme dich! Damen! Erbarme dich!" (Have mercy! Ladies! Have mercy!) Pandora's Actor pleaded desperatedly.

But the three of them did not let him with get away just like that. They hit him until he was unable to upkeep with it. Despite he even took on multiple Supreme Beings form. He was unable to mimic fully their abilities and escape from the three furious woman. And the two additional floor guardian's wrath.

In the end, he was forced to tell them everything. But his master already said if he accepts this task he will most likely lynch by his three wives. Despite this, he accepted and endured the punishment after they caught him. Because this was his creator personal request.

Fortunately, Ainz authorized him if the three of them corner him. He can tell where he is. But with that condition, he needed to stall them as much as possible. So Ainz has time to finish his secret mission what he kept in such secret. He did not tell even for him. His own creation doesn't know anything about it. Pandora's Actor only knows his master went through the structure under a fake persona to complete some kind of mission.

Flashback end

His usual sinister smile moved back to Demiurge's face and his mouth curled upward in satisfaction. "As expected Ainz-sama. Even with this situation he goes personally in the field and works for us. And if he is accompanied with Esdeath-sama. We don't have to worry about them. I am sure the two of them can look after each other. They only don't tell us about their plan because they did not want us to worry about them needlessly." Explained Demiurge.

Albedo nodded. "I thought the same. Still, we need to locate them as soon as possible. So we can make sure for their wellbeing and send at least a few Eight Legged assassin's to oversee their safety."

Demiurge nodded. "I agree. But we must be discrete. I think Ainz-sama already knew we would realize his plan and made the necessary steps."

"Did you find out anything else Demiurge? Do you have something else to report?" asked the beautiful Albedo.

Demiurge nodded with a satisfied expression. "Yes, we discovered an outpost ten miles away from our position." He pointed the location on the map before him.

Albedo, Shalltear, and Zesshi looked at the area where Demiurge pointed. Then nodded.

"Their technological level is way above the denizens of this world, and we found an another structure similar to ours underneath a dome. If my theory is right. They came from an another world like ours. Two of their flying machines even entered our airspace. But our patrolling flying units managed to fend them off easily." Explained Demiurge with a great satisfaction in his voice.

"Did you destroyed those inferior beings base who dared to defile the domains of the Supreme Beings!?" asked Shalltear with a vehement tone.

"No. We did not make any steps against them. Currently, we are only collecting information about them. Bobby trapping their base and devices. Recovering samples of their technology. Additional measures are not necessary until further notice."

Shalltear gritted her teeth. "I will go and destroy those inferior creatures myself then." The vampire geisha stood up. "Their presence is staining the realm of the Supreme Beings. I-I just can't stand it."

The heterochromatic eyed woman stood up as well. "I will go with you Shalltear! Just thinking about an enemy force lurking in my love territory. Unacceptable!"

Demiurge squinted his eyes angrily. "Zesshi, Shalltear. Please stand down. I know you two are strong enough to take care of that base even alone. But please sat down and wait for further instruction from the Supreme Beings. Zero is in their base collecting information about them at the moment. If he finds anything suspicious. He will report to us immediately."

"What is the tactical assessment of that base and the enemy force in it?" asked Albedo curiously while she kept up her calm. Smiling facade.

"Hm. Technologically they are quite advanced. But they are almost incapable of magic. Our magical survey revealed even the strongest amongst them are only capable of the second tier of the magic. And the few of them who are capable of magic was unaware of it. They are either don't know about their capabilities or afraid to use it." Explained Demiurge with a great level of detail.

"Then they are easy targets." Said Zesshi in a bored tone. "I hoped some challenge."

The archdevil folded his hands before himself and started to smile sinisterly in the hiding of his hands. "Maybe it seems at first. But according to Zero reports. They balance their lack of magic with technology. The base what they built around their gate were quite well constructed. Without an inner sabotage or one or two higher level, vassals help a frontal assault would be a high risk of great losses. Even with the death knight increased defense. They can cripple them with their explosive devices and their automated chemical reaction based projectile weapons. However primitive they seem. They are effective enough to penetrate the weaker mages barriers after a few series of shots."

Albedo nodded. "I see… "

"What do you plan guardian overseer?" asked Demiurge suspiciously.

Demiurge did not want to admit. But sometimes even he. The archdevil who are personally designed by a Supreme Being. Ulbert Alain Odle. To be the defensive commander of Nazarick and a genius when it comes to battlefield planning and many other things. Sometimes even he stumbled in the darkness and required a little time to see through the Guardian Overseer complex plans.

Shalltear and Zesshi turned in her direction.

Albedo beautiful smiled turned into a sinister one.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Italica:** **That evening**

The Knights had reached Italica borders at last. Bozes and Panache, relieved after seeing the city from the far and, decided to report to Piña and apologize for not being able to make it to the battle. However, not only did Piña not blame them for that, but she even praised them for being earlier than expected.

Overjoyed from the praise, Bozes and Panache congratulated Piña on her victory and told her about their encounter with some foreigners who might have been the enemies who had taken over Arnus. They had captured one of them, and they thought Piña would have congratulated them on it.

She knows something is not right when she saw the unknown broad shouldered golden and black armored soldiers helping around the city. Repairing walls and standing guards near the breached gate.

The city was captured by an unknown force. She and every knight knew that after they saw the unknown soldiers. But if they had to die. They will die. Meanwhile, they protecting the empire and bringing glory to Piña's name.

All of them unsheathed their swords and started to charge towards the city gate what was fully open after the bandits broke it down.

Gray Co Aldo the veteran knight who just patrolled on the walls to kill time. Seeing the charging knights hurried down to the main gate where he can receive them. After all, he and Piña as well don't want any more diplomatic incidents.

Bozes and the knight suddenly stopped their horses immediately after they saw their childhood mentor and the oldest member of their order.

As the Knights reached the gate, Bozes and the other knights looked around with a terrified expression

After they had to see closer unknown golden armored soldiers from various races, horrible skeletal faced massive creatures with huge tower shields and serrated swords and black armored broad shouldered unknown beings patrolling the streets and repairing the walls.

Their face became completely pale. The stench of death and strength what those creatures emitted. It was so overwhelming. Many of the inexperienced knights almost fainted and vomited in that instant.

After they had seen one of the horrible creature marching behind Gray, they raised their bow and shot towards the creature.

Gray signed them desperately to stop, but it was too late. The weak arrows reached the undead Death Knight and simply bounced off its sturdy armor. It turned towards them. Raised its shield and started to march towards them.

Seeing the prattle, Creon hurried beside Gray and just wanted to give the order to his soldiers to attack.

But Gray stopped him.

"Please forgive them. They don't know the city under your Kingdom' protection." The veteran knight bowed his head as an apology. Creon nodded. "Fine. But we keep up our guard." He signed the honor guard and the Death Knight in the scene to keep their weapons ready.

Bozes looked around with a terrified face as she and the knights approached Gray and the Captain of the honor guard. "G- Gray … What is this? Who is these enemy soldiers? What are those creatures? Who is this."

Gray sighed in an exhausted tone. "They and the men in green helped us to fend off the attacking defectors. And these soldiers remained to keep up the peace. He is Creon Karalis. The captain of the honor guard of Prince Beelzebub. He offered his soldiers to protect the city until we recover. "Explained Gray.

Creon bowed his head to Bozes and the other knights. "My ladies."

Bozes and the other knights nodded in response. "W-What are these creatures?" asked Bozes in a terrified tone.

Creon smiled in an amused way. "The Sorcerer Kingdom forces not only contains living beings but undead and other creatures as well. They are our soldiers of course." explained the captain.

Bozes and the other knights gulped nervously and wanted to grab their swords.

Creon raised his hand in and assuring way. "But don't worry. They will not attack only if you attack them or we gave the orders for the attacks."

Bozes nodded nervously.

Gray sighed in an exhausted tone. The last night was long enough. And now he had to deal with inexperienced children. True they were enthusiastic. But they were still inexperienced children compared to the veteran warrior like himself and the elite forces of the Sorcerer Kingdom.

"Come with me. Princess Piña is already waiting for you. She will explain the situation in her office."

He wanted to turn away when suddenly saw the unconscious tortured bound Itami in behind one of the knight horse's.

Gray eyes widened and started to massage his nose temple. "Now you did it. Her Majesty will not be pleased." scolded them Gray nervously.

Bozes and the other knights looked at their old mentor with a dumbfounded expression. Gray walked beside Itami. He cut his ropes what bounded his hands and placed him on his shoulder. "Follow me."

Bozes and the other knights nodded nervously and followed the veteran knight.

Bozes and Panache did not know why Piña had not only scolded them but had even thrown a goblet at them.

"We broke the treaty in less than a day, and it just had to be _him_ …"

Hamilton peeked at their prisoner, who was in the corner of the room.

Itami lay there, his body devoid of strength.

Hamilton placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him while shouting, "Itami-dono, Itami-dono." But Itami was covered in abrasions, and he sported many bruises from being beaten by many people, so his physical and mental stamina was depleted, to the point where he couldn't even answer her.

It was not hard to imagine what had happened to him on the way back here from looking at him.

"Hamilton, how is Itami-dono?" asked Piña with a great amount of worry.

"It looks like he's been hurt pretty badly, we need to get him care immediately.

Beelzebub who was in the scene interjected. "We have faith-based magic casters among our soldiers. We can heal him fully under mere moments if you want." Offered the heir of Ainz.

Piña gritted her teeth. "No. Thank you, the kind offers Prince Beelzebub. But we can take care of it." She looked to Beelzebub with the eyes of regret. Then squinted her eyes and looked accusingly to her subordinates. "It was our fault after all."

Beelzebub bowed his head. "As you wish. But if you need any assistance. Don't hesitate to call us. Our healers really know their stuff."

Piña bowed her head with a humiliating way. "Thank you, but that will be not necessary. It was my subordinates fault. The least we can do is to take care of him." explained the princess of the empire.

Beelzebub nodded to her accepting her decision. "Very well. Do as you wish."

Then she summoned the chief maid of House Formal and said, "Sorry, we'll leave him to you." The old maid and butler replied, "Understood," and then the maids came together to form a human wall around Itami. He has transported away in this manner.

After watching Itami leave, Piña fiercely snapped her head back.

She looked just like a demon then, and after slapping Bozes — who was a bit taller than her — square in the face, she began questioning her.

"What on earth did you lot do to Itami-dono?!"

"We, we just brought him here the way we would a normal prisoner…"

The normal way of treating prisoners, for the Empire, usually involved dragging them behind a horse, and when the prisoners collapsed from exhaustion, they would be poked with spears or lashed with the flat of a blade, forcing them to rise and continue. Even if they did stand, however, they would still be brutalized with fists and feet. In this way, the prisoners would lose the will and strength to resist or flee, and it was also part of the process of breaking them before selling them as slaves.

"I assume you want to speak with your knights privately."

Piña nodded. "Yes, thank you."

With that Beelzebub left Piña's office. And when they were in the middle of an exciting game what the princess introduced him. What a shame.

Piña started to mutter after Beelzebub left her office, "This is bad, this is dreadful." She grabbed her head with both hands and shuddered as she tried to suppress the rage running rampant through her body.

If one thought calmly about it, it was not entirely Bozes' or Panache's fault. After all, they had been handling an enemy who had taken over Arnus, and they could not possibly have known Piña had signed a treaty with them. At least they did not offend the Sorcerer Kingdom' forces. Oh, no. They also did that. They attacked one of the creatures back then.

However, sometimes, unlikely things like this simply happened. The fact was that the JSDF had immediately withdrawn from Italica once the treaty took effect. Excuses like "they did not know" or "they were told too late" would not work. After all, the ones who wanted the treaty to take effect immediately had been Piña's side. Itami had been captured after the treaty came into effect, and worse, it had happened within House Formal's domain, where they were guaranteed free passage.

These actions would break both treaties. There was no doubt about it.

This was a preferred tactic of the Empire, starting a war on the pretext of a treaty violation. Violations of Treaties often happened in a world with poor communications like this one, with subordinate units fighting on long after the rest of them had surrendered because nobody told them to stop.

It was because the Empire did these things often that they felt the JSDF would do the same to them.

A chill ran down Piña's spine.

The music which rang across the sky. The battle of Valkyries and the demons sneer now echoed inside her ear. She could not help but imagine her knight band, Italica, even the whole Empire, burned to ashes by the flames of hell by the two forces. She already knew her Empire does not have a chance against them individually. But if this offensive act brought them together. She doubts even the gods can stop them.

Bozes and Panache, who had learned about the agreement Piña signed with the JSDF, the Sorcerer Kingdom and now is the city no longer the Empire's supervision. But became a free city. A neutral ground for negotiation. They learned all of this and much more from Hamilton, finally realized what they had done, what Itami had meant by "Let's talk this out" and why he had not resisted his capture.

"Itami's men should have been there, what happened to them?"

"The ran off just like that."

They had laughed at Itami because Itami's subordinates had run off instead of trying to rescue him. However, they now knew why they had chosen not to retaliate, but flee.

If they could have taken them all captive at the time, they could have wiped them all out under the pretext of the unit going missing, but if everyone else escaped, that would have been useless. Not that they could have captured them in the first place — they had Rory the Reaper with them.

Later in Piña's office she tried to figure out how to apologize from the parties.

"Your Excellency, we are fortunate that nobody's life was lost here. Rather than try and come up with some clever ruse, I feel we should sincerely apologize to them."

These were the words of Gray Co Aldo, who had been listening quietly from the side of the room.

"But these were the people who even asked us to treat these bandits 'hyu-main-lee', and they even asked us not to abuse them. If they found out what happened to Itami, don't you think that would get them mad enough to attack us?"

"Then we just need to atone for that as well."

"That is, you want me to atone for that, right? But what if the other party asks us to hand over or execute the responsible parties? I already apologized from Prince Beelzebub. But he just laughed off the accidents and said 'it is not a problem. Accidents happening time to time.' But what about the JSDF? What if they want to retort the irresponsible knight's acts?"

"Well, what else do you want to do? Declare war? These are opponents who ride iron pegasi and have magic that can set the earth ablaze, and then you have the Grim Reaper Rory Mercury to worry about. If it were me, I'd rather not chance that. We can't even ask help from Prince Beelzebub because he and the JSDF signed a non-aggression pact amongst each other. They only protect the city from the possible attackers." The fifth child of Emperor Molt grabbed her head in her desperation. "This is bad…. This is very bad…"

Even a hardened veteran like Gray was shaken to the core after seeing those horrible scenes. Piña was steeling herself to undergo any kind of humiliation as long as it would allow her to atone for this successfully.

That might be so, but, there was nobody present who was higher-ranked than her. Piña needed to avoid a situation where she might be forced to forfeit her life after Bozes and Panache admitted their guilt.

The air turned cold and heavy around them.

After a brief silence, Gray attempted to break the tension by saying in a humorous tone, "Well, in the end, the situation depends on what Itami-dono thinks about it." He laughed nervously.

It was already past midnight.

At this point, Bozes, under Piña's secret orders, had arrived at Itami's door, with a pained expression on her face. However, nobody heard her knocking.

Because Bozes was nervous, her knocking could be more accurately compared to gently caressing the door.

She waited dumbly in the dark corridor for some kind of reaction.

She continued waiting, in front of the silent, unresponsive door.

As she waited, she began to get worried about a passer-by spotting her, so she looked left and right, before taking a deep breath and exhaling to relieve her tension. Even then, she still could not gather up the courage to open the door.

"You will seduce Itami." To Bozes, that order might as well have been a death sentence.

As a noble daughter, she had long been prepared for the eventuality that someday, she would be married off to benefit her family or for political reasons.

She was familiar with the idea that as a noble daughter, she might be called on to welcome guests and ensnare them with her body.

She was also very clear about how countless heiresses throughout the Empire had to marry people who were completely unlike the knights in shining armor that they dreamed of. No matter how luxuriously they lived after that, it was just a pretty way of describing a form of transaction. In truth, since there were people who had to starve and freeze in this world, this could be considered the purpose, or perhaps, their duty, for those who could fill their bellies and dress well.

But the most insulting thing was that she was going to have to give herself to Itami.

In her dreams, Bozes imagined that she would greet a Duke, who was also a young officer of an enemy nation while dressed in an elegant sarong and enjoy an exciting, intellectual debate with him for the pleasure of verbally fencing with an equal.

Armed with her greatest weapons (her jewels), clad in her strongest armor (her dress) and wreathed in fragrant perfume, she would play love games with him.

She would tempt him with her luscious body and dull his mind with her scent, her every movement saying "Do you want me? Do you want to have me? I can give my body to you, but if you want it, you're going to have to give yourself to me…" and so on, teasing him and drawing him out until her partner surrendered completely to her, and then they would make sweet love to each other on a bed of roses.

But her dreams were just dreams, and the reality was that Itami's bed would be her battlefield. They would not bond over the clash of blades, they would not even be able to develop feelings for each other, and she had already berated him with her tongue before stepping on and kicking him. She had gone into shock when she learned the truth.

And if this was a battle, then it was no longer on even terms. After all, her body was practically exposed to him already. She had applied a thick layer of powder to cover up the cut on her forehead, garbed herself in a revealing nightgown that she had gotten from somewhere, and her hair was a mess of drills. In this tragic state, she was little more than the hourly discount at a brothel's going-out-of-business sale.

Be it physically or emotionally; she was already defeated. What kind of face would she greet Itami with? Maybe, after she entered the room, she should beg him for forgiveness and offer her body to him as a token of her sincerity.

Men were not creatures who would honor a plea like "Could you be gentle?" after you got into bed with them. If she did not manage to at least secure his kindness as a promise before she gave herself to him, it was not likely that he would listen to her once he had his way with her. Then, what was she selling herself in such haste for?

She guessed that the task of actually bringing down Itami the boss character would be left to Panache, who would be coming after her. Bozes was nothing more than an appetizer to apologize and beg his forgiveness, sacrificing herself to cancel out the terrible mistake she had made. Like a washcloth used to wipe away stains, whether it was fine silk or tatty rags, she would be used and promptly discarded.

As she thought about this, her heart ached so much that she wanted to cry. But she could not cry, not now. If she cried, her eyes would go red and swell up, and it would ruin her looks, which were to be her weapon. Of course, there were men in this world who liked to see women cry, but she would have to wait until she was before him before crying her beautiful tears. And so, the moisture brimming in the corner of her eyes remained locked up there and did not course down her cheeks.

The hallway was silent, and behind this large set of double doors was the bedroom. There was another intervening door within the bedroom. The designers' intent had been to make sure that noise from the corridor did not disturb anyone within.

And so, Bozes finally gathered enough courage to open the door, and she walked toward the separating door in the deepest reaches of the guest room, the one that had loomed large in her mind for a while, intending to go to where Itami was.

Bozes entered silently and approached the bedroom. Her plan was to silence Itami with the sensual pleasures of her body before his sense of foreboding woke him up.

However, as she opened the innermost door, what greeted her was a cheery, lively atmosphere.

The room was brightly lit with candles, and the maids were chatting and having tea with the soldiers from another world. In the room was also a silent black-clad warrior who watched the scene from the background and an unknown equally strange armor wearing stranger who laughter wholeheartedly while pointed to Itami.

Worse, nobody seemed to have noticed Bozes' presence except the black-clad warrior who looked in her direction and just simply nodded. But after a simple nod. The warrior simply turned his head away like she was not even here.

"..."

She was ignored almost completely.

"..."

She was overlooked.

"..."

She was about as substantial to them as air.

"Gggg…."

 _"_ _I worked so hard to gather my resolve, and this is how you treat me?"_ she screamed inwardly.

 _"_ _How dare you ignore me, Bozes, the second daughter of House Palesti?"_

No one looked in her direction.

 _"_ _What huge brass balls you have."_

She was still completely ignored by the crowd in the room.

 _"_ _Are you mocking me for being a rag that you throw away after filling me with your seed? "_

Of course, she did not actually say that, but her rapidly-growing hysteria filled in the blanks for her. As a woman, she could not tolerate the insult of being overlooked.

The only way to vent the anger building within her was with the work of her two hands.

Although it is hardly professional to describe the following events with manga-style sound effects, I hope you readers will forgive me for writing them in this way. Right after that, she did the following:

 _"_ _Tsukatsukatsukatsukatsukatsuka slap!"_ She slapped Itami's face with all of her power and Itami passed out again.

Itami was out of cold all night. Thanks to Bozes inhuman strength what was the result of her sudden rage and her hard knight training.

In addition to the black right eye from yesterday, now there was a bright red palm print on the left side of his face. In addition, it looked like some kind of five-clawed cat had scratched him on both cheeks. Truly, the victim's face was a picture of the tragedy.

"That… what on earth happened?"

After a huge disturbance in the middle of the night that had nearly flipped the roof of the house, the JSDF members now stood before Piña, along with Bozes, who had been dragged before her, as well as the manor's maids. Beside them stood Prince Beelzebub Raidyn, and Momon who was also present when the event happened. Due they was under his command and the two heroes had the chance to stop Bozes hand before the accident happened. Yet, they did not do it. Beelzebub felt a little responsible himself and was a little angry for the two of them.

The Imperial Princess Piña Co Lada now felt like she had swallowed a burning stone, given the scorching pain in her abdomen, and then asked for an explanation why there were more injuries on Itami's face. She was scared stiff, of course, but given her circumstances, she had to ask.

"Who else could there be but her ~nya?" said the cat maid Persia.

"Ara, but everyone knows that already, right, Miss Persia?"

After Kurata had followed up on her words, Persia led the maids aside.

"The bruise on the right eye was already there; it had nothing to do with this time."

After their testimonial, Rory, Lelei, and Tuka stepped away from the group.

The only one left was Bozes, her hands pressed behind her back by Kurata and Kuribayashi.

Bozes lowered her head. "It, it was me," she said, in a voice as loud as a mosquito's buzzing.

Piña's sigh was deeper than usual, so much so that everyone in the hall could hear it.

It wasn't just her stomach which hurt. Piña grabbed her head, which felt like it was going to explode.

"How am I going to take care of this…?"

"Well, about that, we just came to take the Lieutenant back. We'll let you guys handle the rest as you please. We're moving out at dawn."

Tomita said that in order to wash his hands of any messy responsibility. He had no idea what was going through Piña's head. To him, all he had seen was a girl he liked beating up Itami.

But the way Tomita said it, "Do as you please," sounded like an ultimatum to Piña.

And when Lelei translated it, her flat, emotionless tone made it seem even more like a threat.

"That… that is quite troubling…"

Piña could not just let 3rd Recon go like that, so she was looking for ways and means to keep them here, like saying "How about breakfast with us," "Please accept our hospitality," and so on.

Kurata stood aside and explained in an apologetic tone, "In truth, Lieutenant Itami's been summoned to address the National Diet, so he has to get back to his country by today."

Lelei's translation used a slightly different word, and thus the meaning changed.

"Lieutenant Itami has been summoned by the Nihon Senate and must return by today."

When Piña heard this, she had a look on her face much like Edvard Munch's "The Scream."

In the Empire, only individuals with super-elite bloodlines and careers were granted the honor of stepping into the Senate Chamber. A highly-placed person would have a chance to steer the ship of state and become a leader of men. Even if one were a low-ranked officer, they would be permitted to brief the senators on the progress of the war, and they might even have a chance to address the Emperor himself directly.

And once Piña learned Itami had been called to speak before their Senate, she immediately mistook him to be part of Japan's elite and an important man in his country.

 _"_ _To think we upset such an important person… if this gets worse, the Empire is doomed, I have to think of something quickly...Maybe if we submit our self to the other kingdom: They maybe can protect us. Prince Beelzebub acted honorably all along. Maybe there is a chance…."_ Piña shook her head inside.

 _"_ _No! That would mean we had to vassal ourselves to the Sorcerer Kingdom."_ Came the idea in her mind then suddenly waved it off.

"Besides that _. My stubborn father would rather die than let that. But if things will go in this direction we may have to do that. We don't really have another chance. Either the JSDF destroy us, or we accept the other Kingdom to take over the Empire and with it. Take our freedom from us. And if what I heard from Beelzebub is true. "_ she thought back what Beelzebub said her near the dinner and gulped nervously.

 _"_ _Then the King of the Sorcerer Kingdom is the god of death. A living God rule over them and his enforcer is the god of destruction herself! If what he said is true, namely the two of them killed gods before. That means even if the twelve God came personally to our help. We had no chance! However, as Beelzebub looked at me in the last day and from our talks. He seems honorable and nice and..." she blushed a little. "Charming... If I may try to seduce him to protect our empire without vassalize it… or maybe enter political marriage with him..."_ she shook her head discarding the idea.

 _"No! I would never sink that deep. But I have no choice…"_

Panicked Piña lowered her head. Then a new idea came into her mind. " _Unless…"_ her posture straightened as a new revolutionary but desperate idea came into her mind.

At that moment, Piña instantly made a decision.

She clenched her fists and rose forcefully to express her determination.

"Then, I pray you will allow me to travel with you!" Every JSDF member looked her wide eyes, and Lelei translated her words with the best of her ability.

Itami started to scratch his face nervously. "Are you sure Princess? This is really not necessary…" Lelei translated this also.

Lelei wanted to translate, but Beelzebub raised his hand to stop her. Reached under his armor and pulled out his spare translator medal.

He gave it to Piña. "Translator item. Wear it, and you can perfectly understand them and speak their language."

Piña however nervously. But accepted it. She inspected it for a moment. Then nodded and put it in her neck. Then she felt as the translator enchantment activates and she could perfectly understand every language and speak them.

She cleared her throat then bowed her head. "I am sure Sir Itami. It was my subordinate who made the insult against you and your country. As the Emperor child and the highest ranked Imperial Person in the city, it is my duty to apologize from your country senate personally."

Itami was a little surprised seeing he could completely understand the perfect Japanese of the Princess. But then he thought back about Raidyn and Momon explained to them they wore translator items what made them capable of speaking and understanding every possible language. Seeing Beelzebub gave her the item. He was not surprised after he remembered the thing at all. The medals enchanted by translator enchantment would quite common in their kingdom.

Of course, he wanted one. Who not possibly want one! Imagine it! He could travel anywhere. He never had to learn a new language just equip this item, and he will have more time to his games and light novels. The possibilities are endless.

Itami sighed. Bowed his head in defeat. "Very well. Lieutenant General Hazama wanted to invite higher ranked person in the fort anyway to negotiate with them." He starched the back of his head nervously while smirked.

Prince Beelzebub fondled his freshly shaved chin. He nodded and stepped forward. "In that case. I myself would like to accompany you and your group Sir Itami. As the representative of my father domain. I feel it is my task to build a good relationship with other cultures personally."

Itami sweat dropped and nodded. "As you wish, Prince Beelzebub."

Creon bowed deeply. "I will prepare to honor guard to leave the city, your majesty."

The young heir interrupted him. "No. Creon. You and the honor guard remain here and guard the city until further reinforcements arrive. After all, we took up the task to provide a neutral ground for negotiation in the town of Italica. We can't stain the name of my father leaving our promise behind. Shall we?"

The elf captain bowed his head. "No. Prince Beelzebub."

Beelzebub nodded in response. "Besides that. I will go there as a diplomatic envoy. We can't appear on their doorstep armed to the teeth. My father also granted me this privilege when he named me the leader of the expedition force after all."

"But then. Who will guard you my lord?" inquired Creon

The young heir smiled. His horns what came out from under his shining black hair. Dropped their shadows on his face such way. His gentle smile seemed sinister. "Of course, Momon-dono and Raidyn-dono. My father did not send two legendary adamantine ranked god-kin just to loiter around doing nothing. No, they will be my bodyguards under this journey. Please don't worry about me. You know I am one of the best swords man in the kingdom. After Cocytus and aunt of course." He waved away Creon concerns.

His captain sighed and nodded. "As you wish your majesty."

 _"_ _God-kin!? Whatever it means. It cannot be good news for the empire! I heard Beelzebub called the two of them God kins when he arrived in the city. But I did not ask him what this means yet. I need to ask him later about it. The time is not appropriate now for such questions." Thought_ Piña.

Raidyn chuckled wildly. She threw her hands in the air. "Yes! New adventure! And we can sleep again in those comfortable beds! Yeah!" she cheered.

Everyone looked at her with a dumbfounded expression.

Momon just sighed and shook his head disapprovingly.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Well, this is for now.**

 **I hope you liked it.**

 **Tell me your opinion. Like, review, whatever! :D**

 **Have a nice day!**

 **Next time the jounrey begins!**

 **Stay safe! Good winds!**


	8. Prepare yourself for the Arrival!

**Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.**

 **I don't own the** ** _Overlord_** **(** **オーバーロード** ** _Ōbārōdo_** **?** **) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **Please review it I know I will make mistakes what I will intend to correct and try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

* * *

Zufmuut the God of Light and Order sat on his heavenly throne. Thinking about Hardy new prank as he called it. It was bad enough she opened one Gate. The individuals who came through that was bad enough. Their presence completely threw out the balance of the world on the window. He and his fellow gods in the Heaven thought about that they may have to intervene themselves seeing how the newcomers easily annihilate every resistance and armies what the Empire send against them.

It is really worried him and his fellow gods. The state and the numerous death really worried him. The newcomers brought instability and chaos to the world. What may a few from his fellow gods savor... For example, Hardy or Emroy. But not him who in nature sought to keep up the balance between things.

It was bad enough as it. Of course, the soldiers in the green suit built interesting things and sought peace what he liked. After all, It was his nature.

But the other invaders… Hardy went too far this time opening the second Gate wanting more amusement. The second Gate to a World with vengeful Gods whose may their direct intervention could not stop.

He saw their soldiers. Undead, Demons, strange black armored creatures what strangely emitted Darkness deeper than the deepest void of Emroy himself and calming light what almost blinded even him. The God of Light and Order.

Under his long life, he never saw such forces amassed. Each of those Undead and black armored creatures was comparable to their apostle. In strength, speed and fighting prowess. Their weapons seemingly slowed the regeneration even of the apostles. This is bad… The only thing what slow an apostle regeneration if the attack directly aimed towards the apostle soul.

And these creatures were only foot soldiers. According to La and Elange. The Twin gods of Study and Knowledge. Their magic based entirely differed foundation from the magic what can be found in their world and even able to shut the gods out completely in a specified area.

Neither he and his fellow gods can't breach those annoying wards and learn about the newly arrived forces. If they are capable of excluding them from spying after them. What stops them to invade the heavenly realm of the gods and simply kill them? The only information what they have about them was through the observation of the battle of Italica, the gate and the three of their servants who traveled with those two strange adventurers.

He and his fellow ascended being inspected those two and sensed their aura and power. They came to a conclusion. The strange silent black warrior whose presence resembled Emroy without the added craziness and his companion that crazy dark elf woman who in nature and presence resembled both to Emroy and Hardy. Yet, sometimes he felt the similar presence as his own. However, he and the others only felt traces of energies in them. Like they hiding something under a facade. It was quite strange feeling his crazy brother and his own presence in one person. It was just utterly crazy.

What frightened him. The presence what that goddess emitted was way surpassed his own and every other god in the heavens and the underworld. Then she simply disappeared one moment to another. Like she was never here.

Then that, Prince appeared from the other world. They watched him seeking to understand. But when he turned his gaze towards him. Tried to spy after him… The dread seized him. The impossible happened. The black warrior who sat beside the foreign Prince turned his gaze towards him and shook his head slightly. Then he felt a dark presence than never before as something started to push him out from the room and his divine eyes what never let him down. Slowly started to crack then shatter. Leaving him blind for the time being.

Seemingly some kind of presence, no… some sort of unknown anti-divination magic activated when he and his fellow gods tried to spy in the dinner after the foreign Prince who emitted dark divine presence similar to theirs but a little bit weaker, he was sure about the fact he is a lesser god himself. He was not sure of course because something blocked his sense when he tried to inspect him closer so he can't say anything for sure.

The same thing happened when he and his fellow gods wanted to spy after that hooded elf. She turned her head towards their invisible divine eyes and mockingly smirked while waved before the connection lost.

Both of them emitted some sort of divine aura as well that strange Prince from the another world.

Of course, they can spy after the other simple soldiers who was not under those annoying shielding wards. But except their normal daily chats. They found out nothing important. Except, they pray towards some kind of forty-one. Whose seemingly was the other world gods. But aside that.. they spoke about the same boring thing as every mortal being. Family, women, food, drink, hedonist things… Boring things to him and his fellow deities. But what they learned from their culture fascinated them enough to continue watching them.

After they watched those undead and demon like creatures. They did not know much from inspecting them. Neither they managed to find their creators, neither they managed to find out what kind of power. (dark and light nature) Created them.

Seemingly the creatures only had a minor consciousness that let them act independently just as much to implement the orders. What they got efficiently and capacity to fight without assistance with a cold, calculated precision. Aside for their hate towards all living being, they only followed their master's orders. Not caring about the consequences.

According to his fellow gods. Those soldier's souls whose killed by those skeletal horses, undead, and those strange black armored creatures. Never returned to their eternal rest. They were simply devoured by those terrible creatures then through them simply went to an unknown direction.

He felt something that he does not felt since his ascension. Is this feeling…? No, that can't be… Since his ascension, he doesn't felt such thing. He thought he forgot it a long time ago. Yet, he exactly knew what the feeling was, but he was too afraid to say it out loudly.

He thought back his past mortal life. And the word came into his mind…

First time since his ascension he felt… Fear. Fear the unknown… Fear the fact they may lose their place in the heaven if they did not manage to bargain peace with the deities of the other side. This was the first time he felt. They may not win despite all of their power and knowledge.

They needed a spy… No an envoy who can relay their messages and good intentions towards them. The will of peace and future cooperation what may benefit both sides. Yes, this is a good plan. He immediately started the preparation. Then…

Suddenly he felt something while he started to get up from his heavenly throne and looked toward that new fortress what the invaders raised less than two weeks. Two dark and a neutral power washed through the heavens and the hell itself as two godly, and most likely a being before ascension left the borders of those shielding wards.

His eyes widened…

 _"What in the heavens?! First that Goddess with such presence it almost suffocated us even stepping through the gate! And now these two new gods?! Are they want to immigrate to our world or it is a simple invasion!? What the hell is this! I need to convene the council… We need a solution as soon as possible!" he_ thought desperately and started to relay his message his fellow gods.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Meanwhile in the Underworld: Hardy's domain:**

Hardy felt herself better than ever! Her plan to open a new Gate and bring more colorful people in this dreary world was a complete success. After a long time, things seemingly started to settle down, and a governing power started to stabilize itself? She found it a little annoying, so she refreshed the world a little bit.

She must admit… She really enjoyed the new conflict, death, and suffering what those two new civilization brought with themselves. And of course, the numerous interesting things what these things caused. Only a few things annoyed her. Her dear prized dragon was killed. But as she always said. Survival of the fittest… So, thinking about this. This is not really bothered her.

Besides that, she already found a way to replace it so it, was not really waste and through the dragon death, she could measure the two adventurer strength who appeared seemingly from the nowhere.

And she must say... she was really interested in that two. Those two heroes seemed absorbing and strong. With shaded past what even she or any other gods can't breach. She did not know which god they served but if she manages to seduce them to her side. Her influence would greatly strengthen over the world; maybe even she can find more amusement in her dull existence.

She has been particularly interested in that hooded woman and who emitted insanity and some kind of demonic presence in small barely sensible traces. Like that goddess what appeared on the battlefield when those strange forces stepped through the gate. Strangely, the demonic power what the goddess emitted even surpassed her own. It did not frighten her. No, it made her want to meet these newcomers even more than before.

Both adventurer, the Prince what at first glance seemed some kind of demon hybrid and that goddess who disappeared after those annoying mages started to set up those shielding structures. All four of them tempted her greatly.

Of course, only in traces, she felt that demonic power on the hooded adventurer. It seemed something surpassed her real presence what she just can't figure out.

It was similar that what she felt when that army of strange creatures passed the gate and massacred the Empire's expedition forces. She could not care less about the lost souls what strangely simply disappeared after they had been cut down by those armored skeleton soldiers. She had enough souls to torture why care about a few thousands?

What concerned her mostly the fact… She failed to seduce Rory Mercury so many times she almost gave up... this thing among others frustrated her more than anything else. She just tries and tries. Over and over again. Hoping one day may she succeed. Who knows… If those gods from the other side can step through the gate, maybe she can speak with them.

She suspected. Similarly, to her, they are bored the hell of their existence. But strangely unlike her or any other ascended being. They can wear physical body without limit and without borrowing other people bodies to appear physically. This technique was really interested her. During her long life, she never saw such thing, neither she heard such thing is possible from her fellow deities.

After all… a physical body only can contain such amount of power without rapidly deteriorating.

Maybe she could send Giselle as an envoy to that fort and invite the Newcomer deities to a tea. She had enough disposable priestess that she can possess and take physical form. So, why not? It was a good idea. The only problem was the fact... Seemingly Giselle can't get close enough without she had been detected from those strange black armored creatures what emitted dark and light presence at once. She needed a neutral area where she can relay her message or even intercept them when they are wandering around. Sending her envoy to Italica what currently under occupation. Possible…

If she manages to learn taking physical form without restriction. From the appeared deities. Maybe she can go around the world without restriction and maybe at least. For a long time... She can feel something physical. But as everyone else. Why they share this knowledge with her? She needed a good bargain chip. She needed to figure something out what they wanted in exchange of the knowledge. Many things ran through her mind.

Since the first gate opened. Her fellows often called up her from her underworldly residence just to scold her how irresponsible thing what she had done. And more times since she opened the second gate. But she could not care less about their constant annoying prattle and opinion about her doings. She simply not cared about those old boring weak-minded fools.

What really annoyed her the fact. These newcomers managed to shut her and her fellow deities out from their base completely. Neither allowing her or any other to spy on them. No information got out from that fort since those mages put those damned wards up and when she tried to spy after the two adventurers and that Prince more thoroughly. She felt they knew she is there and locked her out immediately. Then she got a mocking message to her face.

'Ah ah ah, you didn't say the magic word! Ah ah ah, you didn't say the magic word!'

What greatly infuriated her the fact... She was threatened… She the Goddess of Underworld! When she tried to inspect the strange person who appeared in the throne room of Emperor.

That Butler uniformed assassin what the newcomers sent to hand the claims to that foolish emperor. What was his name? She can't remember it not as it was important. As every mortal being, he will die one day, and the people will simply forget him like the rest of his kind.

What was important. He managed to detect her. Then he simply threatened her if she tries that again. He will hunt her down and break her mind. No one dares to speak her like that since her ascendancy! No one dared to mock her like that! Her eyes widened when she felt three new God-like presence appearing out of nowhere. She gasped from the pressure what weighted on her suddenly.

One Dark demonic, one what emitted such presence than those skeletal creatures but much stronger and more sinister. And one neutral what felt like a being which is before ascension. _"What the hell…"_ she though. _"It is some kind of invasion?"_

* * *

 **Scene Change:**

In "Snow Country," by Kawabata Yasunari, there was a line which went:

"After the long tunnel on the border is a country of snow."

It described how the darkness of a tunnel suddenly became a pure white snowscape, and what made it the most famous of all his works was how the author described the scene so vividly that a reader might feel they had been transported into the novel.

But if one wanted to apply that same turn of phrase to the experience of passing through the "Gate," it would be impossible.

Anyone would be moved if they were walking down Ginza and suddenly saw a sprawling natural landscape before them.

However, there was now an asphalt road on both the Special Region and Ginza exits of the "Gate," and the "Gate" itself was surrounded by a concrete dome, so anyone emerging from either side of the gate would only see a featureless gray landscape.

In addition, the extensive security measures established around the "Gate" — including fingerprints, palm prints, biometric and retina scans — formed countless layers of barriers before entry, and these troublesome procedures killed any romance the trip might have had.

In addition, every vehicle that went in and out of the Special Region was subjected to a thorough disinfection before being allowed to proceed.

After leaving the concrete dome, one would see several freshly-constructed buildings, so new their paint had not yet had the chance to dry. Around these buildings would be the six-pointed star fort, enwrapping the entire site in a solid defensive fortification.

Outside the star fort, on the surroundings of Arnus Hill, the terrain was reshaped into something that could have come out of a field defensive tactics manual, with communications trenches and all sorts of obstacles, filled with an amount of chain link fences and concrete bunkers that might have been considered "paranoid." All of this denied entry to anyone who tried to approach.

There was a stretch of trees to the south of Arnus Hill.

This was the site of the Arnus Living Community, where Lelei and the other refugees from Coda Village lived. Although it was surrounded by forest, trees in the Special Region looked almost the same as those in Japan, so probably nobody but a trained botanist could tell the difference.

On the east of the hill, they were already finished with the runaway and a few hangars.

They had already set up a miniature airfield on one corner of the base, and inside one could see them assembling several F-4 Phantom jets and the repairs of the two scout jets were almost finished.

Probably nobody would be moved anymore after passing through the "Gate," given the extensive development of the surroundings.

In truth, passing through the Gate was less exciting than visiting a certain theme park based off an American mouse. They would probably be very disappointed.

Still, it was not as though the JSDF lacked a sense of fun or adventure, just that to a normal person, a theme park would be much more comfortable than a garrison base like this. To members of the armed forces, who were already used to the sterile, boring environs of a military base, these were just everyday sights, but to civilians, it would be like stepping into another world that felt wrong, in a sense.

One could say that now, there was no difference in the scenery on both sides of the "Gate."

Because of that, to Piña Co Lada, and Bozes Co Palesti, Arnus Hill itself was like another world to them.

Piña had made a request regarding the treaty violation — she had asked to personally apologize to Col. Kengun and the other high-ranking officials in person. Itami approved, and he had agreed to take her with him.

That said, Itami did not have time to wait for Piña and her followers to slowly catch up with them on horseback. Therefore, Itami had added another condition: "Only you and one other follower are allowed to ride in the HMV with us." In truth, Itami was hoping that they would be discouraged and give up.

Piña's response was to assign Bozes and Panache to Italica's security, while Hamilton would liaise with and act as the representative for House Formal. She announced that "I will go myself" in a determined, confident manner.

However, they could not let their Princess walk alone into the enemy camp. Bozes and Panache were arguing over who would get to accompany her, and Piña finally selected Bozes to follow her. After hurriedly packing their things, they boarded Itami's HMV.

He set up the same condition to Prince Beelzebub who accepted it and ordered their newly named bodyguards to use either their foot or acquire a mount. Itami wanted to retort. Normal horses can't possibly keep up with their vehicles… I don't have to say Beelzebub smiled on this and assured him don't worry about his two bodyguards.

Itami was a little skeptic about this. But he allowed it. Saying the two adventurers know where Alnus Hill is and can navigate to the base by themselves.

Of course, he did not mind the two adventurers because he found them cool and sometimes funny. But because there was only one seat remained in the HMW passenger cabin after they have to transport Beelzebub too. The only person small enough to fit in the seat was Raidyn. Who after she was offered a seat simply refused it. Saying. 'I can't leave my fluffy mount behind!' and started to stuffing her fluffy mount face.

Who for her despair can't get away her master's petting showed a face of pain and desperation.

With the HMV's high speeds, they swiftly made it to Arnus.

For Itami's surprise the huge armored Hamster who looked like a smaller tank in that bluish black armor. And the black armored adventurer who asked Beelzebub permission to use his mount caught up with them quite easily. Strangely as the Prince said. She can easily keep up with HMW's and sometimes even preceded them. As well Momon who borrowed the Prince's unique Demonic Attronach with golden armor. Strangely the dark warrior blackish armor went quite well with the golden armor of the strange horse.

Strangely as the Prince said. Both of them can easily keep up with HMW's and sometimes even preceded them. As well Momon who borrowed the Prince's unique Demonic Attronach with golden armor. Strangely the dark warrior blackish armor went quite well with the golden armor of the strange demonic horse dark presence.

For the two Otakus. The whole situation seemed like a dream. Like if the two adventurers stepped out from some kind of MMORPG. Riding on their exotic mounts. Kurata even made some photos hoping he can sell it to someone from the press. Or even in one of the anime convention.

AS the two adventurers rode beside each other Raidyn glanced towards Momon. "Hey! Momon-kun! Can we show them what speed means? A race to Alnus?"

"Milady! I don't think I can keep up with the Milord's mount…" whined the enormous hamster.

She bopped Hamusuke's head. "Shush. You spoil my fun Hamusuke! If you see things such negative attitude you can't reach your goal…" said Raidyn with a huffish face.

Hamusuke bowed her head with a depressed expression as she did her best to keep up with Momon. "I am sorry Milady…"

Raidyn only nodded.

Momon chuckled seeing Hamusuke and his friend's small prattle. "I hope you can keep up." With that, he urged his horse and preceded Raidyn.

"Hey! That's not fair!" shouted Raidyn after Momon and urged Hamusuke to go faster.

Under a moment they raced away from the HMW convoy and preceded them.

Itami and the other members of the JSDF blinked a few times seeing how the two adventurers easily passed them and moved away from them with increasing speed.

Pina as well as Boozes blinked a few times and looked questioningly to Beelzebub who only smiled on the two adventurers childish action.

Pina's collected herself and continued her conversation with the first Prince of the Sorcerer Kingdom. Meanwhile, Bozes conversed with the members of the JSDF in the HMW. Hoping she can wrest some information from them. After all, information was power, and in the current situation, Piña needs as much as she can get her hands on to give her an edge in this desperate situation.

As they continued their way towards the JSDF headquarters in the special region, the scenery changed bit by bits. Signing they arrived the territory controlled by the JSDF.

The scenery there was no longer familiar to Piña and Bozes. What had once been a bare hill was now a fortress.

A flight of three helicopters on a training mission greeted Piña and Beelzebub, as they turned overhead while flying a nap-of-earth course. Their powerful engines created a mighty downwash that seemed like it was going to sweep the surface clean.

3rd Recon drove down the newly-built road among the flying sand and dust.

After passing the OPL (Outpost Picket Line), they entered the territory controlled by the JSDF.

The large space they had just entered was called the FEBA (Forward Edge of the Battle Area), which was used as a training and practice area. At the same time, it was a boneyard for numerous wyvern corpses, as well as where the children of Coda Village's refugees went to work.

The first thing Piña saw was JSDF troops formed up into squads with a flagbearer at their head holding their unit flag high above himself. They were chanting some mysterious magic spell that she couldn't understand while running in the opposite direction of the convoy and swiftly passing by.

 _"_ _Model A Ford and a tank full of gas!"_

 _"_ _Hand full of pussy and a mouth full of ass!_

 _"_ _Sound off!" "One, two!"_

 _"_ _Sound off!" "Three, four!"_

 _"_ _Sound off!" "One, two" (Two and a half-beat pause) "THREE-FOUR!"_

...at least, that was what the arcane incantation sounded like to Piña's ears when the men ran past the convoy.

"Is that some kind of incantation.?" Murmured the princess of the Empire.

Beelzebub laughed hearing her murmur. "No, Piña. It is not an incantation. It is only a small song what made the soldiers easier the exercise. Our soldiers do it many times under their training. It raised their spirit and made the training more efficient." Explained Ainz's heir.

Piña nodded uneasily then looked back to the exercising JSDF soldiers.

The speed of the vehicles left them far behind, but before Piña could turn to watch them, the skeletons of several buildings came up by the side of the road.

The JSDF had considered the possibility of street-to-street fighting during a theoretical invasion of the Imperial capital, so they had asked Master Kato to supply blueprints of an average residential building in the city.

They had turned these blueprints into mockups of Imperial buildings, which the soldiers used to practice their urban combat tactics.

Initially, Piña had no idea what these troopers were up to.

In the Special Region, the most common form of attack was having infantry or cavalry charge into close quarters with the enemy while shouting "Waaaaagh!" or some other bloodcurdling battle cry.

Once contact was made, it was every man for himself. They would strike down the enemy before them with blades, spears or shield bashes. Unlike the barbarian tribes on the frontier, the Imperial Army did not allow their legionaries to fight by themselves. Instead, their centurions would maintain order and rotate out the men on the front line of the formation to the rear as they got tired. Their enemy would fight until they got tired and then they would be cut down, but the Imperial Army would always have their freshest troops in the frontline, while their tired and wounded would recuperate in the rear.

This basic combat tactic remained the same whether they fought on open plains or dense city streets. The commander's job was to raise the men's fighting spirit, train their fighting skills, and lead them to victory over the enemy.

However, the JSDF were different. They did not use shields, nor did they form a dense testudo formation. They would spread out to sprint, halt and drop prone, all the while communicating with hand gestures. They were a closely-knit, well-oiled machine that switched between stillness and motion with a fluid grace.

At the same time, they were raising metal staves in all directions. They looked like hedgehogs.

 _"_ _What on earth are they doing?_ " Piña tilted her head as she thought, but could not find an answer.

"They're all holding staves like Itami. Could it be that all the soldiers in the Jayesdeef are mages? If that's the case, is that the secret of their power?"

Bozes answered Piña's question with a question of her own, "But mages are rare since magic is a special ability. Then, does that mean the Jayesdeef can produce mages in large quantities?"

Piña could imagine how those staves could strike down the enemy with beams of searing light. After that, she understood what the Jayesdeef were training for; their movements were calculated to conceal themselves and respond to the enemies' own movements, in order to find their foe and kill them in any environment or surroundings.

Even if they were ambushed from dark corners, even if they were fired on from high windows by snipers, even if they were flanked from both sides by Imperial cavalry, before enemy troops could close the distance to the Jayesdeef, they would be turned into Swiss cheese by their fire-staves.

"No, these metal staves are not magic. In their language, they are weapons which are called 'guns,' or "small arms.'"

From the side, Lelei denied Bozes' answer.

"The Jayesdeef uses these guns as the basis of their fighting ability. In order to make full use of their guns in combat, they have trained and developed their skills to this level."

"They're weapons? That is to say; they're like our swords or bows?"

"Yes. The principle is simple too. They enchant a piece of lead with explosive magic, seal it within a metal tube, and then they let the lead fly free." explained the blue haired small mage.

Itami just shook his head hearing Lelei still thinks their weapons are magic based. But said nothing.

Beelzebub chuckled hearing Lelei answer. The blue haired mage turned her head towards him. "Is something wrong your majesty?"

"You almost said everything right Lelei. You were only wrong in one thing."

Lelei tilted her head. Piña leaned closer to Beelzebub with an interested look on her face. "There is no magic in their weapon. These weapons only using chemical reaction to create a miniature explosion in the chamber. If I am right. It is some kind of black powder in another name Gunpowder."

Lelei tilted her head questioningly. "Black powder?"

Beelzebub nodded. "Black powder. It is a mixture of several minerals. Because of its highly reactive nature, it is widely used to mining and many another thing what requires controlled explosion…"

Lelei nodded in understanding.

"Gunpowder is classified as a low explosive because of its relatively slow decomposition rate and consequently low brisance. Low explosives deflagrate (i.e., burn) at subsonic speeds, whereas high explosives detonate, producing a supersonic wave. Ignition of powder packed behind a bullet must generate enough pressure to force it from the muzzle at high speed, but not enough to rupture the gun barrel. Gunpowder thus makes a good propellant, but is less suitable for shattering rock or fortifications." Explained Beelzebub with great detail.

Every JSDF eyes widened hearing the Prince explained exactly how their weapons work. A prince who came from the world what they thought of them at least eight centuries.

Shino who sat in the passenger cabin of the HMW put up her hand questioningly. "Excuse me Prince Beelzebub. But how do you know all of this?"

"Believe it or not. We have similarly working projectile weapons back in the Sorcerer Kingdom. But instead of using a chemical reaction to propel the projectiles. We use magic based guns what mostly shot magical energy. And being my aunt is the leader of the of the scientific research section of the kingdom. She beat into me these basic things. Wherever I wanted or not. He often said when I refused to learn those seemingly meaningless things." He made quotation marks with his fingers and mirrored Esdeath. "'It is for your own good Kit. Knowledge is power! If you do not learn you will die...'"

He leaned back in his seat. "She is the scariest person who I ever met..."

The dread moved every JSDF soldiers face hearing they attacked a civilization which is able to produce energy weaponry and used it without a problem. And there is a person who can even frighten the crown prince who always seemed cheerful and collected.

Piña re-considered her chances, and she realized their chances now dropped below hopeful. "You mean laser weapons!? That is so cool!" shouted Kurata.

Beelzebub nodded. "Indeed they are."

"I did not saw any of them in your soldier's hand. That means they are quite rare. That's right?" noted Shino.

"You could say that. It is used mostly by the special squads of the kingdom. Squads what needs precision in their work and need longer reach to eliminate their targets. Such as our Black OPS."

"Then… Why don't you just equip your soldiers with those weapons?" asked Lelei.

Piña turned to her suddenly and placed her hand to Lelei's mouth. She nervously turned her head towards Beelzebub. "Please, Prince Beelzebub don't listen to this silly mage…"

Beelzebub smiled. "It is not a problem. We considered fitting our soldiers with the weapons. But we did not do it because of several reasons."

"And that is?" asked Shino.

"First." He held up his index finger showing a one. "Manufacturing one such weapon cost more than the upkeep of a small country. For its manufacture we need rare materials and only my aunt, father and a few selected people know the exact method. In another word. It is expensive and hard to make."

"Two," He opened his middle finger beside his index. "It is true even a non-magic user can use the weapon with such efficiency as a veteran only with a few days training. Yet, most of the soldiers in our Black OPS who we offer the chance to use the weapon. Simply refuse its usage referring to the fact its stains their honor or its takes away the thrill of the kill."

Rory smiled and nodded. "I can understand that reason."

"The third and the last. The people of my world are not ready such technology. So, my father decided he only give them the technology when they are ready. Distributing only among those who are proved their worth and understand this risk."

"What?!" Itami jerked his head back.

"What do you mean Beelzebub?" questioned him Piña.

"As I said. Most people in our civilization are not ready to handle such technology. We have the technology since my father and aunt arrived in the New World. Still, they withheld the technology because the people of the New World are not ready to handle it. As they said. 'You don't give a loaded gun into an infant's hand.' They saw too many civilizations fallen because someone gave them technology what they can't handle. After all, even a god can't save you from your own stupidity…"

Rory nodded in agreement. "I agree... Even Emroy can't save you from yourself..." She said. After all, with her more than nine hundred years she knows this as well. Even a god can't save you from yourself. Then she turned her head to Beelzebub remembering what Beelzebub said previously. "What do you mean when you said they arrived in the New World?" inquired Rory.

Beelzebub looked towards her and smiled. "As I said. My father, my aunt neither their vassals are from the world what we currently inhabit. They transported there by the will of my father."

Piña gasped hearing the new facts from the crown prince. "You mean? You are an alien!?" asked Itami with awe. Everyone in the HMW looked at him with a frightened expression.

Beelzebub laughed at his question. "No… I am not an alien. I born in that world, so I count as a native. But my father, mother and everyone else who came with them. They most likely count as alien in our world."

"Why did they leave their original world?" asked Lelei

A thoughtful expression moved on the young heir's face. "Hmm… I once asked Father about it. He said… they looked for their long-lost comrades."

Everyone nodded. "Then I asked Aunt, and she said…" he left a little pause. The pressure just grew and grown on the people.

"She said. She and father were terribly bored in their original world, so they left to have some fun after their long adventuring days. So, they simply twisted time and space few times and transported themselves to the world what they currently inhabiting."

Everyone sweat dropped. Piña sighed in desperation and looked out of the window with a dissatisfied expression searching some kind of hope.

While inspecting the piles of wyvern corpses on the battlefield, she had found many huge holes in the bodies. A closer inspection of their shattered scales revealed lead chunks and other fragments. Working backward from there, Lelei had deduced the mechanism of firearms by careful analysis of what she had seen, heard and learned.

Beelzebub explanation strengthened what she heard and completed the puzzle in her head.

Completed what she already knows. Either Piña convinces her father to surrender immediately, or the Empire will be annihilated from the ground. Either by the war machine of the JSDF or by the might of the Sorcerer Kingdom.

Piña's vision suddenly blurred thinking about what Beelzebub said about the JSDF weapons. _"It's not magic, but a weapon? So since humans can make these weapons, they can distribute them to all of their soldiers?_

 _If that's the case, then obviously the way they wage war would be different. No matter how many men with spears or swords we raised, their numbers would be useless in the face of an enemy who fought like this."_

As these thoughts ran through her mind out of the blue, a Type 96 armored personnel carrier roared up beside them. The rear hatch opened, disgorging a number of fully armed and equipped men.

The soldiers who rushed out of the vehicle swiftly formed a neat firing line; their weapons pointed at imaginary opponents.

At this moment, Piña could vividly imagine cavalry and infantry being gunned down in their ranks, and she furrowed her brows in anxiety.

"Too slow! Move your asses faster! Again!"

In response to their commander's rebuke, the JSDF troopers got back onto the APC. After watching them train like this, Piña could not help but think _"So there's a huge difference even from their basic fighting styles."_ Unlike the fear which had been deeply engraved into her soul in Italica, she was afraid because she could now understand her opponent, and it frightened her.

Beelzebub only watched the soldiers and their professional movements with satisfaction. Thinking back the time when his father sent him to train with the special squad. Good memories came to his mind. Good times when he made much new friendship. These soldiers used almost exactly the same methods than back home. Just the Sorcerer Kingdom methods mixed with magic and another kind of things when it came to inflation and small squad operations.

Every infantry unit in the Sorcerer Kingdom was trained to not only use brute strength. But guerrilla tactic if necessary. Ie. Strike when it hurts then retreat in a safe position to gather your strength, wait for the next opening in your enemy armor. It was especially effective against operations deep behind the borders of the Sorcerer Kingdom. True. Not much Black OPS operations happened nowadays. Due the Kingdom were on the verge of complete victory. Still, they kept this tradition.

But still… According to the military history books, no one used this tactic before their father arrival in the world. This and many other similarly breakthrough methods were firstly introduced in their world by his Aunt who currently the Supreme General of the Sorcerer Kingdom consolidated forces. He shook his head embracing these good memories and sighed. "Good old times…"

Piña turned to look inside the HMV, and she saw Itami, Kuwabara, Kurata and the others holding the non-magical weapons they called "guns." If they were weapons, even Piña or Bozes should be able to use them if they got their hands on one of them.

If they could fully understand these weapons and obtain them, then at least future battles would not be one-sided slaughters like what had happened previously. Piña understood the importance of this. Her aim now was to obtain these weapons and pass them on to the best craftsmen she could find and force them to make more, at any cost.

As though reading Piña's thoughts, Lelei quietly chimed in from the side.

"That would be pointless."

Lelei pointed outside, through another of the vehicle's windows.

On the open ground opposite them, something that looked like a cross between a crazed elephant and a block of metal was thundering toward them. It was a Type 74 Main Battle Tank.

"When they say 'small arms,' they mean that these weapons are small guns. So that means that there should be 'big guns' as well."

They looked at Type 74 as it turned its turret, their eyes going to its 105mm rifled cannon.

"Does, does that spit fire too?"

Piña's thoughts were the same as Bozes' murmured words. She realized that this cannon was the so-called "rod of iron" which the refugees of Coda Village told her about.

"I have not seen it fire myself, but I do not doubt that it can do so."

No blacksmith in the Empire could make such a thing. And it was not just the Empire, but nobody on the continent could build stuff like that. It probably would not make a difference whether she searched the underground world of the elves or among the master craftsmen of the dwarves. It was a monster from another world, and she could fully believe that it could defeat a Flame Dragon.

Iron pegasi. Iron elephants. What was this JSDF, this force that could produce these things in such great numbers? She looked to Beelzebub thoughtfully. _"I wonder if the Prince Beelzebub Kingdom has a counter for those Iron Beasts… What am I thinking? Of course, they have something like that! After all, they managed to defeat the Iron Pegasi without causalities and force them to the ground… Of course, they have something similar or not more dreadful."_ She remembered the terrifying creatures whose fought against the JSDF and the bandits.

"Why did we even attack them in the first place?"

In response to Piña's quiet mutterings, Lelei replied:

"The Empire has trod on the griffin's and the dragon's tail."

"You, you… don't talk like it doesn't concern you! The Empire is in a crisis for survival, how can you speak so easily about it?"

Bozes angrily grabbed Lelei's shoulder, and in return, she received an even more hateful answer.

"I am of the Rurudo Clan. The Empire's well-being has nothing to do with me."

The Rurudo were a nomadic people. Although Lelei had settled down near Coda Village, she and her people had never had any particular opinion about the Empire.

Tuka, who had been listening but did not have a chance to cut in, rushed to raise her hand and say, "Yes, I'm an Elf!"

"..."

Rory remained silent. She did not need to say anything and simply smiled.

The Empire had made the Allied Kingdoms bend their knees and ruled over its citizens with force.

The Emperor did not expect his subjects to love, respect, or do anything but fear him.

The Empire's policy of conquest, suppression, and rulership through violence had led to the present situation — despite its dominance over them; it did not have the loyalty of its subjects.

It was only now that Piña realized the consequences of the Empire's actions. She watched to Beelzebub back in Italica and how he interact with his soldiers. From their eyes, she clearly saw they are happy and satisfied with their lives. Despite the Kingdom's can capable produce brute force and annihilate everything that stands in its way. She saw. Every soldier respected the Crown Prince. Not out of fear. But out of their own free will. She saw... Everyone loved him and did not complain about their lives as he chatted even with the lowest ranked soldiers like they were close friends. In another world, they served not out of fear but their own free will.

In the middle of her thoughts, Beelzebub spoke. "You know Princess Piña… If your empire became our vassal. We can protect you from the JSDF. Your father only needs to sign the treaty and we can dozer them away…"

The Princess looked at him with a dreadful, angry expression. She looked at herself with a thoughtful expression. _"We may have no other options…"_

"You better hurry with your decision. This option will not be open for forever. Who knows… We may decide to invade this world by one of our army's tomorrow…" joked Beelzebub while he upkeeps his friendly, calm facade.

The sweat started to gather on Piña's and Bozes' forehead.

"You know… We hear you Prince Beelzebub!" said Itami with a low tone.

Beelzebub smiled. "I know it very well Sir Itami. I was just curious about your reaction. And I must say… It was exactly what I was waiting for. Oddly satisfying…"

Piña and her blonde knight sighted in relevance.

Piña and Beelzebub were brought to Arnus Hill, to a building with a plaque on the front that read "Special Region Expeditionary Force Command." Raidyn and Momon already waited for them there leaning against the wall. Speaking with the soldiers of the JSDF whose was awe inspired by the two epic mount of the two adventurers.

Of course, as always… Momonga and Esdeath can't understand how even most soldiers of the JSDF sees Hamusuke as a fearful creature. She was only a huge hamster nothing more. Why do most people fear her? That was the thing what even Momonga with his infinite wisdom and experience couldn't understand.

Hearing the people fear her like back in her glorious days when she wore the title. 'Virtuous King of the Forest.' Pride has filled her chest and proudly puffed her cheek pouches.

Of course, there were a few people who was not afraid the monstrous sized rodent. Rather than that. Found her adorable and either tried to hug her to feel her soft fur or want to take a photograph while sitting on her. (Mostly the female staff who was on leave and the few children in the camp.)

Of course, for this. After a few incidents, the people started to ask permission from Raidyn who just let the people torment her faithful mount with a smirking expression. Meanwhile, the huge hamster looked at her with a pleadingly desperate expression.

After all, she was half demon. Cruelty was in her blood. Momonga simply shook his head glancing to the poor creature who was drawn out by the kids whose currently rode on her. Currently, he conversed with First Lieutenant Yanagida. Meanwhile thought about the event what played out when the two of them arrived in the JSDF base.

 **Flashback:**

The two adventurers ride straight to the main entrance of the JSDF base. The guard stopped them. Every guard who stationed in the towers and the guard posts raised their automatic guns towards their direction. Following their every move. Seeing this Ainz and Esdeath unmounted their mount in the right distance. Strapped their weapons to their mounts and raised their hands meanwhile started to walk towards the guard post slowly.

"Halt! This is a restricted area. You need permission to enter." shouted the appointed officer.

The two of them stopped. "We are with First Lieutenant Itami's convoy." Explained Momonga.

"Do you have proof? Written permission from the First Lieutenant? If not, please leave. This is a restricted area."

"Just radio to Itami-kun! He will explain everything." Chirped Raidyn happily.

The officer nodded. "One moment…" he turned away and started to walk to the nearby small guard house.

Then someone unexpected appeared. A tall man with short black hair parted on the left side; he wore glasses. A huge grin settled on his face. Meanwhile, he wore a green formal military attire.

Every soldier started to salute him. "First Lieutenant Yanagida! Sir!"

He saluted back. "At ease…" most of the soldiers still pointed their guns towards the two adventurers.

He looked in the direction of Ainz and Esdeath. "Ah. Momon-dono and Raidyn-dono. What a surprise! Where is the First Lieutenant?" inquired Yanagida with a reproachful smirking expression.

Raidyn looked around. She started to scratch the back of her head with a smirking, embarrassed expression. "We kind of left them behind when we started to race with Momon-kun."

Yanagida chuckled. "I see…"

Raidyn turned her head towards Momon. "By the way Momon-kun… Who won the race?"

"I think it is a draw…"

She nodded. "Fair enough…"

Yanagida turned to the appointed officer. "Corporal. They are a guest in the base."

The corporal saluted. "Yes, Sir!"

Momon and Raidyn waved to their mount who started to come closer. Every soldier awed seeing the exotic mounts of the two adventurers. Now not only their exotic looking armor and Mastercraft weapons what made them excel from the crowd. But their mounts as well.

Yanagida inspected the strange golden armored horse looking mount and the huge hamster for a moment then nodded. "You have very interesting mounts."

"We appreciate the compliment," Momon answered.

"Follow me. I will show you an appropriate place where you can wait until Itami's arrival."

"It is really not necessary Yanagida-kun!"

"Nonsense. I insist… Anyway… Lieutenant General Hazama still has a few question towards you and entrusted me to question you."

Raidyn scratched her forehead. "Well… I think it is okay…"

"Splendid! Follow me!" he turned around and started to walk towards the rest zone of the base.

Raidyn and Momon followed him. When they arrived in the middle of the base. Suddenly the time froze around them. Esdeath and Momonga being immune to such effects. Looked around searching the source of the sudden disturbance.

Yanagida and everyone else stopped. Frozen in the time. The scene resembled when you paused a movie in the middle of the scene. But this was not in 2D but 3D. And can completely walk around.

Zero walked out from the shadows and bowed deeply. "Ainz-sama…. Esdeath-sama. We waited for you!"

Numerous Eight Edged Assassins jumped out from the shadows preparing the welcome of the Supreme Beings. They prepared a huge table for five people. With tea, coffee, and various sweet and salted cakes.

"We are celebrating something?" asked her creation Esdeath.

"Albedo, Shalltear, and Zesshi requested this. I suspected the Supreme Beings don't mind a little rest away from those noisy meat bags."

Ainz nodded. "I see…"

Ainz heard footsteps and looked into its direction. He saw three elegant looking women walking towards him. A young pale skinned woman around her four teens with a claret colored ball gown and overstuffed bra. A white skinned beauty with horns sprouting on the two sides of her head. And a woman in her late teens with black and white heterochromatic eyes and hair who wore her usual silver colored armor.

They walked with elegance towards the god of destruction and the overlord of the death. As they reached the two of them, they kneeled down. "Ainz-sama… Esdeath-sama…" the three woman kneeled and bowed their heads towards the ground submissively.

Ainz raised his armored hand. "You may rise." They rise at once. Ainz saw some kind of strange glint moving behind the three woman's eyes. He wanted to step back, but he forced himself to not to do. That may stain his grace before his subordinates.

 _"It seems Pandora's Actor cover has been blown… I did not expect they realize so soon… I hope they did not kill him…"_ He thought back the last person's fate who tried to kept secret his location from his wives. You can say… He had died a gruesome death before he revealed the secret.

The three woman looked at him like three predators. Then… All three of them jumped to their master and husband. And started to cling on his armored waist. "Ainz-sama! How could you do such thing to us! Why are you so cruel!?"

Despite now Ainz was above level 100. He still can't figure out how these three can get enough power to overpower him in such situation. He tried to get rid of them, but he was unable to do it. He looked pleadingly at his companion. "Little help?" he asked.

She chuckled. "I would not dare to separate spouses in their moment of reunion… I am not so cruel." She started to smirk.

The three woman looked at her with happiness in her eyes. "Thank you Esdeath-sama! You really understand us!"

"You are not helping…" Momonga glanced towards his companion, and a disapproving expression moved to his illusionary face under his closed faced helmet. He turned back to his wives who's still embraced his waist. "Albedo, Shalltear, Zesshi… Please stop… We can speak about this in a civilized manner…"

"You can't get away with this so easily Ainz-sama!" Shalltear looked up to him with a predatory expression. Madness radiated from the True Vampire shining blood red eyes.

"Yes, you can't make my king!" said Zesshi as she increased the strength what she used to hug Ainz.

"Enough!" frowned them Ainz angrily and his passive emotion suppression activated. Surrounding them an eerie light green light. The dread moved on the three woman's face and backed away. They kneeled down. "Please forgive our behavior Ainz-sama! We just terribly worried about your wellbeing and of course... missed you!" Albedo explained and looked at Ainz with her shining yellow eyes. With an expression what can melt away even the coldest men's heart.

Ainz turned his head away. Despite the fact that he was undead, Albedo was always able to melt his frozen undead heart with that expression and unconditionally activate his passive emotion suppression.

"You may stand up." He said. The three woman stood up with grace. Ainz walked to the table and sat down. Esdeath sat down beside him. Ainz dispelled his summoned helmet and deactivated his illusion item. So his bare skull can be seen. Evil looking red lights dimmed in his skull orbits.

"Sit down." He ordered the three woman who just stood behind their seats.

"I assume you have a few questions…" he said. Meanwhile Zero poured some tea to Albedo, Zesshi and Shalltear and her favorite coffee to his creator. Being an Overlord. Momonga was unable to consume food or drink. Still, for pure courtesy and respect. Zero poured some for him too.

Albedo bowed her head. "Yes, Ainz-sama… Can you explain us, please… and please don't take this is an act of disrespect..." Ainz nodded and waited for Albedo to finish her sentence. Only the sounds of Esdeath munching the delicious chocolate cake can be heard in the timeless zone.

"What are you thought when you left us without notification?! I thought we mean something to you!" Ainz felt like the women who Albedo's two sides start to radiate their rage towards him. Sometimes, even he. The overlord of the death was surprised how angry these three can become.

Albedo turned her head to Esdeath. "And you Esdeath-sama! You would be the least concerned about Ainz-sama safety! Or are we not girlfriends anymore?"

She inspected a piece of cake at the end of her fork. Did not sparing any attention to the rage what was radiated towards her. "This cake is delicious! You really outdid yourself this time Zero!" she praised her creation.

Zero bowed slightly. "Thank you Creator-sama! I created to serve."

He needed to find out something. Even he was afraid when these three were angry. He steeled himself. "Albedo… What is enough is enough!"

Albedo, Zesshi, and Shalltear bowed their head in servitude. "P-P-Please forgive us Ainz-sama. We were worried about you."

"We sorry!" said in unison Shalltear and Zesshi.

Ainz nodded. "Answering your question. This was all part of my plan."

Shalltear looked at Ainz curiously. "Plan? Ainz-sama?

Ainz nodded. "I as well Esdeath was decided we could measure the situation better if we personally take action and use our adventurer persona to blend into our surrounding. This may give us unique opportunities and perspective to inspect the natives in their natural habitat."

Albedo smiled with her usual maniac glint in her golden eyes and vertically split pupils. "As expected from my love! He always cares about his servant's safety and wellbeing. Insomuch he is willing to take out himself the direct contact of these lower beings. We don't deserve such caring master." she bowed her head in humiliation.

Ainz sweat dropped under his façade. _"They are overcompensating everything again… Just… Why…"?_

The three of them stood up and kneeled. "We waiting for your command! The leader of the Supreme Beings! Just say the word, and we will annihilate these lower beings who poison the domain of the Supreme Beings with their presence!"

Ainz face palmed in his inner world. _"I hate when they do this…"_ then he went on his opportunities. "Very well… My orders are the next. These people may be used to me in the later stages of my plan. Avoid anything that may anger them. Continue the currently ongoing operations. Collect as much information and samples as you can."

The three woman nodded. "Anything else Ainz-sama?"

"Yes… Told Demiurge to start to subtly make a contract with the nearby kingdoms and prepare the vassalization of this Empire by infiltrating its inner command structure. Bribe whose can be bribed and replace those who are absolutely unwilling to support our claim. Don't rush with the operations. Slowly. Only one person at once…. So when the time comes… We can claim victory immediately. Destroying them from inside if neccesary. Don't forget. We have time…" he explained.

"We are your faithful servant." They said in unison.

He turned to Zero. "Zero. The emperor of this Empire still has one and a half week to answer my claims. Esdeath and I will soon go through the other side of the gate what is under that dome." He pointed to the concrete dome what hid the JSDF gate.

"Ainz-sama! Let us go with you! Who know what the other side of that structure is!" pleaded Albedo.

Ainz raised his hand assuring. "Don't worry. Esdeath, Zero and two squads of Eight Edged Assassins come with me under an invisibility field. We inspect this world and give you further instructions. Until that… Prepare further reinforcements in case invasion to become necessary…"

Ainz view covered for a moment with Esdeath cake. Then it floated away from his field of vision. And started to make circles around his head like it was some kind of planet or sun.

He slowly glanced to Esdeath who played with her abilities and floated the cake. Using her reality warping abilities to make it once whole. Then floated around his head like his head was like the sun. Then the salted small cakes started to attack the sweet cake like they were some kind of salted meteors what attacked the sweet planet.

Originally they were not able to use any abilities without delay magic in a time lock. But in their time in the other universe. They learned how to breach this restriction.

"Esdeath... Stop!" Ainz warned her.

She looked at him questioningly. "What?"

"Stop playing with your food! We are in the middle of a conversation!"

She crossed her arms, and the cake fell to the ground two Eight Edged Assassins jumped immediately and cleaned it up. "Stupid gramps… Never let me enjoy my little free time…" she murmured angrily under her nose.

Ainz sighed, shook his head them turned back to his wives. "Keep Gargantua and Rubedo in standby if the case wished. However, seeing this world power, we will not need them. Still, it is better safe than sorry… And keep this base under constant surveillance! Do not underestimate them!"

The three of them and Zero bowed. "As you wish."

Ainz sighed.

"Did you meet Beelzebub? He is all right?" asked Albedo with a worried tone.

Ainz nodded. "Yes, he handled the negotiations in Italica like her mother would. You can be proud of him."

Albedo's eyes shined from the praising words of her master. "My son… " she collected herself. "I expected none less from my big boy…" she murmured with a satisfied expression.

"He will come with us through the Gate and can see this other world with his own eyes. After that, I may decide if he can able to handle the negotiations or we may need an another negotiator. Relay the message to Pandora's Actor we may need his services."

Albedo nodded.

"Don't worry Albedo-chan! I will take care little Beelzebub!" said Esdeath playfully.

Albedo bowed her head. "Thank you Esdeath-sama. I would not trust anyone else, my child!"

Esdeath requested an another piece of cake from Zero. Who served her from the delicious cake immediately.

"That's for now. You may leave…" he waved them off with his hand.

"Ainz-sama one more thing." Said Zero.

"Hmm?" Ainz turned his head towards him.

"We detected a few being trying to spy on us. According to our early measurements, they are around level 95-100. We may be unable to hurt them by physical means due to their energy nature. I advise using methods what can harm astral entities."

Ainz nodded. "I see..."

"Do you wish us to take care of them? I can assemble a group what can take the cure, such type of enemies, one by one if it's necessary… Or if you authorize the usage of a World Item. We may prepare a trap for them and lure them in one place. Then take care of them with one strike." explained Zero.

Ainz hummed. "We are aware they are watching us since we entered this world. But we still need more information about them. Inform Demiurge to make the necessary precautions to a pre-emptive strike. Monitor their energy signature constantly. Find a way to breach their realm and strike them down if they make moves against us. If anything happens immediately inform either me or Esdeath. Do not use World item without our permission."

Zero bowed his head. "As you wish Ainz-sama…"

Esdeath glanced to Zero with a serious expression. "Zero! Do not underestimate them… Don't forget. Overconfidence always ends with the downfall either of the person or the person's kingdom. If you or any other servant losing the battle. Retreat immediately and inform us. Relay the information what you collected. Then we take care of them. If not through brawl. Then with our wits…"

Every servant nodded. "As you wish."

"Ainz-sama…" said Zesshi.

"Hmm?" the overlord of death turned to her.

"We still have a few minutes until the time lock ends. Don't you want to take up your flesh form and do it? You know we missed a few opportunities…"

"Here? In the middle of the base?" asked Ainz with a dumbfounded tone.

His wives nodded in unison.

Esdeath stood up with a sadistic smile on her face. "I think. I leave you four with each other. Have fun! Come Zero! Guys! Leave them. Ainz-san needs to relieve his stress." She stood up, walked away and waved backward to Ainz. The others followed her.

Ainz panicked and screamed underneath his calm facade. _"Why she is always leaving me in such situation!?"_

"Esdeath! Stop!" said Ainz with his usual calm tone as he raised his hand.

She looked back. "Huh?" His wives looked at him pleadingly.

Ainz turned back to his wives. "I am sorry… But the time is not appropriate for such things. But I promise… after this case has been solved, I will take you three to a vacation to your wished destination…"

The three women's eyes started to shine. Then jumped to Ainz again and hugged him with all of their strength flipping the table with their momentum. "Thank you Ainz-sama!" they squirmed in happiness.

Despite his higher level. They almost broke Ainz ribs. It was not accident Albedo was the Guardian Overseer of Nazarick and Shalltear was the strongest NPC in the tomb who alone destroyed the huge chunk of the invading forces back in the days of YGGDRASIL. More than one thousand and five hundred player and mercenary NPC attacked.

Still, she managed to defeat at least 500 of them and prevent them from reaching the lower levels of Nazarick. Thanks to her balanced stats, Divine class Spuit Lance what restored her Health Points after each strike and of course... the precisely engineered traps of her level.

"Ok! Ok! That's enough!" the three woman released Ainz from their deadly hug.

Ainz sighed in this inner world. _"This went better than expected… I thought they were angrier. Or?"_ The realization hit him and despite he does not have sweat glands. He started to sweat rivers in his inner world. _"Oh no… What I will get when I arrive home!_ " his passive emotion suppression activated in his fear.

"Now… Go back the other side of the gate and wait for further instructions…" The three of them bowed their heads... Then started to walk away in their hiding. Zero seeing the discussion ended. Motioned to the Eight Edged Assassins to clear the mess before the time continue its flow. For the order. The creatures jumped into action and cleaned the mess under a moment. It was like the mess what the three woman caused were never here.

Zero and the Assassins bowed deeply then disappeared among the shadows. Ainz and Esdeath sighed in unison. Ainz reactivated his illusion item and summoned his helmet. Then started to walk back to Yanagida who still in the mid of his step. A smug smiling expression was frozen on his face. The JSDF soldiers were still in the middle of their exercise, and the Jets stopped in the middle of their acrobatic flips in the air.

Esdeath thought she prank the soldiers. She walked around and drew a French mustache on their faces with her pen.

Ainz glanced to his companion and shook his head seeing her childish act. She opened a channel towards him. [Message]: "kukuku… Ainz-san… Your wives really love you! The lust just emitted from their every word. The air scorched around them… You know… There is still time for a fast round. You can still call them back…" she teased her companion.

[Message]: "Screw you! You wanted to leave me with three angry women! You know how dangerous is that!"

[Message]: She laughed. "I know it very well… It was fun!" she laughed her friend unfortunate fate.

[Message]: "You know what? Fine! If you play like this. I can play the game too! I will order the servants to not serve you cakes and coffee until further notice! And I will authorize the Pleiades to choose clothes to you in the next party. I will order them to dress you with force if it's necessary…"

Esdeath gritted her teeth. [Message]: "You would not dare…" shuttered Esdeath with rage.

[Message]: "Kukuku…" Ainz chuckled in an evil tone. "I just did!"

[Message]: "YOU MONSTER! YOU CAN'T DEPRIVE ME Of THE ONLY THING WHAT I LIVE FOR! I will not wear such thing! You… I hate you!" she shouted.

[Message]: "I hate you too my faithful companion… I hate you too…" he said sarcastically and chuckled. "By the way… I hope you remember the pose what was you in before we left this guy. It would be unfortunate if they saw us blurring for a moment because of the sudden time dilatation effect."

[Message]: "Don't worry. I got this. After all, I did this many times before."

Ainz nodded. They walked near the nearby Yanagida and took up the exact pose when the time stopped.

With that. They followed Yanagida to the rest zone of the base.

 **Flashback end:**

Piña and Beelzebub parted ways with Itami and the others here. Escorted by a uniformed female officer, Piña, Bozes, and Beelzebub were guided up a flight of steps and into the depths of the building.

Following that, they were brought to a waiting room for a short time.

The waiting room was unappealingly small, and it had little in the way of decoration, but the high-backed chairs were very comfortable. The craftsmanship of the table also seemed very exquisite. It must have been the work of a renowned craftsman according to Piña. But for Beelzebub, the furniture seemed quite outdated and bland compared to the furniture's what he used to see back in Nazarick and the ones what Demiurge used to make in his free time.

Just as they were starting to get bored of this room, a knocking came from the outside.

Piña and Bozes practically jumped out of their seats. Beelzebub looked in their direction with a calm, collected expression. Meanwhile, a friendly smile settled on his face. He shook his head and stood up. Not wanting to embarrass, even more, the princess.

The man who entered looked like he had just reached middle age.

His black hair was streaked with gray, and he had a crewcut the way Kengun did. However, unlike Kengun, he had a warm smile on his face. He seemed gentle enough, but there was a hint of strength within that kindness.

Piña felt that his green uniform was too sparsely decorated, apart from the set of colored bars on his uniform's breast.

In truth, she found it hard to believe he was the general of an army. After all, in her experience, a high-ranking officer's chest, shoulders and entire body would be plastered with medals, jewels, and other decorations. This austere look of his made him seem like a humble footsoldier.

However, since she had arrived here, Piña realized that this army despised meaningless ornamentation and instead valued actual competency. Therefore, she had no doubts about this man.

She immediately understood that the man before her might well be the highest-ranking officer of this otherworldly army, or at least, he was one of them.

She glanced to Beelzebub who stood beside her. She felt a little ashamed herself such simple thing scared her as the man entered the room. On Beelzebub face instead of similarly surprised expression what settled on her face. She saw a complete calm, friendly smile. He either saw such thing before or he was a really good actor and were prepared for such cases.

Either of this option made her feel more uneasy like before. She knew he was a talented man. But being good not only in the art of negotiation but the acting as well. It was really rare. Even among the Empire's senators she barely knows one or two people who had the same charisma what radiated from the young heir.

Behind Hazama, Kengun stood at attention behind the middle-aged man, whispering into his ear from time to time. Kengun seemed to be a relaxed person who was nevertheless devoted to his job.

There was another man behind Kengun. He had a sly smile on his face, and he arrived not long after the female JSDF officer. They all wore the same green uniform, though there were differences between them. From Piña's observations, she concluded that the mottled Jayesdeef green uniform must be some sort of camouflage used in combat, and it was different from the single-colored green uniform used for ceremonial purposes.

Finally, Lelei entered the room, standing beside the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man smiled and said something to Lelei.

Lelei nodded and then translated his words to Piña and Bozes. However, it was not necessary to Piña due Beelzebub gave her the translator item previously. Bozes still can't understand the language: "This is the General of the Jayesdeef, His Excellency General Hazama." Following that, Piña also introduced herself and Bozes to this General Hazama. Because Lelei did not fully understand Japanese, she used her native language to fill in the blanks.

Piña played along and let Lelei introduce her.

"This is the Imperial Princess Piña Co Lada. Forgive me, but I do not know how they address princesses in the country of Japan."

"Over here, we address them as 'Your Highness.' Then, how do you address members of royalty in this world?"

"There are slight differences between men and women, but for ladies, 'francea' will do."

Lelei turned to Beelzebub and wanted to translate what he said. But he raised his hand. "It is not necessary Lelei-san. I have translator item." He motioned the necklace what hung on his neck.

Unknowingly for the crown prince. His father and aunt originally from the future Japan from 2138. And they still unkept these courtesies in time to time. So, they taught him these customs as well as many other things. Who knows when he can use it.

Beelzebub bowed slightly in respect. "I am Prince Beelzebub Ooal Gown. The first son of the Sorcerer King. Ainz Ooal Gown. It is an honor to meet you General Hazama." The two of them bowed to each other then shook hands.

Hazama and the other JSDF soldiers were a little-surprised hearing he spoke in perfect Japanese dialect and the Prince perfect use of the Japanese customs. But remembering the two adventurer's explanation. What stated they wore translator item. It was not surprising he was also wearing one. What they can't place anywhere how he know their customs.

Hazama nodded. "Likewise your majesty. Allow me to ask, but the black armored warrior and the elf with the strange coat and armor are your subordinates?"

Beelzebub nodded. "Yes, currently father ordered them to be my bodyguards. However, it is only a temporary task for them. Their main task is exploration.

Hazama nodded in understanding. "Ahh… I see. So you wear the same translator item as they."

Beelzebub nodded. "That's the case."

Hazama gestured to Piña, Beelzebub, and Bozes to take a seat.

"Please have a seat, francea, Heika, and Miss Bozes." (Heika: means your highness in Japanese if used by itself)

After that, Hazama and his entourage sat down one by one, and they began speaking, while Lelei served as their translator in most of the cases. Due Piña and Beelzebub does not need translation. Only Bozes tried to figure out something from poor Lelei's translation.

"I believe we signed a treaty earlier, but what happened to bring Your Highness here in person?"

"The truth is, due to carelessness on our part, a misunderstanding occurred. We deeply regret the events which followed, and we hope you will forgive us our trespasses."

"I've already seen the report. Did some accident take place then?"

"Yes. I am ashamed that it happened." explained the Imperial princess with an embarrassed expression.

"Is that so? Although, we wish for your Highness to continue being an intermediary between the Empire and us. If the events that have caused you such grief require it, we can also reconsider the terms of the treaty."

The Japanese attitude to diplomacy was to respond flexibly to minor setbacks. However, this way of thinking was quite problematic for diplomats, in particular, Piña, who represented Italica and House Formal. To her, denying the treaty was equivalent to the Jayesdeef attacking them. Therefore, she misinterpreted General Hazama's words as "If you don't obey the treaty, we will destroy you." The addition of "We wish for your Highness to continue being an intermediary between us and the Empire" made her feel even more uncomfortable.

"No, no, actually—"

The man with the sly smile, who had been sitting to one side all this time, suddenly cut in.

"I've been briefed by Itami. May I ask why this lady would have cause to strike him?"

Halfway through Lelei's translation, Piña and Bozes were already sweating bullets.

In the end, they still could not silence Itami. The two of them had tried to cut in at every possible opportunity, offering every lewd temptation they could muster, but ultimately, none of their attempts had worked. Then again, it would have been a miracle if Itami had actually allowed himself to fall victim to a crude seduction by a woman who beat him up one night and then smiled sweetly at him while saying "Come oooon~" the next morning.

"I confess, I wanted to laugh when I saw that palmprint and those scratches. Itami even wanted to claim them as "injuries sustained in the line of duty," but no matter how you see it, they look like the wounds from a quarrel between a couple. Did he do anything distasteful to either of you?"

The way he smiled while earnestly asking, "Did Itami do or say anything to provoke this violence?" made Piña think of him as a snake, with all the accompanying negative impressions.

He refused to drop the matter and kept asking questions like, "Why did you strike him?", "Was there a reason you had to strike him?" during any lull in the conversation. It was clingy and annoying, to say the least.

 _He did nothing wrong, yet he was assaulted for no reason._ The words of this snake-like man, while not inherently judgmental, sounded like he was condemning them every time he spoke.

"..."

Piña could barely squeeze out a response, and in the end, Lelei said something to the man with the sly smile. Following which, the sly smile became a mocking smile, and he introduced himself.

"I do apologize for not introducing myself. My name is Yanagida, and I am pleased to meet you."

To Piña, it sounded like _"I'm Yanagida, remember it."_

For Beelzebub who attended numerous of his father's parties, it sounded like a simple introduction. Being taught by his mother, father, aunt and the other highly skilled members of Nazarick. He could understand perfectly distinct the man intentions. Behind his words, there was no real ill intent. He has just teased the already terrified princess.

Hazama looked to Beelzebub and bowed his head. "I am sorry I ignored you such long time Your Majesty. But can you explain me why do you come here personally? The treaty what you sent with Colonel Kengun were already relay to our superiors and under consideration. There was no need you to come here."

Beelzebub smiled Hazama's question. He still up kept his friendly attitude, but he knows exactly what the Lieutenant General want from him. Information… And if he wants information. He gives him information. But not the information what he really wanted.

He leaned forward. "I just wanted to inspect the base. According to my bodyguard's reports. It is an interesting place."

The princess and Bozes sweat dropped hearing his answer. Hazama nodded. "I see… But only coming here to inspect the base is a little waste of time. I assume there is another reason you are coming here personally your majesty."

A sly smile what resembled Yanagida's but still resembled a friendly one moved Beelzebub face. His expression looked exactly like his mother. Just in the male version. He bowed his head slightly. "You are right Sir Hazama. There is the reason why I came here."

He let a small pause between the two sentences. Every eye fixated on him.

"Being my father's first envoy and his voice in this region. I feel It is my task to make the first impression. Hearing your national diet will come together soon from Sir Itami. I would like to smooth out that minor misunderstanding between our countries what happened in the recent past and hasten the negotiations."

"According to Colonel Kengun, that little misunderstanding were already smoothed between our forces." Explained Yanagida.

Beelzebub nodded and looked to Yanagida. "True… But our countries relationship is still a fragile state. We still pointing weapons at each other's throat. We may be not a pacifist, and we spent most of our short history with constant war. Due other forces threatened our existence. But we still seek the understanding of the other side. Who knows, after discussing the situation and knowing each other a little better. This minor misunderstanding may come out as the beginning of a close friendship between our nations and the dawn of a new age."

A dreadful expression settled on Piña's face. _"If he manages to cement an alliance between their nations we are doomed!"_

Hazama smiled and bowed his head. "I understand your reasoning Prince Beelzebub. As your history, as well as ours, are with full of bloody wars what we spent fighting against each other. But as you said. Despite our disagreement. We as well seeking the understanding of each other."

A smile settled on Beelzebub face. "I am glad we are on the same wavelength. Who knows. It is even possible my father makes an appearance." He said sarcastically. Then started to laugh whole heartedly.

Piña's and Bozes's eyes widened imagining his father's mighty figure. If he emitted such charisma and wits. They could not possibly imagine his father who managed to conquer their whole world. From Beelzebub description. The god of death.

Hazama is thinking the young heir only joked. Laughed with him. "That would be certainly surprising."

* * *

 **Scene Change: Itami's room:**

"Well, then~ looks like all that's left is dinner and going to bed."

They had already returned their unused rounds to the ammunition dump, while their rifles were signed back into the armory after the necessary maintenance (Kuribayashi's rifle was a write-off. It had taken irreparable damage when it had been used to block a sword strike, and the armory had signed off on it), and their vehicles were returned to the vehicle pool after cleaning the mud and sand off them. Sunset had come and gone by the time they finished these chores, and there was no time left to eat.

And then, he still had to write and submit reports, and tomorrow he would be going before the National Diet, and after that, he still had to wait for further instructions… just the thought was enough to tire Itami out.

In any case, he'd worry about that later. Itami opened his desk and placed various documents into a folder before slotting it back into the depths of his table, but then he spotted a blinking light on the phone he left in there. It would seem he had received an e-mail.

 _"_ _Now who could that be from?"_ While thinking that, he opened the messages and saw that they were from Risa and His Excellency Taro.

The two of them were Itami's Otaku comrades. In Taro's case, he proudly used his real name, so those around him jokingly called him "His Excellency," a title that he sportingly accepted.

Risa seemed to have written something that resembled a report, and then plainly added at the end "Please lend me money (heart symbol)." After that, there was a second, and then a third e-mail, which was accounts of the tragedy that read like "Send reinforcements immediately!" and "I don't have water, food or gas!" However, there was only a day or two between the e-mails, so the situation could not have gotten as bad as she said.

This woman basically treated Itami — with his stable income as a public servant — as a credit card with no limit. She would impulse-buy figures or other expensive goods, which would then affect her ability to pay her living expenses. He felt that he could not leave her be, but at the same time, he also felt that he was just enabling her.

Taro's e-mail, on the other hand, simply asked about how he had been lately, and if he was free for a meetup.

Although he had almost forgotten which season it was during his time in the Special Region, it was almost winter back on Earth. The year was coming to an end, and Itami was thinking that it was about time he started applying for leave to do things. It had been about half a year since the summer doujin event was canceled so that the winter event would be more crowded than ever before.

 _"_ _If His Excellency Taro is asking to meet me, it's plainly obvious he doesn't want to squeeze in at the doujin market with others, but instead he wants me to buy his titles for him. I wonder if I show them the pictures what I made posing with our new friends..."_ he shook his head as he thought about this.

Although he had been summoned back to the homeland as a witness, Itami's first priority was to get the catalog for the market.

Just as he was thinking this, the lights-out signal went out, and the lights to his block were cut.

Ah, it's so late that even the cafeteria and canteen are closed by now.

Since there was nothing to be done, Itami took out several cans of food from his desk (combat ration type 1 — chicken rice, preserved daikon, assorted vegetables) and opened them.

At this moment, there was a knocking on the door.

When Itami looked outside, he saw nobody there. For a moment he thought someone was pranking him until he saw Lelei waiting in the darkened hallway.

"It's pretty late, what's the matter with you?"

Lelei was able to translate various documents into Japanese, so she had been temporarily employed as a "specialist" (she was paid for that, of course, albeit in yen). As a result, she could come and go freely within the base. Despite Momon and Raidyn helped her for a while with the documents. The documents were too much to handle, and because of they had other responsibilities the two adventurers had to left her alone with the translation.

Giving her the translation item would not help her. Because it is directly translated everything spoken and written. Affecting the brain and transforming the speech and text for the native language of the individual. Helping the understanding.

In order to avoid being mistaken for an insomniac wanderer, she wore her ID pass hanging around her neck and came here while carrying her basket.

"Itami, I'm tired. Send me back to the camp."

With that, she tossed her staff aside and sat down. Lelei was not the type to easily show her emotions, and she was used to enduring hardship. For her to actually show weakness by saying "I'm tired" meant that she must have been exhausted. After all, interpreting for Hazama must have been very draining.

"Eaten yet?"

It was hard to speak, so she groaned and shook her head. The way she looked at Itami was like a puppy that had been abandoned by the roadside.

"Ah~ but I can't drive now, why don't you just sleep here? There's a lot of room here anyway."

The camp where she lived was a pretty long distance away from here.

Besides, if he wanted to leave the base at night, he would have to do so in full gear. In addition, he could not move around alone. Therefore, he would have to wake up someone from 3rd Recon to accompany him. Then he would have to request and fill out more forms and book a vehicle, and it would be a pain in the ass. That being the case, it would be better to find Lelei, a bed so she could sleep here.

Lelei seemed to have trusted everything to Itami, given the way she nodded and murmured before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

Then, time to set the bed.

Every member of the armed forces in the JSDF had a bed that consisted of one mattress, one pillow, five towels (one was for decoration), one pillow case, two bedsheets and one blanket (the abovementioned did not apply when new bed provisions were available).

Since the materials provided were limited, the sleeping arrangements one could produce with them were also limited.

First, he laid down three dust covers. Since a dust cover was roughly half the size of a bed, he had to layer the three towels over each other.

On top of that, he spread two bedsheets. He laid one piece on one side of the pillow and the other at the foot of the bed, then he carefully folded each one under the mattress in a hospital fold, so that the sleeper could tuck themselves into one or both sides and feel like they were wrapped up.

After that, he laid the last two dust covers on the pillow side and the foot of the bed, folding them into another set of hospital corners, with all the care of wrapping a present. Then he laid the pillow down as well as the bedsheet, tucking it in under the mattress. With that, the bed was made.

He laid another blanket over this warm little nest.

After making the bed, Itami lifted Lelei in his arms and laid her down.

Her hair was pure white, and her clear skin was as flawless as porcelain.

People might have mistaken her for a life-size doll. Since Itami had no interest in that sort of thing, he covered her up with the blanket, but at this moment he felt that he could empathize with those people who liked looking at young girls.

As he thought that, Itami frantically shook his head while thinking, _"No, no! Anyway, it'd be laughable for someone my age to be turned on by a girl like that."_ He tried to rationalize it away with his psychological defenses, but during the year Itami had graduated from high school, there had been a girl in his class who had been pregnant and gave birth to a baby. Thinking about it now, it did not seem impossible.

Lelei said she was 15, but she seemed less developed and curvy compared to a Japanese girl of 15. Lelei did not just look younger than her age, but she seemed more delicate too. Still, when it came to being older than they looked, there were two prime examples right here.

Suddenly, his vision blurred as he was looking at Lelei.

If this went on, he would fall asleep soon.

 _"_ _No, no, if I fell asleep here, somebody will see it and get the wrong idea. I need to get back to my room to sleep,_ he thought.

Not long ago, Kurata was teasing him by asking, "Say, Lieutenant, do you like DFC?"

Granted, Itami knew he wasn't very good around carnivorous, mature women, but it was ridiculous to have that interpreted into a taste for flat chests. If pressed, Itami would say that breast size was irrelevant, only the shape of the body.

In other words, he did not dare lay a finger on Lelei. Furthermore, waiting unnecessarily beside a sleeping girl would invite unwelcome gossip from people. He had to get out of here right now.

Not long before this scene Raidyn just strolled on the courtyard of the JSDF base. Her ID hangs around her neck like Lelei's, but she used invisibility to not disturb anyone and to go wherever she want. Giving her free roam in the base. Beelzebub and the princess already retreated in their quarters. Momon being his bodyguard accompanied him standing guard before his room's door.

Raidyn was bored. After the dinner, everyone either retreated their room or went back to their duties. She already exercised, she doesn't have anything new to read in her inventory. The only thing what remained to spy on the individuals of the base.

Under her small stroll. She spotted the exhausted blue haired mage walking towards a door. Knocking on it. Then a familiar figure opened the door. She hid in the nearby corner. Then jumped on Itami's roof. Her cat-like agility made her capable to land on the roof without anyone could hear her. Raidyn started to listen to the conversation between Itami and the exhausted Lelei. She already knew the Otaku has no ill intentions towards anyone, especially towards the small mage. Still, pranking him was just fun.

Moments before Itami could let the dream goblin take him to the dream world. She subtly teleported in his room.

"Do you want me to transport her back to our room?" Itami suddenly heard a female voice behind his back and woke up immediately. Jumped up in and a frightened expression settled on the First Lieutenant face.

"R-Raidyn! What are you doing here!? You should be back at your room! How do you even got into my room?"

A frightened expression can be seen his face as he took a comical pose.

"The door was open…" answered Raidyn while pointed to the door.

He calmed himself and nodded. "I see..." he glanced down to the sleeping Lelei.

A calm, gentle expression settled on his face as he looked to the sleeping mage. "No, transporting her will be not necessary. She may wake up." He looked back to the sleeping Lelei. "She is sleeping so peacefully. Don't disturb her."

Raidyn nodded understandingly.

"By the way… What are you doing here?" questioned her Itami.

She tilted her head. "I am bored. And Tuka and Rory are already sleeping. Momon-kun is doing his usual thing what he does at this time of night." she looked around suspiciously.

"Most likely polishes his weapon." she whispered.

Itami nodded uncomfortably.

"Seeing Lelei strolling around the camp with a completely exhausted expression I thought I offer her to bring her back meanwhile searching something interesting. But then she knocked on your door. So, I thought I watch out of her. You may do something indecent thing with her." She said while suspiciously squinted her eyes.

Itami stepped back with a frightened yet offended expression. "You really think such thing of me? Raidyn-san! Do I look like a pervert?"

She tilted her head with an innocent expression. "No, you look like a horny NEET…" (NEET: Not in Education, Employment or Training.)

The blood frozen in Itami's veins hearing Raidyn called him horny NEET. _"Do she even know what it means or she just heard it somewhere?"_

He bowed his head with a disappointed expression. "Oh... I see..." Then he started to laugh nervously. "Well, I sometimes act like one. But please can you tell me? Just between us. Where do you hear this slang?"

"Well, I don't know how its sounds in our language. But it is an individual who neither in education, employment or training."

"I see…" Itami nervously scratched his head. _"Do I really look like a NEET? I mean I rather chose my hobby than my work. And I love slacking. But a horny NEET? Really!?"_ he asked himself desperately.

He looked back to Raidyn who looked around in his room. Inspecting the standard furniture of a military styled room. _"Every time I see her and Momon-kun armor. I still find them cool…"_

"By the way… Aren't you tired?" Itami asked her with a dumbfounded expression. Making her attention draws back to him.

She looked back to him and shook her head. "Not really. You know. I have a rare brain disease. I am unable to sleep."

"Oh…" said Itami. "I am sorry…" he bowed his head in regret.

"No problem. You get used to it after a while. And with a special meditation method. I can regain my strength under moments! See!" she jumped up and landed on her index finger. Then made a few push ups with it.

"You see?" she jumped back to her feet while smirked.

Itami nodded nervously. "That's… cool." He looked away for a moment.

"Do you have something to read Itami-kun?" asked him Raidyn. He looked back to her and saw her pleading eyes. He stepped back in surprise.

"Ah...! I will look into something to you…" he turned away and searched among his belongings. Despite he mostly read Light Novels on his smartphone. Either on the internet or downloaded them. He always brought with himself a few printed copies from his favorite Light Novels. If he forced in a position where he is unable to charge his phone, or it is simply can't use it.

After a moment he found his and old copy of a Light Novel first three volumes. He was not sure she would understand most of the cultural things in it. But she asked something to read. If she doesn't understand something. She can ask him later. But now… He was too tired even thinking about such things. As the saying goes. The Tomorrow problems. Remain to the tomorrow me…

He handed the Illustrated Light novels to Raidyn. She inspected them. And her eyes widened. Her inner otaku screamed in joy. _"Whoa! Printed copies of the High School of the DXD! These were super rare back in my previous life, and worth quite a sum! Even I can't allow myself a copy of them! I need to take care of them… And maybe… When we go through the gate, I can ask Zero to steal a few 'necessary items for me. Of course only for an experimental purpose. I need to refresh my light novel, anime, movie, and game database after all…"_

She inspected the illustrations. _"Hmmm... Boobies!"_

Itami was seeing the appearing happiness on her face. Smiled and started to scratch the back of his head nervously. "Well… This is the only thing I have… I hope it will do."

She nodded. "Certainly… Thank you very much!" she bowed deeply. "The girl is nice on the cover." she pointed to the cover of the light novel.

"Ah... Thanks... Most females did not appreciate them..." he smirked.

"They are stupid," she answered. "Thanks again."

"No, problem. But please take care of them. They are rare."

"Don't worry. I can certainly take care of these rare artifacts."

 _"_ _I would not say these are rare artifacts… But… Hey! It sounds cool if you say it like that!" he thought._

"Thank you Itami-kun! Good night! And no naughty thought. Or I may have to do something bad with you. _" She chuckled._

"I would never dare." _Smiled Itami innocently._

Raidyn smiled back. Bowed then left closing the door behind her back.

After she left. Itami's body suddenly started feeling heavy.

After spending all night in combat, being taken prisoner halfway back to base, being marched all the way back to Italica and yet another night without rest, the accumulated fatigue was too much for Itami to resist.

And so, Itami passed out.

In the end, against all of his wishes, Itami ended up falling asleep on Lelei's tummy.

As Raidyn strolled in the camp, she informed Momonga about her new acquisition.

[Message]: "Momonga! I managed to take my hand a few light novels! Do you want to read them?"

[Message]: "Of course! It was a while since reading such stuff. Wait a moment. I find a way to get away from Beelzebub in a subtle way. Then I will be on my way towards you."

[Message]: "We will meet in the residential area. behind the house what I built."

[Message]: "On my way..." answered Momonga.

* * *

 **Scene Change** : The next day, 11 AM, in front of the concrete dome.

Today's sunshine was exceptionally bright. Itami was standing still, a blank expression on his face. The first Lieutenant was still tired after he had to wake up earlier and finish his reports before he returns to Japan.

He was wearing a Type 91 winter jacket, which made sense for Japan's weather, but considering the climate was still warm on this side of the gate, it felt too hot. Because of that, he was only wearing the jacket and had his sleeves rolled up.

Passing officers might have frowned on his poor personal grooming, but after noticing his winter clothing, their expressions turned to wry grins which made him uncomfortable.

The summer uniform was fine on this side of the gate, but anyone going back to Japan, which was in the middle of winter, would have to dress appropriately. The discrepancy in seasons was funny in its own way.

"So slow…" he sweated

For the most part, everyone everywhere should have a sense of time, but he did not know how it was for people in the Special Region. After all, they did not have clocks, so they might not have the habit of being on time as well.

So I'll wait then, Itami thought as he wiped the sweat from his brow. Eventually, the people he was waiting for finally arrived.

"Kuribayashi~ Tomita~ you guys took too long!"

"Sorry, Lieutenant, we were delayed because we were taking care of things."

In contrast to the uniformed Itami, Kuribayashi and Tomita were in civilian clothes.

"It's so hot out, where are you wearing so much?"

That had been Tuka, speaking in a soft voice. Lelei gave Itami a long and intense look, while that black-clad Gothic Lolita had followed them, of course.

Raidyn and Momon walked to them. "You guys!" greeted them Raidyn. Momon nodded silently to the others.

Momon wore a tight white shirt what high lightened his tanned muscles. A black jean and a seemingly tight black leather jacket.

This was due to the base there was no shirt and jacket big enough for his muscled form. So, he had to squeeze himself inside of tight clothes what flat against his illusionary skin. Not as he felt anything. After all, it was only an illusion what perfectly simulated bodily functions.

His attire caused not a little satisfaction for Kuribayashi and the other female staff members of the JSDF. Not speaking about Rory. What bothered Ainz the most… Rory started to cling on his biceps more and more forcing him to pull her after himself while she held her wrapped Halberd.

The high-level illusion enchantment was mixed with minor reality warping enchantment making everyone around him not only see him as a trained warrior but even if they touch his illusion body. They will only feel as he was really a living, breathing being.

Because of this Ainz was calm about the trip. He can't praise enough his friend skill in the art of enchanting and her genius to be able to develop such enchantments. Because of this. Even if someone able to cut him. The illusion was able to produce illusionary bodily reactions and fluid. Such as blood, tissue reaction, and many other things.

Meanwhile, Raidyn wore her usual long hooded leather coat without the hood wrapping her head. And she borrowed jeans and a shirt from the female staff. Both Momon and Raidyn put away their equipment previously. Raidyn using her reequip magic. Momon is introducing his bottomless bag. True. His armor was only a summoned armor. But he can freely remove it piece by piece and store it for a limited amount of time. After that, He had to resummon it.

As said in the previous chapters. His face resembled Guts from the berserk Manga. A mix of serious and suspicious expression can be seen on his face as he always measured his surrounding.

Raidyn and Momon offered Rory to take care of her halberd and store it for her. But she simply refused it. Saying… _"It would stain Emroy's name if I let the artifact had been taken away from me and placed in that thing…"_

Rory's huge halberd was wrapped in canvas, but she didn't seem happy with the procedure, so she kept pouting and making little noises of protest.

"It can't be helped, if you carry that big thing through the "Gate," you'll violate the Firearms and Blades Regulation Act and the Weapon Possession Act among other laws, and the police will arrest you immediately. They've been really strict on this lately, and it's no laughing matter. In truth, they wanted you to leave it behind before going over."

"And how could I leave behind this proof of Emroy's will?"

"That's why I said; you need to bear with this for a bit." Explained Itami.

"The offer still stands Rory. We can still store your weapon." Offered Raidyn.

"No thank you!" Rory pouted her face in an offended way.

For Rory, she had no other choice if she wanted to go to the other side of the "Gate."

Itami turned towards her. "Store her weapon?"

Lelei nodded. She pointed at Momon. "Bottomless bag." Then Raidyn. "Can make appear her armor and weapons seemingly from nowhere." She explained in her broken Japanese. She progressed greatly with her language studies. Still, it was far from perfect despite her blessing what her patron gods provided her.

Itami nodded nervously. "I see…"

 _"What the heck! Now they have a bottomless bag and summon their armor from their storage space?!"_ he sweats dropped. " _This gets more and more like an MMO and these two guys more and more like player characters… Then what we are? NPC's?"_ he shook his head not wanting thinking about this anymore. It only made his headache.

Itami, the commander in charge during the battle with the Flame Dragon, was not the only one being summoned by the Diet. Several other witnesses from the affected refugees had been called too.

Among these "affected refugees," the presence of Lelei was essential because she could translate for both sides. However, the translator items can do the same. Neither the Prince of the Sorcerer Kingdom or the two adventurers gave them one of those. Due it was a highly valuable item. Pina only gets one because Beelzebub offered her his spare.

Lelei's services were in high demand recently, almost to the point of abuse. Fortunately, Raidyn and Momon helped out her often using their translator item. But because of their new responsibilities as the Prince's bodyguard, the two of them can't help her all the time. However, they wanted.

Still, the amount of work was overwhelming. All they could do was ask her to bear with it. General Hazama had even told her in person that after the meeting with the Diet, as compensation for her hard work, he would arrange for her to have fun and relax in Japan before coming back.

Tuka would be coming along because she would be living proof that the Special Region contained other sentient species besides Humans. Her mere existence would answer many questions, and to the media, it would have great persuasive power.

As for Rory… well, she looked human enough and resembled a child. With that black priest's garb on top of that, what if she were mistaken for a cosplaying girl brought along to make up the numbers?

Although demigods were feared and respected in this world's legends (not including the countless stories of luckless others being killed off), it would be troubling if she wanted to demonstrate her "divine power" in the diet. As a result, Itami was in a dilemma over how to handle her.

But the main reason they had brought her along was because she said, "How could you leave me out of something so fun?"

In addition, Kuribayashi and Tomita were there as their guards.

As Momon and Raidyn… They had a crucial role killing the Flame Dragon. Saving many lives in the process. So, it was obvious why they come. However, Itami did not understand if they became the bodyguards of Beelzebub. How can they leave the person who they had to protect behind? How can the protect him if they step through the gate?

Leaving these thoughts behind. He shook his head and turned back to the others.

"All right~ that should be it. Then, let's move out."

Just as Itami said this, a car drove up in front of Itami and stopped there.

Yanagida got out of the passenger seat and raised a hand in greeting.

"Sorry, sorry, the procedures took a bit more time than anticipated."

What was this guy up too? Just as Itami was starting to get annoyed by looking at him, Yanagida opened the rear door of the vehicle and invited the three people within to a light.

"Her Imperial Highness Piña Co Lada, His Highness First Prince Beelzebub Ooal Gown, and her Excellency the Marchioness Bozes Co Palesti. These three will be accompanying you secretly to Japan. Please take care of them."

Piña, Beelzebub, and Bozes got out of the car and lined up in front of Itami.

"Oi, Yanagida, we never talked about this." Protested the First Lieutenant.

"Ah? Didn't I tell you before? Then it shouldn't be too late to explain to you now, right? I've made the arrangements with Ichigaya Park (a hotel run by the Defense Ministry), and the hotel at Izu is settled too. Go enjoy your three-day vacation."

"You… don't you remember how Her Imperial Highness and friend saw to me?"

"Oh? The mistake from earlier? Well, just laugh it off, why don't you?"

"I can't."

"Well, it doesn't matter, don't worry about it. In any case, Her Imperial Highness and His Highness First Prince Beelzebub will be an important intermediary between our government and theirs, so it was only natural that they requested to come to our country to learn more about it."

"If that's the case, then why are they coming with me?"

"Well, you just happen to be headed home, right? Besides, we don't have anyone else who can translate while going sightseeing at the same time."

With that, Yanagida drew close to Itami and spoke softly to him while sliding a white envelope into Itami's pocket.

"Courtesy of General Hazama. Use it to show our guests a good time. Show them the meaning of Japanese hospitality."

Itami sighed and turned back to the others. "All right. Let's get in the car."

They took seat one by one, and the miniature convoy has departed. Because of their increased number. The Imperial Princess, Bozes, Beelzebub, Momon, and Kuribayashi sat in the same car. Meanwhile, Itami, Raidyn, Rory, Tuka, Lelei and Tomita went with the same car.

They passed the borders of the gate under the Ferro-concrete sarcophagus like a dome.

Raidyn opened a mental link towards his friend. [Message]: "I can't believe it Momonga! After so long time! We will return our birthplace! Our origin!"

[Message]: Momonga nodded. "It will be certainly interesting…" he left a moment of pause, and the nostalgia started to choke him. "I saw many pictures of the early 21st century back when We were still human… I wonder… If it will be similar than our overly polluted and crowded Ginza back in 2138 or it will be like in the pictures in the vast digital archives on the internet…"

[Message]: "Oh! Papa's bones become sentimental… How cute!" joked Esdeath and chuckled.

Ainz became embarrassed, and his emotion suppression kicked in. [Message]: "I-I am not!"

[Message]: "Whatever… But if you don't mind. After we pass the gate. I let G.O.L.D.I.E lose at their network. Searching information about our ancestors even exists in this timeline or universe. Or it is an entirely separate one."

Momonga nodded. [Message]: "Good idea. Just order her to be subtle as possible and not do anything drastic. Such as changing the value of their currency from one to zero. Her primary task should be information gathering not wrecking their infrastructure..." he let a pause thinking about the possibility. Then shook his head. "Anyway... We need every edge what we can get our hands on."

Raidyn chuckled in the message. [Message]: "Don't worry. She is my girl. She is as subtle as I am. Maybe she pranks a few persons. Or she changes a few values. But she will not hurt anyone without reason. After all… I modeled her core program after my brain, and I tried my best to teach her the values what we represent. Of course, I can't do anything about it if she places a few fail safes and traps in the case in their network. It will come in handy if they try to attack us. For safety purposes of course."

[Message]: "Momonga nodded. "I don't mind it. After all... We left that life behind us a long time ago... We owe nothing to Earth and her people."

Besides Momon. Beelzebub, the imperial princess, and Bozes conversed about politics, life, and many other things. The car steadily moved towards the other side of the Gate where Ginza awaited them.

Unknowingly to the JSDF and the denizens of the special region. Before the dome, massive metallic doors closed. A few shadows passed the border of the structure. Two squads of Eight Edged Assassins and Zero. The head of the spy and information gathering network of the Sorcerer Kingdom. Slipped through the gate. And followed them with high speed.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Well, this is for now.**

 **I hope you liked it.**

 **Tell me your opinion. Like, review, whatever! :D**

 **Have a nice day!**

 **Next time! The other side of the Gate!**

 **The killers of gods in the land of the mortals. How will the world react Death incarnation?**

 **Stay safe! Good winds!**

Codex: G.O.L.D.I.E. (Global Organized Lead Defensive Interfaced Equalizer): She is a highly advanced Artificial Intelligence. Created by the combination of magic and the modern technology of Nazarick fifty years ago by Esdeath herself. She managed to score ninety-nine percent ninety-five in the Turing test. Teaching multiple classes in multiple magic, agricultural and several other academies. As her creator. Esdeath. She inherited her playful nature and elevated spirit and loved pranks.


	9. Let the Diet of Gods begin!

**Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.**

 **I don't own the _Overlord_ (** **オーバーロード** ** _Ōbārōdo_** **?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **Please review it I know I will make mistakes what I will intend to correct and try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

* * *

After passing through the boundary known as the "Gate," they saw rows and rows of towers which scraped the sky. At this time, Piña wondered; what did the men of the Imperial Army who first set foot here think? Did they have any idea of their upcoming fate? Nestled within the valleys between these vast buildings, I realized how small I truly was. The fact that we have declared war on a country that built such magnificent structures makes the imperial princess worry for the fate of the Empire.

Then again, Ginza would not have things like skyscrapers. If one thought about it, most of the tall buildings one might see would be found in places like Shinjuku or New York.

On the topic of grand structures, Piña and Bozes considered the Imperial Palace, the Senate building, and various other military strongholds to be quite impressive, so to them, even walking down Ginza must have struck them dumb with awe.

Having a tall building among regular buildings would only make the tall building stand out more.

Because of that, from Piña's point of view, a capital city should be planned so that there would be an awe-inspiring structure standing in the middle. However, the city on the other side of the "Gate" was different. All its buildings were massive skyscrapers.

If there were a single giant tree, one might still be at peace when looking at it from underneath. However, a forest of giant trees would inflict an enormous pressure on those beneath it.

Among her thoughts, she glanced to Beelzebub who sat beside her. Every time she looked at his face she started to blush uncontrollably and she could not help it. But uncontrollably turned her head away.

 _"Why I feel like this? Maybe he is using some kind of magic to make me feel uncomfortable?"_ she shook her head _. "No! He is a royalty. A royalty would never live with such dirty tricks?"_ She considered the other options. _"Then if it is not magic. It is his own charisma. Damn!"_ she bit her lower lips. _"A country with the army of the gods, leaders with an inhumanly level of charisma and vast territory... what have we done! And I don't even meet his father... if he is like this... I wonder what kind of man his father would be..."_ she looked at Beelzebub with a worried expression.

Prince Beelzebub seemed completely calm despite the sudden environment change. Neither Momon showed any sign of excitement. The two of them was the statue of calmness. As the car slowly left the gate behind. They inspected their surroundings.

On Beelzebub face his usual smiling expression settled. On Momon's illusionary face his always serious, suspicious expression can be seen as he glanced out of the vehicle and measured his surroundings.

As Beelzebub looked out of the window, he wondered. _"So that's how Japan looks like... I saw numerous recordings, pictures and there was a countless piece of literature about this world in the archives of Nazarick. But to see it live... really spectacular. Not as spectacular as the enormous floating castles back in the capital. Still, commendable..."_ he nodded to himself. _"After all... they don't have magic. So they had to build all of this without it. Only using their wits..."_ as he mused about this. He looked out again at the window.

 _"Still... in the archives, there were pictures about much older as well more modern buildings. Sceneries both thriving with life and pictures of a dead world suffocating in metal and its own stain... I wonder... father and aunt were there multiple times? I wonder if they experienced this world first hand? Both in its past, present and future..._ " he frowned. _"I need to ask them later..."_

As Momonga glanced out of the window, the nostalgia caught up with him. _"So this is it... This is the Japan of old."_ A small smile curled on his illusionary face. _"I must admit. It is exactly like in the pictures on the internet. I am so glad we managed to come here!"_ he burst out in joy and his emotion suppression triggered. _"Tch... Annoying thing..."_ he frowned.

 _"Of course our new world has beautiful sceneries as well. But this... this is the place where we come from. The place of our origin. Despite I am an undead now and the resident of the New World or as my friend call it... 'Bob'... I still feel a kinship towards the Japanese people... but of course, if I have to choose between the two I chose my current world. my kingdom. If any nation from Earth or the world what located on the other side of our gate threaten my friend's legacy..." he breathed deeply with his non-existent lungs._

 _"They better start to pray whatever deity they believe because I will not show mercy! I will rain apocalypse upon them. I will show them the true meaning of fear and despair!"_ under the illusion the two dazzling crimson lights in his eyes started to shine brighter.

Beelzebub looked around feeling a similar presence. It was like his father sitting near him. Thinking about this he shook his head. Maybe a few people said his father is everywhere and see everything, but despite the Sorcerer King's miracles, Beelzebub did not believe in such thing. Anyway... It would be a pretty pervert if he saw everything.

As he thought about such things he chuckled.

The small group left the cars and started to walk down on the street.

Standing there, Piña's and Bozes' hearts were deeply shaken by the sights before them.

Of course, they were not the only two affected by it. Lelei, Tuka, and Rory were staring with eyes wide open, oblivious to the cold even though they stood at the heart of Ginza in the winter.

Raidyn breathed the clean, cold air deeply inside of her lungs and murmured. "Finally..." she started to smirk. (of course, the air was still full of chemicals. But it was a lot cleaner than back ion 2138.) _"Back to our roots... hehe..."_ she chuckled in herself.

"Ara, good thing I didn't miss you guys."

A voice called out to Itami from behind the six girls, Momon and Beelzebub. Just as he was about to leave the sentry post.

Turning around, he saw a group of black-suited men. At their head stood their leader, a middle-aged man.

"You must be Lieutenant Itami."  
"Yes, that's me."

"I'm Komakado from Intel. We'll be handling escort and guidance duties for this operation."

The man was smiling, but the smile did not reach his eyes. He had the same forceful aura around him as JSDF trainees who had just completed the Ranger course. One could describe it as a pressure, but to him as a JSDF trooper, it was more like a razor-edged look in his eyes.

The way this man smiled superficially was not entirely like that of a soldier. He might have come from the Public Security branch of the police, or perhaps another intelligence agency. He might even have been the result of the exchange program between the JSDF and the police.

"Tell me, are you really from the JSDF?"

"As I thought, was it so easy to tell?"

"You don't feel like a proper serviceman. If a pure JSDF officer were handling this, there would probably be leaks."

The corners of Komakado's mouth turned up in a wicked smile.

A voice entered in Momonga's head. [Message]: "Ainz-sama. We scouted your and Esdeath-sama's surroundings. There is no detectable source of danger. We continue our scouting and information gathering. As well to collect the special items what Esdeath-sama listed us."

[Message]: "Good job..." Then it comes to his mind what Zero said lastly. "Wait!? What items?"

[Message]: "She ordered us to collect literature as well primitive digital media from a list what she sent us. She described the special items as manga, light novel, and games..."

 _"Is she really use the head of the secret services to collect manga for herself?"_ Momonga sweat dropped. Then furrowed his non-existent brows angrily. _"How dare she let me out such things! Don't she know I want to read a new manga, light novels and play the games of this era too?! Oh! Esdeath! We will settle this thing later!"_

[Message]: "Ainz-sama? Everything all right?" asked Zero in a worried tone.

While Momonga furrowed on the fact. His friend dared to let him out from such thing. He does not even recognize he is still speaking with Zero. [Message]: "Umu... Continue your work. Report us if you or any other units detect anything suspicious."

[Message]: "As you wish. Exalted one." The connection has been terminated by Momonga.

Meanwhile, Itami and Komakado still conversed.

"Hmm, you're no ordinary guy. As expected of a man who was at Nijubashi. You know, I read up on your background before I came here."

"Nothing worth mentioning, I hope?" joked Itami.

"Not exactly. After graduating from an average university with average grades, you entered the officer cadet course and ended up graduating second from the bottom in your batch, as a second lieutenant. The bottom cadet was injured during training and washed out. So in truth, you would be the lower part of your cohort, am I wrong?" noted Komakado. It seemed he made his homework and knew everything from the First Lieutenant.

He flipped through his notebook.

"Some people commented that it was unfair that you passed while the injured fellow had to flunk out. Your performance appraisals wavered on the border of acceptable and unacceptable… and eventually, you managed to scrape somehow through. The superiors you angered sent you to the Ranger course, but for some reason, even though you trailed at the back of your cohort, you were never washed out. Your teammates treated you like a plague and avoided you, and for some reason, you were posted to Narashino. Although you were slated to be a permanent 2nd Lieutenant, after the Nijubashi incident you were promoted to 1st Lieutenant."

Komakado recited Itami's history from his black leather notebook as he flipped through it.

"Your fellow soldiers had the following opinions of you: "otaku," "a true salary thief," "at least he understands the JSDF's anti-war values." Kukuku, how interesting." he chuckled in a malicious way what make Tuka cringe.

As this fellow delivered his scathing lecture, Itami scratched the back of his scalp.

"So how did someone like you get into 'S' ?"

Acha~ Itami sagged his shoulders as he heard the question. That was a prickly one.

"I think there was a paper some time ago which said that among all the worker ants in a colony, 20% are slackers?"

"?"

"It means, no matter what kind of ants you have, 20% of them will become slackers."

"I see. So in order to ensure none of the elite, handpicked ants backslide into slackers, you need to have slackers in there, to begin with?"

"I bullshitted my superiors when they lectured me about slacking off. The logic might sound strange, but rather than gathering a group of elites together and have 20% of them become slackers, why not just include those slackers from the beginning and minimize the decay of skilled personnel? Back then, there was a spate of suicide cases in the WAIR (JGSDF Western Army Infantry Regiment (Light)), so the unit took that suggestion seriously."

"Kukuku, so, is that how someone like you got into the Special Forces? If anyone knew that someone as easygoing and slack as you could get in, they'd bang their heads on the wall while wailing about how they were doing worse than you."

Komakado's words made Itami sigh deeply.

And just at this moment—

"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh~~~."

A shrill cry of despair rang out from the side, like a girl who had been abandoned by her lover.

On closer inspection, the one crying out was Kuribayashi.

Her face was pale, and that was not a joke or exaggeration. To her, the fact that Itami was a Ranger was a seemingly irreconcilable paradox, and now she learned he was from the Special Forces. This otaku, this supreme slacker, to think he was a member of the Special Forces she admired! Learning that fact plunged her into the deepest despair, and she wanted to curse this world and scream her anger to her enemies.

"Nooooooooooo~~~~!"

She ran off like a frightened rabbit, although since there were obstacles set up around the "Gate," she could not go far.

Tomita gave chase, and when he caught up, he patted her gently on the back to show that he understood, comforting her like he would a victim of sexual assault.

Raidyn chuckled. "I like this place already!"

Momon seeing this comedic show released a weak chuckled. But Beelzebub just smiled and shook his head. _"After all... they are still human. Not different than our people. They act exactly like them..."_ He thought. Then looked at the gate. _"It reminds me when I walked amongst father vassals using an illusion. Watching how they live..."_ a wider smile curled on his face. _"It seems... we are not so different after all..."_

Most of the soldiers in the checkpoint stared at Beelzebub with a frightened expression. To be precise his golden irises with vertically split pupils and the two thick horns what sprouted out from the two sides of his temples. Some religious amongst them grabbed their crosses or prayer beads in their neck and started to pray.

Komakado could not help but laugh as he saw this. He tried his best to keep his voice down, but in the end, he was still laughing while grabbing his belly. After a while, Komakado managed to calm down and catch his breath. He straightened himself up and then bowed to Itami.

"You aren't an ordinary man. Being able to pretend to be a lazy ant among the other hardworking ants is an impressive feat. I respect you, and I mean that."

"No way, someone tells me he's lying… Ah, this is just a dream, it can't possibly be real~."

Kuribayashi covered her face with her hands and tried to deny reality. She radiated an aura of gloom and despair. Raidyn started to pat her back. "It is okay... I am sure Itami-kun earned that badge..."

"You just made it worse Raidyn..." she sniffed.

Fortunately, the microbus from Intelligence Branch picked this time to show up. It was a godsend because the interior was spacious.

Kuribayashi sat in the rear seats, while Itami was all the way in front, sat beside the driver, in order to avoid being contaminated by the aura of misery around her. Rory, Piña and the others did not dislike Kuribayashi, and Rory herself was actually favorably inclined toward her, but they decided to cluster near the front in order to keep their distance from Kuribayashi.

As usual, Beelzebub sat near Piña. Momon sat just in the right distance from Beelzebub if the case wishes he could jump and protect him. But let him enough breathing room to speak with the imperial princess comfortably.

As Raidyn... Well, she wanted to sit on the top of the microbus, but Itami explained to her it would be against the laws and Momon scolded her because of her childishly stupid idea.

In her depression, she sat near Kuribayashi, and now the two of them emitted the aura of wailing depression while curled up in a ball.

The two exaggerated reaction was somewhat problematic.

"Lieutenant Itami, where are we headed?"

The question came from the Intelligence Branch driver, who was wearing a suit.

"We'll go get some clothes first. Since we're out of time, just take us to some place that sells suits, we can't let them go on camera like this."

Rory, Tuka, Lelei, Raidyn, and Momon had needed some proper clothes before they went before the Diet. In particular, Tuka's and Raidyn's T-shirt and jeans did not look like something that a person testifying before the National Diet should wear. Neither Momon's leather jacket and jeans.

Originally, the plan was to let Kuribayashi pick out clothes for the girls, but since she was suffering a mental breakdown, the task fell to Itami, the man with no taste whatsoever. If Kurokawa were there, she would definitely try to stop Itami from doing something stupid.

The driver in Black informed his superiors about where they were going, then started up the microbus and set off.

The area surrounding the Ginza side of the "Gate" was under the jurisdiction of the JSDF, and some people called it the "Ginza Garrison." However, once their vehicle left the restricted zone, they were back in the heart of Ginza again. The girls from the Special Region could not help but stare in awe at the sights which now surrounded them.

As Momon. He watched Ginza with suspicious calculating eyes. Not because it was his true expression. But he does not allow his illusionary face show his true emotions this time. After all. Now he is Momon of the Darkness. A badass warrior who defeated monsters from the nightmares of the people. Showing such emotions would stain his reputation.

As for his companion. The people who know her already get used to her suddenly changing behavior. So they did not give her much attention.

Although, that was inevitable. The reason was because, after the Ginza Incident, the shopping districts in Ginza now sported all manner of shiny decorations, festival lights, and Christmas trees to draw in customers, and the glass display windows showcased name-brand clothing, expensive jewelry, and all the things which would draw a girl's attention.

The Ginza district did not look like a place which had been the site of a battlefield just half a year ago. The roads were packed with cars, and the shoppers thronged the streets.

Of course, there were shops which had not reopened, and which were sealed off by thick metal shutters. For most of them, their owners had died during the Ginza Incident.

Other shops had lost their staff to the fighting and had gone out of business.

Even so, there were still a lot of people who wanted to restore Ginza to its former glory, and they brought in more and more customers. This might be the resilience of the Japanese people.

"There are a lot of people here. Could this be a marketplace?"

"Ah, look at that dress…" awed Bozes.

Piña and Bozes were whispering a conversation to each other. Beelzebub just shook his head. Women remain women after all. No matter the race, age or civilization. They acted exactly like the women back at home.

The microbus stopped in front of a clothing store which specialized in Western fashions.

Itami sought out a female sales attendant and handed Tuka and Raidyn to her while saying, "Get the, a formal-looking set of clothes, to be worn right away. The cheapest will do, just send the bill to this address." Because Itami emphasized "cheapest," the lady brought Tuka and Raidyn to the returns section, where the more affordable clothes were.

"I will not wear clown clothes..." Raidyn huffed like a child. "Is my cool jacket is not appropriate?"

"You have to wear something formal. Or they will not allow you participate in the diet..." sweat dropped Itami.

"Who want to participate in that stupid thing?" she turned her head away while puffed her cheek.

Itami looked pleadingly to Momon. "Little help. Momon?"

Momon nodded. Slowly strolled to her and whispered something in her ear. Her eyes widened. Straightened herself and saluted. "I will do it!" she shouted. Then looked to Momon. "But I will still wear my cool long coat!" then the female sale attendant. "And no high heels!" She pointed to the attendant. The female sales attendant just nodded with a surprised expression.

"Rory, Lelei, do you want to wear something more formal too?" Itami turned to the other two girls.

Rory walked one full turn around the store, looking at both male and female fashions, before declining. "I'm not really interested in these clothes. Besides, this is my priestess' formal wear."

Lelei replied, "No need." Unlike Rory, she seemed completely uninterested in new clothing.

Well, Lelei's robes probably qualify as an ethnic costume. The problem is Rory's goth-loli clothes. Even if she says it's formal wear, there's no way anyone would believe it. We'll just have to insist that it's a set of ethnic clothing that just so happens to resemble a goth-loli outfit.

On the other hand, Piña and Bozes were looking at the clothes on display, but their attention was focused on the quality of the fabric used to make them.

They were currently wearing Imperial nobles' clothing, suitable for semi-formal events.

Those clothes were made of very high-quality, hand-stitched silk, designed for use in garden parties or mounted activities. In that sense, it was like a medieval musketeer's uniform.

With the addition of a sidearm sword, it would make a good set of casual clothing for a knight.

However, Yanagida firmly forbade them to carry weapons through the "Gate," so Bozes and Panache had gone through with nothing at their waists.

Pina and Bozes only complaint about these clothes was that their fabric was too thin, so they considered buying a winter coat. However, the microbus and the clothing store were heated, so it was not a huge priority. Instead, they simply wandered the store looking at clothes.

Beelzebub looked around with a bored expression. It was not too interesting for him due in Nazarick they have similar clothes. Mostly in his father's collection. He wore his high quality enchanted formal outfit what he always carries with himself in his void storage. More than enough to attend to such events.

It resembles a fancy suit befitting to a royalty. With golden edges, multiple brooches, and award pinned on his chest. Two golden epaulets on his shoulders and an ornamental sword. What he currently does not wear due to the Japanese laws. Not as he can't store his armor and numerous weapons in his personal inventory. So he could always change his gear if the case wished.

Many royalties wore similar ornamental swords in the globe. Of course, Beelzebub's clothing was not a simple formal wear. What the simple people does not recognize. It was heavily enchanted with the highest quality of data crystals what made it resistant to any kind of harm and increased his persuasion abilities as well made him capable of using passive charm effect on others.

"Oh, this material's quite sturdy. It would probably sell for a lot in the Empire." noted the imperial princess.

The sheer variety of goods on display made them wonder if the owner of this place was some kind of merchant prince, to be able to boast such a huge stock.

Momon barely found the clothes of his liking. Thanks to his muscled. Bulking. Illusionary body. He was barely able to find clothes what fit for him. In the end, he chose a black suit with a tie and white shirt. Kuribayashi looked away with a blushing face while Rory grabbed his muscled arm. "Ahh. Momon! You look so good!" she squealed. All for Momon's displeasure.

Raidyn chuckled on his sudden popularity. "I see you have a good time Momon-kun!" she teased him reproachfully.

Momon turned to her. "Those clothes fit you. You should wear similar things more often." He retorted.

Raidyn flushed in anger. "You... I will hit you!" she threatened him while raised her clenched fist.

Momon simply released a weak crackle under his nose like he doesn't even care about her threat.

Beelzebub shook his head with an amused expression seeing the two Godkin's prattle.

The little group returned to the microbus and took their seats again.

"Itami, where will we be going next?" the bus driver turned to the First Lieutenant and asked.

Itami replied, "Let's get something to eat first. We'll be going before the Diet at three, so we should be there by two to give ourselves some buffer time."

"Then where shall we go to eat?" asked the driver.

Itami grinned and gave the driver his directions.

* * *

 **Scene Change: In the restaurant.**

"Wait, why do we have beef bowls?"

Tomita grumbled, and for a good reason. They had traveled all the way to another world; could they not entertain their guests with something better?

Itami rebutted him by saying that since they had to report to the Diet from Ginza, they would have to pass by Shinbashi on foot, which would take them past a beef bowl restaurant. He ordered eleven beef bowl set meals (paid by the JSDF, of course) and then everyone sat down together to eat.

"We won't be on vacation yet until we finish speaking to the Diet. As a result, even though traffic and food can be billed to the JSDF, we can't spend more than 500 yen for meals per person."

"5-500 yen?"

"Well, a single cup of coffee from the cafes here will cost more than that. Beef bowls or soba are pretty much the only things that cost under 500 yen in this area. But we can't have them eat while standing, so I went with the beef bowl. Besides, it looks like they're enjoying it."

Lelei and the others were digging into their food with great gusto. As an aside, they had learned how to use chopsticks in the refugee camp. To Lelei's group, which were used to eating JSDF-supplied combat rations, the beef bowl tasted delicious."

"But is it alright to let the Princess, the Prince, and Bozes eat beef bowls?"

"They're here to learn about us, right? That being the case, why not let them experience what the average citizen has for lunch?"

The high-bred noblewomen in question were gingerly spooning up the beef bowl and egg before swallowing it. Although it was the first time they had encountered a rice bowl dish, they did not protest it, probably because their time in training had inured them to vile food. That being said, they found the beef bowl delicious.

Raidyn and Momon used the chopsticks as they were in breed Japanese and eat their food. Thanks to the advanced reality bending enchantment what Esdeath herself developed. The illusionary stomach of Momon could receive food. The food and drinks automatically convert to negative energy what he used.

Of course, he still can't enjoy the taste of the food and could not gain any buff from it because of his body undead nature. Still, he could make the others believe he can eat.

Beelzebub who taught how to use every kind of cutlery from his childhood. Used the chopsticks. Proficiently. The food before him was a pretty simple and tasted quite bland compared to the culinary masterpieces what he used to eat daily base back in his childhood. But his consumption of the food of Nazarick became rarer and rarer since his aunt commanded her to don't live as a hedonist asshole because he will go soft.

So nowadays he rarely enjoyed the meals what prepared by either Sous Chef or Zero.

Some guest in the restaurant slowly left the establishment with fear on their faces. Maybe they thought Beelzebub was some kind of demon from hell and came to judge them. Seeing this reaction, Beelzebub only smiled.

 _"This food is pretty bland..."_ he mused in his head. " _Japanese people really treat royalties like this? This is just disappointing..."_

From the shadows a butler uniform wearing figure watched them. Boiling in anger seeing his masters had to eat such unworthy food. His hands trembled in anger and almost revealed himself. Pulling out his scientific handguns he pointed it to the food while hid in the shadows. He wanted to blast away that stain what these miserable creatures called food.

 _"Unacceptable! Not worthy of a consumption of the heir of Ainz-sama and the Supreme Beings! That stench... What kind of monster capable of making that thing what they call food here? Calm down! Calm down! Esdeath-sama ordered me to collect the items. Still, I can't bear to see them eat such food! It is against my ethic as a servant and as one of the head chef of the glorious Nazarick!"_

A few Japanese citizens entered the shop and prostrated before Beelzebub. "Satan-sama! Oh! Our unholy Lord! Please give us your blessing!"

Beelzebub and the others looked at them with a dumbfounded expression. But being curious they did not intervene.

"Satan-sama?" Beelzebub scratched his face as he turned to the people who prostrated before him. "Unholy Lord? I must admit... I never heard such titles..." he chuckled.

The middle one among the several worshippers looked up with a hopeful expression. "What is your name, my Lord? If this humble servant can ask it."

"Beelzebub Ooal Gown. It is nice to meet you." He chuckled.

"Ah! I see!" he nodded. Then bowed down again. "Please Lord Beelzebub! Give us your blessing!"

Beelzebub decided to play along. "Please rise faithful servants."

As if a puppeteer moved the persons before Beelzebub. They rise with eyes filled with hope

"Unfortunately. I can't really give you buffs what you seek. But I can give you some money if that is adequate." He reached in his personal storage. His hand disappeared into the black void for a moment.

The worshipper's mouth hung open for a moment. He pulled out a small purse of coins from the darkness what swallowed his hand previously. "Here. Take it. Your performance was magnificent." He threw the purse lazily to the leader of the worshippers.

The leader of the worshiper's hands trembled as he caught the little leather bag. He felt his mouth has been completely dried out. He opened the small bag slowly, and his eyes almost popped open. The purse was full of priceless gems, diamonds, and golden coins.

They bent themselves even deeper than before. "Oh! Merciful Lord! Thank you for your contribution towards your meaningless servants! We are nothing more than meaningless flies in your eyes! Still, you care about our wellbeing so much! Thank you! We will praise your name until the end of the world."

"Until the end of the world!" the other worshippers said in unison.

"Ask anything, and we will fulfill it. Do you wish war? We will cause war. Do you wish sacrifices? We will provide you any sacrifice what you wish! You only had to wish, and we fulfill it in the best of our abilities!"

"Hmm..." Beelzebub thought for a moment. His mouth curled into a smile.

He leaned closer to his new 'servants' and whispered his request in their leader's ears. He continued acting like a demon lord.

"Go! And spread my great name!" he announced and posed like a true demon lord.

"Yes! Beelzebub-sama!" they shouted in unison then left.

After the worshippers left. Itami who just watched the whole thing with a stunned expression until now interjected.

"P-Prince Beelzebub! What did you ask them?"

"Well... they were performers, and their acting was flawless." Noted Beelzebub with an innocent face. "I think they deserved the payment. As for what I asked for them. Let that be my little secret." he chuckled.

Itami sweat dropped. "They were Satanists... if you asked something pervert from them. They will surely do it..."

"Satanist?" asked Beelzebub as he turned to Itami and Tomita.

"They worship demons..." explained Itami.

"Oh... I see..." Nodded Beelzebub with an interested look. "Interesting... We have demons back home, but only Father, Aunt and their past companions have been worshiped. Hmm..." A thoughtful expression settled on his face. "Strange..." He murmured.

"Whatever. It was fun!" his smile returned to his face. "I gave them a small amount of money anyway..." he waved away Itami's concern while smiled reassuringly.

Kurybayashi jumped up. "Your people worship demons!?"

Beelzebub tilted his head. "Yeah. After all. A few of my father old friends were demons. As well my aunt is half demon." he explained.

"Ehhh!" everyone screamed.

"I don't even want to know what is your aunt another half..." murmured Kurybayashi.

"Angel..." answered Beelzebub blandly as he drank from his fuzzy drink.

Kurybayashi falls into deeper depression. "I said... I don't want to know..." she curled together even more and hugged her knees.

Raidyn and Momon chuckled and shook their heads.

 _"Yeah... small contribution... seeing their expression, it was at least a small fortune..."_ Itami sighed and shook his head with a powerless, exhausted expression. _"Why I did not interject while I still can? Damn!"_ he cursed.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Discussion between the three sides:**

After their meal, the group continued to the National Diet Building.

Itami, Lelei, Rory, Raidyn, Momon and Tuka were led to a waiting room by members of the Diet.

This was where Beelzebub, Bozes, and Piña parted ways with Itami's group.

Kuribayashi and Tomita followed them onto the microbus, which left from the main gate of the Diet Building and traveled to a high-class hotel somewhere in Tokyo.

Unlike Beelzebub. Piña and Bozes were not official envoys, so there was no way to invite them into a government building officially. More importantly, on paper, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister's Office was officially unaware that the three of them were in Japan. They had been invited to Japan by the Defense Ministry under the pretext of being "backup speakers in case the witnesses to the National Diet were unable to give their testimony."

After all, their presence in Japan at this point would cause a lot of problems if it were made public.

Once they gained a chance to open diplomatic negotiations, the military's opinions would naturally carry extra weight.

Diplomatic talks, especially those designed to clear up the aftermath of military conflicts, would absolutely require military power to back up any proposals made. But there were also many people who did not know, or who chose to ignore this fact and thus protested the accumulation of military power.

The Japanese government did not intend to excessively limit the JSDF's activities at this stage, and in order to avoid interference from external powers, they had officially disavowed the existence of Piña and Bozes.

That being said, Piña, Beelzebub, and Bozes were still VIPs. After all, it would be beneficial to Japan to gain an intermediary for secret negotiations with the Empire and the Sorcerer Kingdom, so it was a simple matter to pad the nominal roll of people present in order to accommodate them.

Piña, Beelzebub, and Bozes were brought to a stateroom in the high-class hotel which was their destination. Two groups of four men and women were waiting for them there.

"We welcome your visit, your Imperial Highness, your Excellency." Then they turned to Beelzebub. For a moment they were backed seeing Beelzebub demon-like features. Mostly his horns and pupils. Then continued and bowed deeply as the custom dictated. "Your Royal Highness."

Beelzebub acted like a true royalty and nodded. It seemed he is completely calm despite the situation. Those long hours of his father, mother and various teacher who taught him diplomatic skills finally paid off.

The first two humans who sat before them was Councillor Shirayuri Reiko, the Prime Minister's aide, as well as Sugawara Kouji from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was there to take notes for the meeting.

In addition, Kuribayashi and Tomita were present, wearing their dress uniforms. Because of Lelei, the most proficient with the Special Region's language was not present, Kuribayashi and Tomita would take her place as interpreters.

Not as they needed because the imperial princess still wore her translator item as well Beelzebub.

Piña and Bozes were understandably nervous. After all, a single mistake could ruin the Empire.

Piña had not come here for talks. She had only agreed to come as an intermediary to facilitate relations between the Empire and Japan. If Japan asked her to speak on the Empire's behalf, that would be an entirely different beast from being a middleman. Given that the Empire had suffered multiple crushing defeats on the battlefield, asking her to sign a treaty would be no different from demanding the Empire's surrender.

Because of that, she had to stick to her position of being an intermediary. She was so worried about saying the wrong thing that the sweat beaded visible on her forehead.

Piña felt that "Diplomacy is a war of words," and right now she regretted not having brought Hamilton along with her. She looked at Beelzebub for a moment with eyes full of fear. Beelzebub gave her a reassuring nod with a smile. His smile has two effects on Piña.

One. It made her think everything will be alright. This effect took place when she needed it most and did not negotiate with Beelzebub. But when she negotiated with him. That smile reminded her what would happen to the Empire if a bad word leaves her mouth. Reminded her the Sorcerer Kingdom forces could easily crush the Empire. Or worse... Beelzebub father could release a monster in their capital to play with their forces and slowly bleed dry them. Even thinking of this made her tremble.

Thanks to the translator item. Tomita and Kuribayashi poor interpreter skills are not needed.

The two of them did not have Lelei's analytical and deductive skills or her extensive vocabulary, and although Itami was not a cunning linguist, having him around would have cut out a lot of the trivial details.

When Shirayuri and Kouji heard the perfect Japanese of the imperial princess and Beelzebub. They were, of course, surprised at first. But after the Prince explained to them he and the princess wore the translator item what the Sorcerer Kingdom provided. They can't do anything just to accept it.

The two of them started to inquire about where could they find the Empire's and the Kingdom's heads of state, particularly representatives they could communicate with, and what powers and position did these people have?

As for these "representatives, they could communicate with," the first choice would obviously be Piña and Beelzebub, who made it clear to Japan who they were communicating with. Of course, they would not dump all their requests on them; even being a middleman would be enough. The Japanese government would obviously want to verify that piece of good news.

Next would be the number of people in the first group of envoys.

In negotiations, a single person could not attend meetings and dictate conditions by themselves. These matters would be discussed repeatedly, over long periods of time, with both parties working together to come to a compromise that they could both agree on. This was a long and tiring process, and it only made sense to send multiple people to carry it out.

In addition, they would have to decide how to pay for their envoys' stay in their host country.

This too was natural; after all, diplomatic negotiations would not be finished in a day or two.

The negotiation process might take months or even years. There was a joke that "Congress does not move, it dances," Beelzebub knows this very well. And honestly hated how long this meaningless process takes.

But it accurately reflected the process of ironing out the conflicts of interest between all three parties. The joke referred to the Congress of Vienna, which only reached a decision because of the shocking news of Napoleon's escape from the Island of Elba.

In other words, without any grave threat, the Congress of Vienna would not have reached a decision. From that example, one could imagine that the negotiations would take a very long time, and as a result, the food, lodgings, and dress of the envoys, among other expenses, would need to be taken into consideration as well.

At the same time, since Pina was accepting the position of an intermediary, the question of bribes came up. Only a child would frown at bribes; they were a necessary part of doing business.

However, the bribes in question would also depend on the opposition's position. All three parties might not place the same value on mere currency; therefore, an effective bribe would be an offer of an object or service that the other side needed.

Also, they had to address the matter of how all three countries would speak to each other. Beelzebub suggested sending several scholars to learn the Knee Horn language (the empire's language) and the common language of the Sorcerer Kingdom, while Sugawara promised to take his request into consideration. After all. Translator items were not cheap.

The language barrier had to be conquered for effective negotiations to take place, after all. Not everyone had translator item.

The final item they discussed was the matter of the prisoners.

The Japanese government had captured roughly 6000 members of the Imperial Army that had crossed through the gate to invade Japan. Because there were a lot of them, it was troublesome to care for them, to say nothing of where to house them. The government built a POW camp on an unmanned island in the Seto Inland Sea and stuffed the captives in there.

The expense of feeding these prisoners was shockingly high, and while many of the lesser troops had died in the conflict, many of the prisoners were high-ranking officers. As a result, their haughty air made them very difficult to deal with, and they only provided information that an officer might be expected to know. Perhaps their tongues could be loosened up with such delightful measures as hot irons, but there was no practical way such harsh measures would be approved, both for humane reasons, and because they wanted to use them as bargaining chips with the Empire.

As an aside, among these 6000 prisoners were huge beasts such as ogres and other demihumans that the people on this side of the "Gate" might identify as apes. Although they were not sure if they counted as human beings, they could speak, and so they were treated as humans to avoid problems with human-rights violations. Also, several prisoners had been taken away by the USA in the name of "Investigations by the United Nations."

Being this theme not affecting Beelzebub he listened to the negotiations patiently. Seeking more information from this world. After all. Releasing the Empire's prisoners from the Sorcerer Kingdom's magical prisons were not the theme of this discussion. After all, if the Princess want her people back. She had to negotiate with the adequate person. Beelzebub has no charge either know nothing about the people what the forces of the Sorcerer Kingdom captured. Not as he cared about them.

"Our country has imprisoned them as war criminals, and we hope your nation will seek a way to bring them home."

Piña was struck dumb when she heard the figure of 6000. "Let, let me calculate how much ransom we need to pay," she said. From what she knew, it would be a staggering sum, and the thought of it made her sweat even more.

However, Shirayuri Reiko simply smiled at her answer. "In this day and age, our country does not practice the ransoming of prisoners. After all, we do not trade in slaves. Under these conditions, we would prefer to take our payment by means other than hard currency. For instance, in exchange for the release of your captives, we would expect certain concessions from your country." Shirayuri paused briefly and then continued.

"In order to give Your Highness some bargaining power as our mediator, we are willing to unconditionally release a select few captives that Your Highness will select. We hope you will make use of these terms to ensure the negotiations go well."

And so, Piña learned how the country of Nihon treated their prisoners, as well as gaining a powerful weapon she could use to negotiate with the nobles of the Senate. Still, she still had no clue how the Sorcerer Kingdom treated its prisoners and how many did they captured. This makes her stomach churn.

"I have exclusive, reliable news that your son is still alive. If you want him to be released safely, then you'll have to negotiate with them. If need be, we will prepare a meeting place as well."

Which parent would not be moved by this news?

At this moment, Bozes cut in.

"I know it may not be possible now, but I would like to meet some of the prisoners. Could I count on you for that? I would also like a list of the captives' names."

In truth, one of her friends had sent her husband to the battlefield (Ginza).

At first, she had thought he had died in battle, but now there was a sliver of hope she could cling to. However, the news she had now was limited to "Some people might have survived?" If Bozes could give her more concrete information, it would help things. Frankly speaking though, Bozes wanted to run back to the capital and say, "Your husband might still be alive! Chin up!"

Secretary Sugawara answered, "Then, the next time you ladies pay us a visit, we will arrange for you to visit the prisoners in their holding facility. As for the name list, I will complete it and hand it to you before you return to the Empire.

As for Beelzebub. The representatives apologized from him once again about the accidents what happened back in Italica. And seek to make a good first impression to the Prince who was the first heir to a kingdom that according to the records. Owned the technology to make energy weapons and most likely has enough military and economic force to back up a full-scale invasion if they make them angry and they manage to find Earth.

Compared to the Empire of the Special Region. The two representative, as well as the JSDF, were complete blind about what kind of power the Sorcerer Kingdom have at its disposal. But reading the reports from the battle of Italica. They were aware of the fact. The Sorcerer Kingdom was strong enough and had the technological expertise to hijack their helicopters and counter their jets.

From this information, they came to the conclusion the Sorcerer Kingdom was capable of space travel. Thus capable of bombarding their cities from orbital range if they offend them. This made the two representatives chose their words wisely. Even more than the princess who they easily dominated under the negotiation.

They offered him a full-fledged diplomatic envoy rights. In return seeing their tension, Beelzebub invited jokingly a few of them in the Sorcerer Kingdom. The two envoy accepted it while their forehead heavily sweated. But they felt strange. Like some kind of power controlled what they said. Some kind of power made them want to appeal to the prince. But they thought it was the best choice of words.

In the end, Beelzebub authorized the two representatives to establish a full-fledged embassy in the Sorcerer Kingdom. What Shirayuri and Kouji reacted, saying. They have no rights to make such decisions, but they will pass the request to their superiors. And the United Nations will surely send envoys to learn more about the Sorcerer Kingdom.

And so, without being recorded in the history books, the first secret talks were thus concluded.

* * *

 **Scene Change: The National Diet:**

Meanwhile with the others in the national diet.

There were two sorts of events the NHK was required to cover as a public television station, but which received low viewership numbers despite NHK's nationwide reach because the people cared little for them. Those would be election speeches and meetings of the National Diet.

However, ever since the self-proclaimed revolutionary began his address with "You gentlemen who are in power!", the election speeches had higher ratings than the Diet meetings, until today.

The reason why the ratings for the Diet meeting had increased was not because a witness was being summoned today. Since perjury in front of the Diet was a punishable offense, most people called before the Diet were careful with their words, which made them boring.

However, today's broadcast was different.

On one of the Net's vast message boards, somebody had written "Incredibly Hot Special Region Elves spotted!" or "Guts in suit spotted in the city!" and in an instant, the viewership rates had skyrocketed.

Lelei, Tuka, Momon, Raidyn, and Rory were present for this event, in addition to the regular councilmen.

As usual, Itami's lack of visual impact meant that he was easily forgotten.

Still, all eyes were turned to the girls and Momon: Lelei with her short, silver hair and her long robe, Tuka with her blonde hair, blue eyes and long ears, Raidyn in her exotic beauty, long ears and heterochromatic eyes as well her red long coat what strangely matched the costume and the shoes what she wore. And of course Momon's handsome face and imposing frame.

The ladies in the room almost drooled seeing Momon's muscled frame and handsome face. His suit was barely able to contain him due there was no suit big enough for him, so he had to clothe himself one number less sized suit.

As well as Rory in her jet-black goth-Loli outfit while carrying something long and wrapped up. Every councilman, every camera, and everyone in the audience could not help but look at them. The cameras flashed almost blinding the five of them.

The first to speak was Councilwoman Kouhara Mizuki, from the opposition party.

Councilwoman Kouhara Mizuki proudly held up a large board and looked straight at the camera before asking her questions.

"Witness Itami, I will cut to the chase. Firstly, I would like to ask about the Special Region Class A Dangerous Animal, which we call a Dragon. Why did 100 people from Coda Village have to be sacrificed?"

Raidyn huffed. "That was not a dangerous dragon... that was only an infant..." she murmured. Lelei, Rory, and Tuka glanced at her hearing her.

Councilwoman Kouhara's board had "100 INNOCENT LIVES LOST!" plastered over it, to place emphasis on the civilian casualties.

"Witness Itami Youji, please step forward."

After the chairman had called his name, Itami stepped forward as asked.

Because he was in a neatly pressed dress uniform, even Itami managed to look...no, he looked the same as always, but maybe he was just slightly more handsome… well, in any case, he responded in his usual tone.

"Eh~ well, I think it was because the Dragon was too strong, don't you think?"

That unexpected answer left Councilwoman Kouhara speechless.

"Because we weren't strong enough." She, like many other Japanese citizens, had expected him to make an earnest defense of himself, which she would then pick apart in what was practically a textbook formula. The man Itami had been painted as a hero by the media during the Defense of Nijubashi. However, it would seem reality did not match with the image.

"Are, are you trying to evade all responsibility by saying you weren't strong enough? 100 innocent civilians lost their lives under your watch; do you not feel responsible for them at all? According to the reports. If those two adventurers did not show up, there would be more victims!"

She tapped her board with "100 PEOPLE" written on it against the table.

"Witness Itami Youji."

The Chairman called his name again, and Itami once more stepped forward.

"Eh~ what do you mean by strong enough? Are you saying that I should take responsibility for the Dragon coming out by itself?"

Raidyn shook her head and clicked her tongue. " _This is I never participate in political discussion anymore... the press simply twists my words and give them an entirely another meaning... stupid politicians..."_

"My question was directed at you, your superiors and the JSDF, to find out what was wrong with your response to the situation! The appearance of the Dragon was not your fault. However, as the relevant commander on the scene, why did you not prevent those civilian casualties? That is the question I am asking!"

In the face of the Councilwoman, who was panting heavily with "Haa, Haa" sounds, Itami grabbed his scalp like he always did and replied, "Well, when I said the dragon was too strong, I meant that our rifles were far too weak. Frankly speaking, our bullets were bouncing off its hide like we were using peashooters, so it would be great if we could have more powerful weapons in the future. Like I said, a plasma particle cannon, a laser cannon, maybe you could hurry the labs up so we could get something usable like that? I heard that they're going to begin prototyping power suits soon, so I'd like to get those as well. The basic research is done by the national universities, but I think it wouldn't be a bad idea if we developed things like that for national defense on top of providing benefits for everyday life and healthcare-related issues. It's probably not easy to think of good things for military-related applications, but I think the ones who can benefit from new equipment aren't just the JSDF, but the police and the emergency services as well. I'm sure it would help them save a lot more lives. Also, I'm sorry so many people died."

Itami's answer was blended with a healthy dose of playing dumb and playing the fool.

The ruling party members could only grin at Itami's farcical answer, while cries of "This unruly fellow!" rose from the opposition side. Momon as well Raidyn smiled on Itami's answer knowing there is no good answer for this question. Knowing this was a trap question what you couldn't answer without you seem to be the fault.

"Does the Ministry of Defense wish to explain further?"

The Vice-Minister of Defense struggled to contain his wild laughter as he raised his hand.

"Yes, about the point First Lieutenant Itami raised, we have already analyzed samples from the creature known as a Dragon. The Dragon's scales are about as hard as tungsten, around nine on the Mohs scale. They also weigh one seventh of their equivalent volume in steel."

In other words, a Flame Dragon covered with scales like these was essentially a flying tank. The Vice-Minister was trying to explain in a roundabout way that ensuring zero casualties while doing battle against a creature like this was an impossible task.

The Councilwoman turned back to Itami. "And what about the two adventurers. Witness Itami? According to the report, they used swords and managed to slice the dragon head straight off. Can you explain how a sword was capable of slicing off the dragon's head while your weapons were unable to penetrate its hide?"

"Well... they were strong..." answered blandly Itami. "And according to them, they used to hunt dragons. So maybe their blade was specially forged to penetrate the dragon's thick hide..." explained to the first Lieutenant as he motioned in the air. Showing slashing moves. Raidyn shook her head seeing how bad Itami swordsman posture is.

Councilwoman Kouhara sighed, having long since abandoned any hope of trying to get a straight answer out of Itami. Instead, she decided to address someone else.

The first person would be Lelei.

As expected of Councilwoman Kouhara, she had selected Lelei, who looked like a middle-schooler, in the hope of using her position as an adult to get the answers she wanted out of her. After her self-introduction, she asked, "Ah, does the witness speak Japanese?"

"Yes, a little."

Hearing that answer calmed her a little, and she asked Lelei to introduce herself.

After learning that her name was Lelei La Lelena, she began asking Lelei about her life now.

"Currently, I live in the refugee camp with the rest of the Arnus Living Community."

"Do you feel inconvenienced in any way?"

"I do not understand what you mean by 'inconvenienced.' Are you saying I am not free? I believe that is the case — no man on this earth is truly free."

After receiving a nonsensical yet eloquent answer to her roundabout question. In the end, the councilwoman decided to speak plainly and asked, "What I mean to ask is if anything is lacking in your life, or if you are troubled by anything."

"I have ample clothes, food, and shelter, and my vocational and emotional needs are being met. I am content with what I have. If one continually desires more, one will never be satisfied."

Councilwoman Kouhara was not quite happy with Lelei's answer, but she decided to leave it at that. Instead, she went for the question she wanted to ask Itami, which was to say, "Were the 100 casualties from Coda Village the fault of the JSDF?"

Lelei gulped and stared with eyes wide. Then she answered, "No," simply and quietly.

The next person called was Tuka.

"I am a high elf, belonging to the Marceau tribe of the Lodo forest, daughter of Hodoryur Rei, Tuka Luna Marceau."

After being asked her name, Tuka proudly puffed up her chest and stated her family name.

Tuka's clothes were a navy-blue suit obtained from the returns section of the store, the result of the shop attendant randomly picking out pieces. However, because of this, Tuka, who would normally resemble a high-schooler, now had the air of a university student.

"I apologize for this question which might be a bit rude, but are your ears real?"

After hearing Lelei's translation, Tuka's face had a "Hah?" of bafflement. In a surprise, she answered, "What sort of question is this?"

Lelei replied that it was because they were curious about how her appearance differed from them.

"Yes, they are, these ears are natural. Do you want to touch them?"

With a charming smile, Tuka eased her golden hair away with her fingers, fully exposing her twitching, pointed ears.

This series of movements, combined with her adorable expression that resembled a cute little animal, won the hearts of everyone around her. Perhaps because of this, a sizable portion of the councilors, the audience, and the media personnel gasped in unison. At the same time, a veritable galaxy of flashbulbs went off, so bright that it was blinding.

Councilwoman Kouhara hurriedly said, "That, that's enough," before moving on to ask Tuka about her life in the refugee camp. After hearing that she was amply taken care of, she asked Tuka the same question she did Lelei: "Were the deaths of the 100 civilians related to the JSDF?"

In that instant, Tuka froze, and then she looked down. After Tuka had muttered, "I'm not too sure," Kouhara asked her to elaborate, and Tuka replied, "I was unconscious at the time."

Then they called Raidyn and Momon. "I am Momon adamantine ranked adventurer. My companion is Raidyn. Adamantine ranked adventurer as well." Momon introduced themselves.

"You said you are an adventurer. But everyone knows such job as adventurer does not exist." Stated Kouhara.

"Maybe in your world. But in the Sorcerer Kingdom, it is a recognized profession." Explained Momon.

"So you say you are from an another world. Yet, you dress like a typical businessman from our country. I suspect you are only a lackey of the JSDF." Kouhara pointed at Momon accusingly. " _I got them!"_ she smirked.

"I assure you this is not the case. My choice of clothes only thanks to the importance of the event. As well my colleague clothes."

"Evidence?" asked Kouhara suspiciously. "You as well your colleague can lie and her ears are nothing more than glued forgeries."

Momon looked at Raidyn and nodded. Raidyn sighed and summoned her gear. Then stretched out of her hand and Momon has been encased in his armor.

The clicking of the cameras went wide as the two adventurers encased in their armor and their weapons appeared. Around Raidyn sword fire and electricity started to dance. The two adventurers looked like they stepped out some kind of wild fairy tale.

Kouhara backed down in her surprise. Then collected herself. "So what you said is true..." she said with sweating forehead. Momon and Raidyn nodded and with Raidyn help. Both Momon and Raidyn reequipped their clothes.

Both of them nodded. "Then please explain me... what the jobs description of an adventurer. What the meaning of adamantine rank?"

"Well... before the Sorcerer King's reforms. Adventurers were mercenaries who hunted monsters for money. After he had reformed the system, the adventurers became hireable persons who adventure and explore the unknown regions and dungeons of the lands and occasionally fight monsters who are not capable of communication or deemed a threat to the Kingdom. As for the adamantine rank. It is the highest rank amongst the adventurers."

Raidyn continued after a small pause. "The rank of the adventurers defined by metals and their worth. Copper - Iron - Silver - Gold - Platinum - Mythril - Orichalcum and in the end Adamantite. Only the strongest among the strongest get adamantine rank from the adventurer's guild." Explained Raidyn. "The numbers of registered adamantine adventurer teams less than fifty."

Kouhara nodded. "I see..." a new idea came to her mind. "So you are not accidentally meet the JSDF. Or it was a coincidence. Tell me? Who hired you? It was the JSDF itself?"

The crowd gasped, and everyone looked in the direction of the two adventurers.

"I assure you Councilwoman Kouhara. Our meeting was entirely accidentally. We hired by the Sorcerer King himself along with many more adventures. Reporting or taking care of the possible threats our responsibility as well. So when we spotted the dragon. We followed it and taken care of it."

"So you say... the two of you could manage to single handily defeat and according to the reports decapitate the dragon what a whole squad JSDF soldier was unable to even scratch with their modern firearms. With only a blade? Answer me! What do you think? The JSDF was perfunctory when they fought with the dragon? The death of the poor victims was their fault? Answer me!"

Raidyn looked to Momon. "Momon-kun? Can I kill her? She is irritating me!" she pointed lazily at Kouhara while looked at Momon with a bored expression. A spectral blade materialized before Kouhara's throat. Her eyes widened and started to heavily sweat as she recognized the energy blade floating before her throat. She did not dare to move.

The security personnel pointed their guns at Raidyn immediately. Lelei inspected the spectral blade what constructed by combination Raidyn Esper and magical energies. Itami wanted to stop Raidyn standing up. "Raidyn! Please stop!" he pleaded desperately. "She is not worth it..."

Momon interjected and stopped his companion "Raidyn. We are guests here. It would be rude killing her. Not speaking about the Sorcerer King would not take kindly if you start to slaughter others while we are here..."

Raidyn dispelled the blade with a lazy flinch with her wrist. "Yeah, yeah... Sorry..." she rolled her eyes with an annoyed expression. "I have a low tolerance towards fools..."

Many chuckles can be heard from the crowd. Kouhara looked around with an angry expression on her face. Her clothes were completely wet from her sweat.

"Please forgive my colleague." Momon bowed slightly. Kouhara nodded weakly still sweating. "O-Of course..."

"Answering your question Councilwoman Kouhara. Our meeting was only accidental. We found strange tracks where the dragon flew and decided to follow it. As it turned out. The tracks belonged to the vehicles of the JSDF. And seeing their convoy was under siege. We decided to help them out and defeat the dragon. Under our first meeting with the JSDF soldiers. We see them act like professionals who dedicated to their job and did their best to save the civilians. They did everything that they could to save as many civilians as they could and did their jobs proficiently comparing they used as Itami said. 'Obsolete' technology." As Kouhara looked at Momon's handsome illusionary face, she blushed a little bit.

She looked away for a moment. "Then please tell me... How is a human being capable of expelling such strength to decapitate the dragon? The same dragon what came out the fight with the JSDF without a scratch from the constant fire of the modern firearms?" She continued her questioning.

"Well, as Itami-kun said. Your firearms are not really strong. If your soldiers would try to invade the Sorcerer Kingdom. Your soldiers needed to use a few series of shot to even penetrate the weakest magic caster barriers. Not speaking about there are enchantments what made the bearer immune to projectile weapons. Like the ones in our armor and weapons."

Raidyn raised her left arm and reequipped her arm protector and her black swords. The persons from the press started to click their cameras wildly.

She continued her explanation. "Back in the Sorcerer Kingdom. Most of the magic casters can enchant an item with various properties. Such as effects what increase our, strength, agility, and even made us resistant various kind of damage. Such as fire. Our weapons enchanted as well. This enchantment gives them special effects. For example, Frost, Lightning or Fire damage. Or even armor penetration."

Explained Raidyn as she pointed at her weapon. "In other words. Your units would be annihilated under a few minutes if they tried to invade us with such equipment what the JSDF used against the dragon. Your tanks most likely cut open by our concealed anti-armor units before they could even engage in battle."

 _"Not speaking about astral units. With this_ technology _, they can't even counter units with the_ astral _body or creatures constructed from energy. Such as wraiths or the Nephalem Guards after they shed off their armors..."_ she rolled her eyes.

 _"Lol. Have they such enchantments? So far I only suspected these guys are from an RPG. But now I am sure... They are RPG characters come to life..."_ Itami rolled his eyes. _"What did she just said!? They even had anti-armor units?! Shit! I wonder how they look... I would be not surprised if this room were full of their units whose using invisibility..."_ Itami chuckled to himself and shook his head thinking such absurd things.

Unknown to him. In the room, there was several concealed Eight Edged Assassins and Hanzo units.

Momon continued. "Not speaking that dragon was not even resembled the one's resident in our world. The dragon what we encountered here only controlled by its own feral instinct. Not intelligence. It was not even able to communicate or use magic. Most of the adult dragons under the command of the Sorcerer King could eat such dragon at breakfast..." further explained Momon.

The crowd gasped, and a fearful expression moved on their faces. "Dragons can use magic?" murmured Lelei in surprise. Tuka trembled hearing the fact the Flame Dragon deemed weak by the two adventurers and the Sorcerer King commanded even the dragons in his nation.

"Any more questions to my colleague or me?" asked Momon.

"N-None..." shuttered Kouhara in a defeated tone.

Then she gathered her strength for one last desperate charge. _"There is still one more witness... I still have a chance..."_ her hope renewed.

The last one to take the stand was Rory.

She was dressed in her usual gothic dress, but today, she wore a thin veil over her face. At a glance, she looked like a noble daughter in mourning.

Of course, the veil did not completely conceal her features, but the combination of youth and stateliness combined to produce a special kind of feeling about her. One could make out the slim line of her body underneath her clothes, so fragile that it seemed that she might be knocked over with a single breath. Yet, despite her small frame, she radiated a feminine charm that was easily the equal of any adult. Even non-pedophiles might be ensnared by her bewitching beauty.

One hand was holding some large object wrapped in canvas, while the other was in front of her.

Councilwoman Kouhara took Rory's black clothing to be mourning clothes, and she thought that it would be the perfect chance to have her attack the government's failings. After all, since she was wearing these clothes, she must have lost someone close to her.

Therefore, in order to draw out a tragic, heartbreaking story, she spoke gently and kindly to Rory.

"Could you tell me your name, please?"

"Rory Mercury."

"How is your daily life in the refugee camp?"

"As an apostle of Emroy, I lead a humble life according to my faith."

"And what is that like?"

"In truth, it is very simple. In the morning, I open my eyes and pray. I take life, and then I pray again. When night falls, I sleep once more. After all, I still possess a body of flesh, so there is no other alternative."

"What do you mean by 'taking life'?"

"One might compare it to hunting for the purpose of eating, or a live sacrifice to my god, Emroy."

Because the first word of the translation was "eating," Councilwoman Kouhara and the other councilors believed it was the slaughter of animals for consumption. Although that would not be an inaccurate description, in truth, "taking life" should have been interpreted literally, as "murder." It might have been simple good luck that such a shocking revelation was never translated.

And so, after that question was done, Kouhara asked again, "Was the JSDF the cause of your family members' deaths?"

Lelei considered this question with a doubtful tilt of the head. The doubt was not about how to translate the question, but rather, given that Rory was an apostle, any family she had should have died a long, long, long time ago. Therefore, that question seemed completely irrelevant.

However, the Chairman's curious question of "what's wrong?' interrupted her stupor.

Lelei could only split this question into two parts. She asked them as: "How about Rory Mercury's family," as well as "What do you think of the refugees at Coda Village?"

However, Councilwoman Kouhara had originally asked a single question, and she thought that the translator was deliberately splitting it up in order to cover up some misconduct in the JSDF and the Ministry of Defense. Therefore, she firmly repeated herself.

"Miss Lelei, please translate my question exactly as I ask it. Where the death of Rory's family caused by the JSDF's response?"

Since there was no choice, Lelei translated the question verbatim.

However, Rory's response was silence. Kouharu Mizuki thought, "Jackpot!", Thinking that she had finally managed to tug on Rory's heartstrings. If possible, she hoped that Rory's feelings would be reflected on her face. However, what Rory said next was in Japanese.

"Are you an idiot?"

In an instant, the Diet Chamber fell deathly silent. Raidyn started to laugh. "Good one Rory!" she shouted. Rory turned to her and smiled.

"Par-pardon me, what did you just say?"

Kouhara Mizuki asked her question, her voice filled with doubt.

"I said, 'Are you an idiot?', little miss."

Rory turned, her words drowning out Lelei's Japanese translation.

"That, that's terribly rude. Why do you say I'm an idiot?"

"Well, isn't that an idiotic question."

As Rory said that, she raised her eyes up, so she seemed to be looking down on a moron.

"I've been listening quietly from the beginning until now. All your questions were intended to imply that Itami and his men weren't trying hard enough to save the villagers' lives. Yet. Even Raidyn and Momon stated they did the best... The fact that they survived combat with a Flame Dragon and with the help of Momon and Raidyn managed to defeat it is by itself worthy of praise. You say 100 one of them died? That's a terrible mistake to make. You should be saying that the others survived. How can you be a senator without knowing such things? If everyone here is as much of an idiot as you are, it must be pretty tough being a soldier of this country."

"Witness, please take a more serious tone."

The Chairman seemed to have tossed out those words in annoyance, but Rory simply smiled archly and shrugged. Kouhara, who was furious after being so harshly criticized, tried to stare Rory down as she replied. "Little miss, I don't recall you being here before, but that is no reason to speak so crudely. Is this arrogance how children in your world behave toward adults?"

Her angry retort came out like a scolding for a child. Kouhara was hoping that this younger person would lower her head and apologize. As an older individual, it was the sole leverage she had.

"Little miss? Were you referring to me, by any chance?"

Rory hugged herself as she answered.

"Who else could I be speaking too? Also, why do you call me 'little miss'? Is that the respect you show your elders?"

"Ah, this might come as a surprise to some, but…"

Itami, who sensed the situation going from bad to worse, raised his hand. The elder Dietmen must have thought of Rory as a human, and thus they were treating her like a human. However, the reason he had brought them along was to show them that some things existed outside of their experience, and having these people present in person would hopefully be more convincing.

"Chairman!"

"Witness Itami, do not speak without the express permission of this office!"

"I'm very sorry about that, but I feel Councilwoman Kouhara has made a grave mistake..."

Indeed, there seemed to be a storm brewing between Rory and Kouhara. The Chairman hoped that Itami's words would help clear up this embarrassing scene.

"Witness Itami."

Rory bit her lips and stared at Itami before returning to her seat.

Her eyes seemed to be saying, "Don't interfere with me."

"Eh~ Councilwoman Kouhara, and all ladies and gentlemen present. We use our age as a weapon against the young, without thinking that someday it might be turned on us instead."

"Witness, kindly state your point succinctly."

"Ah, I'm very sorry about that. That is to say… well, to put it simply, Miss Rory Mercury is older than everyone present."

"What? To think she could be older than me?"

The incredulous speaker was a heavyweight member of the Conservatives. He was 87.

"Yes, she is."

A disturbance swept across the Chamber, along the lines of "What nonsense is this?"

Someone even proposed that they ask the witnesses their age.

However, someone else on the panel said, "It would be rude for us to directly ask a lady's age," so they had to let Councilwoman Kouhara handle it.

"Then, how old are you?"

"I am 961 years old."

Even the councilwoman fell silent with the rest of the room. "Is she immortal?" someone asked.

At this point, another female voice rang out, asking how old the other witnesses were.

"I'm 165 years old," Tuka answered. The male councilors shuddered, while the female ones swallowed. She was as beautiful as sculpted crystal, and she would stay that way forever, Tuka was a being of overwhelming beauty, radiating an aura of perfection that every other woman would strive desperately to achieve. That fact was driven further home now.

Everyone held their breath when they asked Lelei the question, and when she replied "I am 15," the men all sighed in relief. For these men, who equated youth to beauty, they would have to rethink the way they looked at the world seriously.

Then they looked at Momon. "I am only 251." He shrugged and looked away. Both women and all of the older gentlemen eyes popped out hearing his age.

Then they turned their gaze to Raidyn who answered with a nervous tone while scratched her face. "I don't know. I lost the count around when I turned to seven hundred. And that was long ago... Honestly... I don't really know how old I am anymore..." The Councilwoman and every woman in the room looked enviously at Raidyn and Tuka. "Damn! I really need to take notes..." Raidyn cursed under her nose.

Itami looked at her and Momon with wide eyes. He knows the elves are live long life and most likely can't die in a natural way. But Momon is 250+ years old? He never expected that.

After this, Lelei began her explanation for everyone in attendance.

According to Lelei, the Humans on the other side of the "Gate" could live to an age of 60 to 70 years, health permitting. Most of the people on the other side of the "Gate" were Humans.

The realization that the Humans on the other side of the "Gate" were similar to themselves drew some consternation from the councilors, and it allowed them to relax a little.

Tuka, on the other hand, was one of the so-called undying Elves, and as one of the rare High Elves, her lifespan was so much longer than that of a regular Elf that she was effectively immortal.

Rory was not human either, but a demigod, which was to say she was a divine being incarnated into a flesh and blood body. Although she was immortal now, she had once been a human, and her physical age was frozen at the time when she had ascended to demigodhood. After a thousand years, she would cast aside her cloak of flesh and become a true god. In other words, the concept of age did not matter to her.

Then Momon and Raidyn said the people call them Godkins. Momon explained what are the Godkins according to the vocabulary. As he explained both of them awakened Godkins. (Godkins who managed to awaken their true potentials and strength.) Everyone gasped. Even Rory.

As Momon continued his explanation. He explained that the Godkins are the offspring between gods(players) and mortals. Their strength, stamina, and abilities are far surpassing any normal mortal beings, and they usually figure of legends. Godkins usually can't die in in old age and a lot harder to kill them than a regular person. So they are basically immortal demigods as Rory.

What Raidyn vehemently denied. Saying. There is no such thing as gods or immortality, and the inventor of this title was only uninformed by seeing something that he does not understand.

Still, the whole crowd gasped. Rory looked Momon and Raidyn with wide eyes. She suspected since their first meeting. After she inspected their souls. She knows. They were not simple mortals. She suspected they are as well apostles as her. But now she knows it is true.

Of course, they were not the usual apostles who became ones after their patron gods give its blessing to them. But naturally born ones. She found it strange. Still, it was most likely because they came from a different world. Their gods most likely produced apostles by an another way. And if it worked as in her world. Raidyn is close to her ascension as her. This makes her feel less lonely than before. Later she needs to question them further about their gods.

After hearing this, Kouhara wanted to grab her head and scream as she started to show paler and paler expression with every passing second.

Earlier, she herself had said that juniors should respect their elders. Her mouth, which had so proudly scathed older members of the Diet, was now unable to speak from embarrassment.

That being the case, she should pretend to have forgotten it. That was a sign of the strong spirit politicians had. If things went wrong, they would forget it, ignore it, or just make something up. Nobody could play politics without the ability to say up was down and black was white.

She bowed her head with a shameful expression. "Then, I have no more questions."

The session was over, but there was a feeling that there were questions left unsaid, probably because the person who was supposed to ask those questions had given up on asking them herself. Kouhara shoved the newspaper clippings she never had the chance to use under her arm and despondently returned to her own seat.

After that, members of both parties asked questions of their own. They were mainly aimed at finding out about life and culture beyond the "Gate." Nobody dared probe deeper into Rory, Momon, Raidyn or Tuka's background.

After all, they had taken down the Flame Dragon, so nobody could do anything but praise them. They approved of the JSDF's handling of the situation with no complaints either.

At the end of everything, Councilman Higure asked a question.

He specifically pointed out Rory and Raidyn. Then asked, "I wish to ask ones who has lived over 900 years, with incalculable experience, who might well be living gods — our world values freedom, but at the same time, we restrict freedom to avoid undesirable circumstances, for instance, stories, artwork and other materials involving young girls. What should we do in this situation?"

Apart from trying to understand the moral values of the Special Region, the Councilman must have wanted to see how mature the two girls really were. Their answer.

First... witness Rory Mercury replied thus:

"Some questions with no answers cannot be answered even by those who live forever. Yet, the absence of a correct answer does not mean the question cannot be answered. If you want to know how I felt about the complete ban on some culture and art that I could not understand, was not interested in, or could not accept, in the name of preventing the violations of others' rights or other trumped up charges, I believe that would be taking us onto the road of discriminating against others. If we define culture as that which is healthy or humane, and defend that decision in the name of justice, once any part of that system collapses, it will cause an unimaginable number of problems for society. For instance, if I drew a line in the middle and erased one side, the next day, a new line will appear in the middle of the side that is left. I think suppressing the instincts and thoughts of the human spirit is bad. The desire for purity and wholesomeness, when taken to an extreme, is harmful."

Councilman Higure looked to Raidyn questioningly.

She tilted her head. "I think withholding knowledge is only acceptable if it prevents the collapse. But if this knowledge is important to the survival of the masses. You had to reveal it. Even it means the complete collapse of the society as you know now. After all, humans as well every organic being follow their instinct to survive... No matter how advanced the spoken civilization... " she sighed in a disappointed tone.

"Every one of them possesses the same characteristics. No matter the race, age, time or the individual method of thinking. They all possess they're striving towards their own selfish well-being. The instincts and characteristics of every living being. The only few characteristic what induce living beings to work together in dire times. Sloth. Interest, despair, ambition and greed." he opened one finger after each word.

Higure gulped.

"Under my long life. I saw many empires, many kingdoms, many governments fall. But after the fall of each other. The society rebuilt itself on the bones of the old ones. Not because it was the sensible solution. But it was easier to build on something that already exists than starting everything from the beginning. It was easier to build something in the bones of the fallen ones... Even if it means your foundations lies on lies and later will cause your downfall..."

She looked to the ground with a sad expression for a moment. "As I said... Under my long life... I forgot many things... But I remember... Each civilization what I saw and experienced... their rise, how the people lived, thrived and suffered and the fall of their government. The previously mentioned characteristic can be found each civilization... It is a pattern." everyone was silent in the room. "And it repeated itself more than anyone could imagine it. Civilizations rise... Evolve... and in the apex of their glory... their extinguished..." she looked through the people in the chamber.

"Individuals do things... horrible things to serve their own interest their own ambitions... without even thinking about... It will cause harm to the others. These individuals usually the ones whom get their hand on most of the resources or grabbed the power in the sudden power vacuum after the previous civilization collapsed."

Several camera flashes can be heard from the background as she took an another deep breath.

"In all cases the youth fight in wars. Just to feed the ambitions and lust for power of the elders. Not as if it was bad. No... it is good until a certain level. After all... ambition is the fuel of the evolution and advancement. Without ambition and self-interest, what could make us strive for more and more? To explore the unknown in the hope, we gain something from it... what makes us, forces us! Go beyond our boundaries, beyond the scope of light... beyond the reach of dark. Just to gain knowledge what is there... to satisfy our curiosity, our need of answers... our thirst of knowledge." she motioned around herself.

"...nothing... ambition, self-interest, and greed is our best asset and tool and our most dreadful curse. A curse what sooner or later will overwhelm, destroy, consume anyone and everyone who possess the characteristic of free will. The curse and the blessing what called free will... knowledge is power... but too much knowledge just drive you into madness..."

She placed her hand on her mouth and chuckled quietly. "Under my long studies. Upon researching the concept of demons... I realized... Beings who possess free will... are the closest things to demons. And believe me... I meet, spoke and defeated several demons under my life."

She placed her hand on her chest. "I am myself are not exempt from this rule. I am greedy. I am ambitious. I am slothful. I would carve for more even if I had enough. I am beautiful. Yet... a dreadfull monster from the nightmares of the children... I am not innocent... so no one."

Everyone looked at Raidyn with wide eyes. Some of them showed a shameful expression. Some of them looked angrily at her. Only a few of them nodded understanding the truth in her words.

She rolled her heterochromatic eyes. "What I want to say... If you forced to live as long as us. By all means, write a diary from your every day or at least make notes. Or in the end, you will forget where you hid your money. It happened me multiple occasions..." she showed a heartwarming smile at the end of her speech. Even the most pedantic Councilman heart was eased seeing her smile what was comparable to an angel from the heaven.

Itami and multiple councilmen chuckled.

Then they heard a chuckle. A dark tone what made every one of them cringe and a cold feeling crawl up on their spines. "You know she is right. You really need to make notes, or you will start to forget things..."

The crowd looked around searching the owner of the voice. Then a black oval gate appeared near Raidyn. From it, a broad-shouldered person stepped out. He was encased in a majestic jet black academic gown what edged with golden and violet edges. Behind his head, a dark halo like object glimmered.

His face was devoid of any skin and flesh and has the appearance of an evil skeleton. The highest ranked undead amongst the skeleton undead. An Overlord. Two dimming red lights dimmed in his eye sockets.

In his skeletal hand, he held an exquisite looking staff. The staff takes traits from the Greek god Hermes' caduceus. It is entwined by seven serpents and in each of the squirming serpents' mouths hold a jewel of a different color. Its grip has a transparent quality like crystal and emits a bluish white light.

When touched, it spews a dark red aura. Sometimes faces of humans in agony appear and crumble away dance on its surface. It is so vivid that it felt as though one could hear their voices of pain. It was the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown.

(at least a copy of it. The real one was held on the eighth floor of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick because its destruction would cause the cessation of the guild Ainz Ooal Gown.)

Nine exquisite looking fancy rings adorned his nine fingers. Every one of them contained gems with top quality.

Ainz looked around and sighed in a relieved tone. However, he had no lungs this old habit remained from his old human self. _"I am glad the [Gate] works even with such distances."_

As he stepped through the gate. Two maids followed him.

Both of them was a true beauty. Their beauty even surpassed was on par or in someone's eyes even surpassed of Tuka's and Raidyn's. It was like their faces and bodies sculpted artificially to perfection.

One of the maids has an intelligent look, wearing glasses and a wide blue necklace. She wears her hair tied into a low-cropped bun at the back of her head. Lacking a metal plate in front of her skirt, her dress emphasizes mobility rather than defense. She is equipped with spiked gauntlets. She was Yuri Alpha. The vice-captain of the Pleiades of the Six stars.

The other maid who stood beside the overlord of the death was as well a beautiful girl. On her face, an emotionless blank expression settled. She was a short girl with red-gold straight long hair. She wears an eyepatch over her left eye, while her right eye has an emerald color and target mark on the pupil. Her face is very delicate; it looks as if it was artificially crafted by hand. She wears accessories with military camouflage patterns. While her face is beautiful, she does not show her emotions.

Her attire was similar to the other maid who stands beside Ainz. However, her biggest difference of those two were her urban camouflage accessories and the cute sticker attached to a corner of her skirt with '1 yen' written on it. The other significant difference was the white scientific magic-fuelled gun she had holstered on her waist like how one would wear a sword.

She was CZ2128 Delta. In another name. Shizu Delta.

Rory is fallen on her knees feeling the unimaginable pressure what the Overlord emitted from himself. Just being in his presence, she felt like she is constantly drowning. _"This! This! This power! This presence! This darkness and death! This is surpassing even Emroy's presence! So..."_ she gasped being suffocated by Ainz's presence.

Near her. Lelei's world warped in the true color of magic. It was like until now she was blind and now... Now she finally opened her eyes. She is facing the universe itself. Like. She is in the presence of her patron gods. La and Leangle themselves. _"This... this is how..."_

"This is how being in the presence of a true God feels!" murmured Rory and Lelei in unison.

The two maid glanced at them for a moment.

Itami inspected the maids and Ainz from the sidelines. _"Man! It is like the girls of the other worlds are being artificially made by Otakus! And they are with a magic caster with cool gear. This is not fair!"_

"Hi!" the skeleton raised his hand casually. The crowd was completely silent. The people in the room even hold their breath back.

"Ahhhh! The Shinigami came to take my soul!" One of the security freaked out.

"Old titles..." Ainz murmured and chuckled.

The security hastily upholstered his weapon in his fear and raised towards Ainz with a trembling hand.

Before he could even pull the trigger like a flash, Shizu unholstered her scientific gun and shot out the gun from the security hand without injuring him. Everything happened at a moment of notice. But Rory could follow her fast movement. Her moves were calculated. There were no unnecessary moves amongst them. She was still suffocated by the presence of Ainz.

Ainz who stood not far from her, so her senses were still dazzled from Ainz's divine presence. It was like she overdosed by a big margin by the strongest drugs what can be found in the Empire. She squirmed because of the suffocating pleasure what now ran through her body.

Shizu holstered her steaming scientific gun to its sheath.

The room of course was full of the Sorcerer King concealed bodyguard units. But for Ainz's command. They only took action for his commands. Not as that simple firearm even could starch him. Because of his high level, passive nullification. Attacks under a certain level of data content can't harm him. No matter the nature of the attack. (magical, physical or other...)

The other security personnel immediately jumped on the frightened out security personnel who still kneeled and grabbed his wrist in pain. They wrestled him to the ground. Ainz looked in his direction for a moment. Yes, dear riders. Your read it right. It was the real Ainz. Namely, he changed positions with Pandora's Actor when he was in the dressing room.

As Ainz turned to his direction lazily. He chuckled like an evil villain. From his cold crackle, a cold feeling started to surround everyone. "Now that was just rude..."

Higure stood up and asked in a trembling voice. "W-Who are you?"

"I am sorry to come without an invitation. It was since centuries since I last walked in this world. I forgot to calculate the fact you do not see undead beings every day..."

"Ehhh!" everyone gasped.

"Ainz-sama is too humble. I am sure your Excellency calculated this fact in your plan..." Bowed Yuri Alpha with respect. Shizu nodded in agreement.

Momonga chuckled. "Is that so..." Then turned to the crowd before him.

"I am sorry my rude interruption. Let me introduce myself. My people know me as the Sorcerer King. The king of the Sorcerer Kingdom. Other people call me... Shinigami. The god of knowledge, foresight, and magic. Etcetera. All meaningless title before my true name." he let a dramatic pause. Everyone was silent. "Ainz Ooal Gown!" he announced his great name. His every move was calculated truly fit for a royalty. No... To a God. It seemed his long hours of practice before the mirror really paid out.

The crowd started to roar. The people from the press and the councilman started to throw question after question to Ainz.

He raised his hand. "[Perfect Silence]" He used his spell, and everyone lost their voice. It took several seconds while the people recognized the fact they lost their voice. They gaped for a few more second then one after other they looked at each other with a frightened expression realizing they lost their voice.

"Now that's better..." Ainz said in a satisfied tone and looked around.

"Hey, Ainz-san!" Waved him Raidyn.

Momonga turned to him and waved back to her. "Hello, Raidyn-san. Long-time no see. How are you?"

"I am fine. I just had to wear this horrible thing." She spat as she motioned on her clothes.

"Hmmm. I think its suit you perfectly. You should wear such things more often. I think Momon-san would not complain about it." Complimented her Ainz.

Momon. (Pandora's Actor) simply nodded.

"You just make it worse..." Raidyn said while she wailed. Then looked at Momonga. "By the way... You still owe from last time." She pointed accusingly at Ainz.

Momonga started to scratch his bald skull nervously. "Ohohoh! I don't know what are you speaking about."

"Cheater..." murmured Esdeath under her nose meanwhile hugged herself with a huffish expression.

The silenced crowd meanwhile watched how the god of death and the adventurer casually chatting with each other.

Ainz turned back to the crowd. "I am sorry... we will return to it later. Ok? Raidyn-san?" he asked.

"You can bet on it!" she frowned,

Ainz turned back to the crowd and cleared his throat. "I am sorry... I will give your voice back. Just don't start to roar. It is irritating me..." he knocked his staff to the ground two times, and everyone felt as their voice returned.

Meanwhile in the luxury room what the JSDF rented to the two royalties, Bozes plus Kuribayashi and Tomita watched the Diet on the live feed. As Beelzebub drink his fuzzy drink. He saw his father appearing on the TV and immediately spat out his drink directly into the screen of the device. "Father! What is he doing here!?" he jumped up suddenly. Shouted and pointed at the screen. His usual smiling, always calm and collected expression disappeared and his eyes almost popped out.

Kuribayashi takes up a similarly frightened expression as Beelzebub and also pointed to the screen. "T-That's your father?"

Beelzebub nodded with the mix of expression of the state of stupefied and surprised. "Of course he is! Don't we resemble each other? Like father like son." He pointed at his face.

The four other person in the room sweat dropped and shook their head. "Not really..." answered honestly Kuribayashi. She dared to hit such casual tone with Beelzebub. Because he previously authorized them to take a lazier tone when they are in private freely.

"I-Is that a mask on his face?" asked Tomita. His always cool tone seemed to disappear for a moment.

"No, it is his face. Why do you ask?"

"He is an undead!?" freaked out everyone aside Beelzebub.

"Yes! What do you expect? After all, He is the God of the death. A living being could hardly qualify to fill that position!" he scowled.

"Then that means..." Pina started to sweat heavily and looked to Beelzebub.

"I am half undead." Said Beelzebub lazily as he pointed at his face.

"Whaaat!?" shouted the three girls in the room in unison. "Then what is the other half?" asked Bozes with a stunned expression.

Beelzebub answered immediately while tilted his head. Now he resembled more like a kid who did not understand what the other party asked from him. "My mother is a demon." He answered.

The three girl paled suddenly and started to fall to their backs. It seemed they fainted hearing what races Beelzebub belonged to.

Beelzebub leaned above them. He waved before the three girl faces. But they did not react. "I think I broke them..." he scratched his face.

"You don't say... I mean you don't say Prince Beelzebub..." said Tomita with a dumbfounded expression.

"But what he is doing here?" Murmured Ainz's first born.

"I just go and ask him later..." he murmured. "There is no point disturb him now..."

Back in the diet.

The crowd was in complete silence. Does not dare to speak after the Sorcerer King silenced them. Higure gathered his courage and spoke out. He bowed his head respectfully. "If you may allow me a question, your majesty."

Ainz nodded. "Of course... Go ahead."

Higure gulped nervously. "May we know the purpose of your visit. Please understand our confusion. We did not expect your visit."

"I completely understand your confusion. After all, I came uninvited. Maybe I should come here in undercover as last times." He mused.

"That means your Majesty visited Japan before. It is correct?"

Ainz nodded. "Umu... Yes. You could say that. I visited your world a few times in the past. Inspected your progression as well your future. But I never really intervened just watched how you play with each other... and I must say... the people of Earth always amuse me each time I visit this little planet..."

"O-Our future..." "Play with each other?" "What does he meant by that?" "We are amusing him?" whispers can be heard from the crowds.

"Yes..." Ainz nodded. "Your future."

"Can you say anything about the future your Majesty?" asked one of the reporters.

Ainz chuckled and looked to the man from the press. "I can only say the fact what you already know. If you don't start to concentrate on the development of alternative energy sources and space programs. Or don't stop these meaningless fights. Your own stench will suffocate you..." It seemed the countless hours of practice before the mirror is paid out because Ainz every move was worthy of royalty.

The crowd gasped.

"I will not say anything more. Knowledge is power, and I do not give it up for free... I hope you understand that."

The cameras flashed, and Ainz looked through the crowd. "Well... any more question?"

"Your majesty! What was that strange portal through which you appeared?"

"It was a simple portal through time and place. With its help. I can travel great distances instantly."

An another reporter raised his hand. "That means that is a time-space portal?"

"Well... You can call it that. But its proper description is far more complex than I could explain it under a short session. The simplified version is. It basically works like a wormhole what I can open at any time at any place."

Many hands raised and started to bombard Ainz with their questions. What he sought to answer honestly as he could. "Your majesty! Are you really a god?"

"Well... I don't qualify myself as one. Neither believes there is a being who deserve that title, however, powerful it is. However, my subjects used to calm me that. In my own displeasure..." he lowered his head shamefully.

"Sorry, Ainz-sama." The two maid lowered their head as they said in unison.

"Your majesty. You said your subjects call you Shinigami. Do you really rule over death?"

"Certainly I rule over death." He nodded.

"That means you can resurrect a dead person?"

"I can..." he answered shortly. The crowd gasped. Rory, Itami, Lelei and Tuka's eyes almost popped out hearing his answer.

"For me. Death is nothing more than a disease. What I can cure if I wish. Of course, I don't give the gift of life freely. Only for those who show their worth can gain the gift of life from me.."

"Can you prove it your majesty?" asked one of the Councilman. The other Councilman and Councilwoman smirked in malice.

"I can, certainly." Everyone thought Ainz would back down and said he would not. But when they heard he is willing to prove his capability of ruling over death. Everyone remained silent. The Councilman looked at each other with a frightened expression.

"However... I must warn you. Resurrecting a person takes away from his/her vitality. If a person was weak before it died. Its body is simply crumbling into dust. As well the resurrected person can refuse to be resurrected. That's entirely up to them to allow themselves resurrected." Explained Ainz.

"That means your majesty can't force resurrection to others?"

Ainz thought for a moment. "Well... I certainly can. But I am not so cruel to force somebody to the living world who don't want to be here... It is entirely senseless and the resurrected person most likely commit suicide immediately. Bringing further despair to their loved ones."

Everyone nodded because it was sensible.

Tuka wanted to ask if her father is alive or not. But in the end, she was too afraid to accept her father's death. So she kept her mouth shut.

"Any more questions?" Ainz looked around. The crowd started to roar again, and Ainz continued his question-answer game. Giving the people his answers.

"Respected deity." Ainz looked beside himself where Rory kneeled. "Yes?"

"You are really a god!" her eyes shined in happiness. "I never thought I fell feel Emroy so close again! But when you appeared the whole world flipped upside down." Ainz listened to her carefully as he sweats dropped. Despite he did not have sweat glands. _"Oh no... an another zealot..."_ he screamed inside.

Rory almost drooled. Feeling Ainz presence was like a drug for her.

"Please. As the equivalent of my God in your world. No... From your presence, I had to ask..." Rory looked up to Ainz with hopeful eyes. "You are the creator of Emroy?"

 _"Shit! Not again... What did she just said!? I created who?"_ swore Ainz inside. Ainz turned to her. "Who is your God?" he asked calmly.

Rory looked up at him with eyes of awe. "He is Emroy. The God of God of Darkness, War, Death, Violence, and Insanity."

 _"What a bullshit!"_ screwed Ainz with a surprised tone.

"Hmm." Ainz placed his skeletal hand to his sharp chin and started to fondle it. He seemed he is thinking heavily. "I don't really recall anyone called Emroy amongst my creations..."

"Creations?" many people looked at each other and started to mumble.

Rory nodded. "I see... Still, take my obeisance's and prayers. After all. In your world, you are the equivalent of my God. You share the same aspects as him."

"I don't really represent war and insanity..." he chuckled. "that's honor goes to my colleague... she represents war and insanity among many things." He chuckled glancing Esdeath who posed as Raidyn not far from him. She subtly winked at him.

"Then I pray to her too." She bowed her head and clasped her hands to pray. _"Not again!"_ screamed Ainz inside.

Ainz placed his hand to the kneeling Rory's shoulder. Fortunately, he disabled his Passive Negative Touch ability.

(The Negative Touch was an ability what Deals negative-type damage to the object being touched, attacked or skill-attacked by Ainz. Acquired by Elder Lich level up. Can toggle On/Off.)

"Please. You don't have to pray to me or my colleague. We don't deserve it such things."

 _"It is irritating anyway..."_ mused Ainz.

Rory looked up to him. "But..."

"No, but..." he turned back to the crowd. And seen many people already kneeling and praying towards him. _"What the fuck!"_ he screamed inside. _"Not again!"_

He sighed. "Please rise and state your other questions. I still want to look around. After all. It was a while since I visited your world."

Lelei was still shocked feeling the infinite amount of magic what Ainz emitted and was too scared and shocked to ask any question from him.

After an hour later Ainz gets bored of answering their questions. Finally, the announcer announced the end of the Diet and Ainz could get rid of the bombardment of the questions and the annoying praying zealots whose begged his blessing or to resurrect their deceased loved ones.

 _"It was a bad idea coming here and answering them personally."_ he sighed in an exhausted tone. _"I just wanted to make a good first impression! What went wrong? Why everyone overacts everything? It's like I am home... Annoying and depressing!"_

Ainz and the others started to walk towards the exit. His every step fit for a true royalty. The cameras recorded his every move.

In the entrance, a suited man with a red tie waited for Ainz. He was a middle-aged man who has a short black hair that is parted to the left, he has very sharp black eyes.

He bowed respectfully before Ainz. "I am Motoi Shinzō. The Japanese Prime Minister. Please forgive me, your majesty! We can't arrange you a proper welcome."

Ainz raised his hand. "It is not a problem. I came without any kind of warning. I visited your world out of my mere curiosity."

"Still, it is the proper way to welcome you properly your majesty. If you wait a little more we can arrange you proper accommodation and escort. The leaders of the world would surely want to meet you."

Ainz raised his hand. "It is not needed. I plan to travel around the world a few days. But in two days' time. I am willing to meet the leaders of the united nations if it's acceptable. Until that. My son. Beelzebub Ooal Gown will be at your service. If you want to contact me. Just ask him. He knows how to reach me. And don't worry. I will know in a time where the leaders of the nations want to meet me." he chuckled.

Motoi felt as the dread creeping up in his spine just looking at Ainz. Ge started to sweat.

"As you wish your majesty." He bowed. "If I may ask? What kind of transportation method do you want to use to travel the world?"

"The same method as I come here. Teleportation." Ainz waved with his golden staff and the same black oval gate appeared near him.

"If you excuse me Prime Minister. I have continents to explore..." Ainz turned away and walked through the black oval gate. His two maids followed him closely while the cameras flashed all along.

Meanwhile, everyone watched with awe what happening before their eyes. Itami just watched the whole scene with a dumbfounded expression and pointed to the leaving Ainz. "Is he?" he looked at Raidyn then back to the gate. "Is he really simply tore a hole in the fabric of the time and space and walked away?"

Raidyn sighed. "Yes... he used to do that. And he always forgot to pay me for my services. Not speaking he is always cheating in chess..." she shrugged.

"He-He is cheating in chess?" Itami collected himself and shrugged. "Yes... right..."

Ainz glanced out the gate one last time and said with a calm demeanor. "I never cheat." then disappeared. This time permanently.

"Of course you cheat old bones..." she chuckled.

Itami and his team were done with the Diet session.

Just in the moment, Ainz left.

The microbus had returned to the Diet building to fetch Itami and the others. It was escorted by two cars from Intel Branch, one in front and one behind. It was sunset, which implied that the roads would be jammed, as well as the risk that some car might try to ram or otherwise endanger them.

The convoy started and stopped in time with the changing of the traffic lights' colors.

As the cars around them passed the convoy, a car filtered in behind the microbus. It was traveling at a ridiculously slow speed, and it hedged the car that Komakado was in away from the microbus.

"Hm~ How strange."

Komakado was mumbling to himself, but the driver was tensed up.

"Dammit, this clown's really taking his sweet time driving!"

He thought of going over the crosswalk or overtaking the car in front of him, but the cars in the lanes beside him suddenly slowed down, making it impossible to change lanes or overtake.

And so, when the traffic light turned red, the microbus left its escort behind it.

As he watched the taillights of the rapidly-receding microbus, Komakado tapped his mike with one hand and gave his orders.  
"Command to all vehicles, the enemy's here. Keep your eyes peeled."

A voice entered in Esdeath's head. [Message]: "Esdeath-sama. This is G.O.L.D.I.E."

[Message]: "Yes G.O.L.D.I.E? Is something wrong?"

[Message]: "No. I just finished the data collection what you entrusted me. Their primitive security methods and firewalls were no challenges to me. I left no digital traces and footprints in their system and placed the necessary safeguards in the case if they turned against us." Explained the Ai.

[Message]: "Thank you! You did a splendid job as always! I am proud of you." Esdeath praised her creation.

Esdeath heard the AI happy squirm in the message. [Message]: "Thank you Creator-sama!"

[Message]: "Ok. Ok. Now tell me... what did you found..."

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Well... This is for now folks. Until nex time.**

 **In the next chapter...**

 **The prey becomes the hunter. Ainz met the leaders of the nations?**

 **A god of the death vs the politics of Earth. Who will win?**


	10. Adventurers and trains

**Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There**

 **by oblivon2991**

 **proofread by: Not yet proofread. Read at your own risk!**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.**

 **I don't own the _Overlord_ (** **オーバーロード** ** _Ōbārōdo_** **?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **Please review it. I know I will make mistakes that I intend to correct and will try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

* * *

Around the trade town what after the event what the historians will only scribe in their books as the Battle of Italica. Three factions shared the newly announced neutral city of Italica. Giving a common ground to negotiations. Myui Formal the young Countess of Italica and her remained forces. The forces of the Sorcerous Kingdom and the forces of the JSDF. True they were defeated in the battle of Italica. But after Italica became a natural city. The leadership of the Sorcerous Kingdom allowed the JSDF to represent themselves and has a little embassy in the city as well a minimal amount of military presence in the case if they needed to discuss something and of course to not only the Soldiers of the Sorcerous Kingdom and its economy bear the burden to safeguarding the city.

Both the Sorcerous Kingdom and the JSDF forces guarded the town against the scattered bandits and Imperial attacks, repaired the damage what the town suffered under the battle, reinforced the walls, the defenses, and performed humanitarian tasks. Of course, the Countess and her advisors were a little bit wary first seeing the foreign forces who had invaded the city. But their concern was without avail. The citizens were glad of the presence of the invading forces after a first few day. Naturally, they were a bit wary from the monstrosities of the Sorcerous Kingdom and the soldiers from different races what they never saw or heard of their short life.

People from races what they never ever saw or heard about. But seeing under the protection if the invaders the city thrived more than ever under the rule of the Empire. The trade quickly flowered, and the prices went low thanks to the goods what flowed in the city. The people quickly became accustomed and glad for the invading forces. The people of Italica has no loyalty towards the Empire. Aside from the yearly tax collection the Empire never really protected the city from bandit attacks that task fell to the Count of Italica and his forces. Maybe the Empire sent a few soldiers if the Count begged before the Senate. The fact in the middle ages the common people did not really care who ruled them until the government did not drastically intervene in their daily life also helped accepting change.

The criminal activity drastically dropped thanks to the constantly patrolling forces of the JSDF, the Sorcerous Kingdom and the forces of the newly named Countess.

Deep inside of the town of Italica. A lonely, young girl with shoulder length smooth black hair strode the streets. The time could not be more than three o clock. At least. According to the alignment of the stars and the few young rays of the sun what managed to slip away from their heavenly father's loving grasp.

The said girl seemed around her early teens. Ok... very early teens. In truth, she does not look more than eleven years old. At least. Anyone who looked at her most likely thought she is only eleven years old. Because of the thin, small frame of her body.

Because of this, people often mistake her as a simple child and offered her sweets. In one way... she liked this kind of discrimination. She could acquire her precious sweet for free without the necessity of spending money on them using her adorable childlike appearance, in another way... it irked her and made her start to shout the good citizens of the Sorcerous Kingdom who tried to appeal her this way.

But because of her childish frame and adorable face, this only make her cuter and earned her more sweets as well more face pinch. Usually, after she reveals her real age, the people did not believe her and just tweak her face even stronger. Saying... 'Oh! Of course! Of course! Such a big girl you are?" then stuff an another lollipop in her mouth. What was the said girl favorite sweet?

Usually, after this, she starts to grumble something under her nose, something unintelligible about how stupid those people are. And simply strolling away swallowing her rage with her heavenly melting ambrosia in her mouth. But there were occasions when she had enough and simply used her 'Art' as she called her gift and blew away her offenders. Causing a big amount of environmental and financial damage to the environment around herself.

That usually follows by the arrival of the nearby peacekeeper units or the nearby Death Knights. In this case, her small frame and childlike appearance came in handy for the escape or bribe herself out from the custody.

But let's continue the story. Her classical witch like attire such as a black cloak with gold border, choker, wizard's hat, fingerless gloves, and a black staff flung on her back as she explored the city searching new source of her favorite thing. Sweets... any kind of sweets. Jelly candies, caramel, any type of chocolate, gummies, licorice, sours, chewing gum and of course her favorite… lollipops! The list of the things what she was able to do to get her hands on even a piece of sweet was endless. Her sweet-toothed went in such degree she was even able to business with lawless individuals to get her hands on them or in rare cases even steal.

It was since midnight since she consumed her last piece of her heavenly candy what she brought with herself from her home. Carne. The Capital of the Sorcerous Kingdom. And now the only thing what kept her sugar addiction in line was the last piece of the emergency lollipop in her mouth.

How should she know this world not have any kind of edible sweets aside those brown, sour abominations that those traders wanted to sell her on those ridiculous prices!

Two gold for a piece of that trash, atrocious, abomination, a monstrosity that these people call sweet!? Unacceptable! She just can't take it! If she can't find any normal candy in this thing what these people mockingly call a 'trade city.' She will use her 'art' and cleanse the earth from it! Even if it means the nearby Death Knights and Nephalem Guards will pursue her through the country.

Slowly but steadily she reached a road junction what led in two ways. Once. She could follow her usual path on the main road of Italica to find edible sweets. Two. She can turn right to a dark alley. Normal girls would normally never consider choosing the second options. But as an adventurer, she never backed down from the challenge.

Aside from that... her usual sweet dealer used to reside in such dark alleys like that before her. Knowable the newly developed sweets that the cousin geniuses of the Sorcerous Kingdom mixed together in their kitchen was quite expensive and usually were not in arms reach in the first few months after their release. In other words, In the beta period.

But as a sweet fan. The girl can't let such blasphemy unanswered. So, she sought to get her hands on every piece of sweet what she can. As fast as she can.

As she turned the corner. A few suspicious looking individual recognized this. They turned in her direction and started to follow her deep inside of the alleyway. The girl strolled and strolled. Her crimson eyes seemingly were completely lifeless.

At least the eye what was not covered with her eyepatch. The visible one seemed lifeless due to her sorrow what she felt because the life of her lollipop was in its end. As she reached the end of the alleyway, she looked around. Then sighed in a disappointed tone.

"No sweets..." she mumbled in a flat tone. Turned around and found herself face to face four menacing looking individual. One was a fat man. Fatter than the fattest noble that she ever saw. The second was a thin man with ragged clothes and a dull looking knife in his hand.

The third was an average man clothed little better than the previous two. And at last. A small dwarf sized man with a smug expression on his face.

"Well, well, well... what do we have here?" smirked the small man.

"It is a little girl boss." clapped the obese one out of his joy on his face a dumb expression settled.

"We all see that... idiot." mumbled in a bored tone the well-clothed man. And wiped away his long blonde hair from his face.

"You!" the big man raised his hand to slap his comrade, but the dwarf stopped him by raising his hand. "That's enough!" snapped the small man. Then turned to the crimson eyed girl. He stepped closer to her. A honeyed expression settled on his face. "Well hello there... little girl... are you lost? Did your parents forgot about you? We can help to find them... of course... for a small fee..." he raised his hand and rubbed three of his fingers together expecting for payment.

The girl did not seem impressed. No. Her bland face rather seemed quite expressionless and bored. Not fit for her cute face of her. "Are you a sweet dealer?" she asked in an emotionless tone.

The four men looked at each other with a surprised expression. Then a grin crawled on their faces as they turned back to the thin girl. "You could say that." said the dwarf sized man. "Do you have money?"

The girl reached to her waist and raised the leather pouch what was firmly attached to her black belt. She opened it slowly. When the four-man saw its content. They almost melt away in an orgasmic drolling.

The thin and the dwarf sized man collected himself then grinned out of satisfaction. The obese one looked the sky and wondered how the clouds might taste. The average build man inspected his polished nails with a bored expression. The thin man just played with his knife. Throwing in the air flipping multiple times in the air before catching it again.

"Hand it over me." he stretched out his hand.

"Where are the sweets?" the girl asked.

"You will get them after we get the money. I promise." Unknown or not for the girl. The leaders of these ruffians crossed his fingers behind his back. The fat one started to giggle seeing this. His companion bopped his head to stop, and he stopped.

"Sweets first." answered the girl firmly. It seemed it was not her first deal. No fear only professionalism can be heard out from her voice. However, her face remained completely motionless.

The dwarf-sized man gritted his teeth. Then his calm demeanor moved back to his face. "Money first." he stretched his hand out again.

"Sweets first." retorted the girl as she closed the purse and pulled it away from the man who stood before her... In her other hand, she rested her staff on the ground.

This little crimson eyed witch started to bug the leader who because of this slowly but steadily started to lose his composure. Then his mouth curled into a sadistic smile again. Before they stood a little girl. A little girl who most likely came with the invaders. A little girl who most likely the daughter one of the officers of those monsters. They most likely get a great amount of ransom for her if they manage to capture her.

Because of these newly arrived individuals and their constant patrols and security measurements, many the said man friends and comrades died. Not speaking about those monster that seemingly invulnerable to all kind of attacks so they can't even get revenge on them. No seriously! Invulnerable. In the first few days, the crime lords of the city tried to force these newcomers to cooperate with them through bribes then with force. Force them to work with them and play their rules. Pay for protection fees and similar things.

But every bribing attempt failed, and every attempt to force them through sheer brute force was retaliated with bloodshed what ended almost all criminal activity in the town. Despite the invader's small number. It did not matter they had the numerical superiority. Every attempt to hurt those dark armored dreadful creatures failed. Simply brushing off every ranged or close ranged attack what the criminal lords threw at them. Even the magic what the few rogue mage conjured amongst their rank was simply washed over their armor then disappeared.

The golden armored soldiers and the soldiers in green skills without par. The boss of the little quartet saw one of those massacres. He was present in it. It was horrific. Most of the present criminals who resisted have been killed, and the remained ones were simply taken into custody. He only managed to slip away because he knew most of the hidden escaping tunnels what crossed across the city.

He did not even want to think about where those soldiers take them. To make the matters worse. Last day the forces who resided in the city got further reinforcements. That means more of those terrific creatures, more mages, and simpler but equally trained soldiers from various races arrived.

He never saw before such people who came into the city. As expected. Being a criminal became much more difficult in Italica what led the drastic drop of the criminal activity in the town. He wanted to leave the city with his band, but he still had a few unfinished business in the city what he had to take care before he was leaving.

What was surprising, The few officer who considered accepting the bribery started to show a terrified face when his or her comrades made them remember what kind of punishment entail accepting bribery. After that, the person who wanted to bribe the officers has been either captured or simply let them go with the warning to never cross path with them again.

The leader of the ruffians rolled his eyes. He doesn't have more time to the little girl before him. The patrols around and inside the city get more and more common after each day, and he did not want to experience how these invaders treated their prisoners. "Get her boys. Take her money," he ordered his subordinates.

The dumb looking fat man stepped forward and cracked his fist. "Sorry..." he said dumbly with an innocent expression.

The Crimson girl raised her eyebrow and bopped the tall man's head suddenly. "Bad..." she said.

The obese man grabbed his head. "Awww... why I got that?"

The girl pointed at him with her staff still up keeping her unimpressed expression. "That's not how business works." The four individual before her stared at her like they never saw such thing before. "Everything equivalent of exchange. To get something. First, you must give something." she quoted the certain famous alchemist words. (Who was so pips...) The certain alchemist entered the scene and rolled up his sleeves with an angry expression. Got a big breath and started his rant.

 **"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A PIPSQUEAK-MIDGET WHO CAN'T EVEN GO TO THE BEACH BECAUSE HE'S SO SMALL HE'LL SINK INTO THE SAND AND WHEN THE TIDE COMES IN HE WOULDN'T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT DROWNING BECAUSE HE'S SO SMALL HE CAN BREATHE OXYGEN ATOMS THROUGH THE WATER?!"**

"Ok... no one said that... but okay..." the author blinked three times out of his surprise. Then turned back to the readers. Cleared his throat and continued.

Well then. As I said... "DON'T IGNORE ME!" The certain alchemist in the red coat shouted.

Please... I am in the middle of the story. Later we can argue who is smaller. You or an atom.

The alchemist raised his hand and started to shake it. Then shouted something unintelligible. The author sighed. Snapped his finger. A huge silver-colored gate appeared out of nowhere and opened after a moment. A multi-colored pupils eye appeared, and black colored long arms kidnapped the alchemist. After this... the certain alchemist meets his old friend. TRUTH.

Now then... let's continue.

The thin man raised the dull knife in his hand and pointed at the girl. "How dare a little shit like you speak with the boss like that! Now! Show some respect to your elders and give us your money before we got angry."

The girl swung her black staff with a swift motion and knocked out the knife from the thin man's hand. Who because of the sudden pain started to massage the pulsating limb. Then he got a bop on his head. "Bad..." the girl pointed her black staff at him.

The well-clothed man tried to get away her staff from her hand using his strength to overpower her. But the girl was faster and knocked the bump of his head with her staff. Again. Just like she did twice before. "Bad... that's not yours..." she announced in her flat tone.

The dwarf-sized man gritted his teeth and stepped closer to the short girl. It seemed he is an at least a half head shorter than the barely 145 cm girl. "Now listen to me you little shit!" he poked her chest. Or the place where her breasts should be. The girl looked down at him. Usually, she had to look up to others. But it seems, in this case, it was the contrary.

"Either you give us your money, or we will beat the shit out of you!" the man started to prattle it took one full minute. The girl answered simply using her flat tone.

"You are mean..." the girl answered to the threat meanwhile tilted her head with an uninterested manner. "If you don't have sweets. Let in my way... I need to find sweets..." she took out the lollipop from her mouth what seemingly did not prevent her from speaking perfectly clear. And inspected it like a professional. "So small..." she mumbled.

The candy on the stick painted in the seven color of the rainbow. Each color flavored differently. Such as a culinary masterpiece of the Sorcerous Kingdom best candy maker specialist. This exact piece of lolly actually made exactly for her personal order. And it was not cheap. It cost five full gold coins. Five gold coins what can feed a normal family for two months then from the remaining money the husband can buy something nice for the whole family.

The man clenched his fist before her and gritted his teeth. "You... little..." he tried to figure out some menacing word what can unbalance the girl before him. The girl who answered every threat with a sarcastic retort stood before the man like a sturdy stone wall.

He grinned and poked her chest. "You flat little girl. You are like a desk." The girl gasped, stepped back and went completely pale. Seeing this momentary imbalance, the dwarf sized man swung away from the candy from her hand grabbing the stick at the end of it.

"Hmm... It's pretty nice..." he mumbled as he put the sweet in his mouth. "Now... Give me your money flat chest..." The girl did not answer. Her pointed witch hat completely shadowed her eyes. She trembled out of her rage. Out of her frustration.

The air started to ripple around the girl as a massive amount of magical energy start to build around her. The air started to ripple around her as she trembled. "Flat chested? Looks like a desk?" she shuttered trembling.

She glared at the man before her under her hat as she started to tighten the grip around her black wooden staff what because of this started to crackle out of the sudden raised pressure. Because of the shadow what her witch hat cast to her eye line. Her crimson eye looked like it glowing demonically.

The three out of four men backed feeling this sudden change of air. Their leader turned to them. "Guys! Don't be afraid. This is just a simple magic trick. Even the weakest of mages can do it. Look at her!" he pointed at the girl. "Do you really think such flat chested girl can be strong? She is not more than ten years old. Do you really fear a ten years old flat chest?"

The three ruffians straightened themselves. "You are right." said the thin man.

"Now you say..." placed the average build man his hand to his chin. "I once heard from Jimbo, the Sorceresses of Rondel storing their magical power in their breast. So that means. Bigger the rack. Bigger the magical power."

"Jimbo is smart." interjected the fat one.

The dwarf looked back to the girl's chest and poked it again. "Well, then... we had nothing to fear." the four-man laughed.

The girl trembled. No one before humiliated her this much. She raised her staff.

"Darkness beyond blackest pitch  
Deeper than the deepest night" The magical energies started to build up around her hand and the staff what she used as a mediator for her attack.

The four-man looked at her with a dumbfounded expression. They did not yet realize their impending doom. The monster what they have faced. The girl who got the epithets such as dulcis-dentatis, Crimson Maniac witch, and terrorist bomber.

"Lord as vast as the largest ocean  
Colder than the coldest ice  
King of Darkness who shines like gold upon the Sea of Chaos."

"Oh... how scary..." the short man acted as he was frightened. His companions followed his example.

The girl gritted her teeth and poured every inch of magical energy in her attack.

"I call upon thee and swear myself to thee.  
I stand ready to bear the strength you give me.  
Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed."

Orange magical runes appeared on the top of her staff and under her.  
The four bandits looked at her with a surprised expression. She continued her chant. Of course, in reality, usually, she did not need such long chant. But she liked to terrify her victim's malevolent sounding chants. Aside from that, she thought such things were cool.

"By the power you and I possess!" she pointed her staff to the four molesters.

"GIGA SLAV..." her chant was abruptly disrupted by a shadow. A shadow what towered more than two meters above the girl. Before she could finish her chant, she felt an absurdly strong bopp on her head. And because of this, she grabbed her head painfully.

She turned to her assaulter with an impossible speed. "Stupid Pops! Why did you disturb my chant!? Do you know how dangerous is to disrupt an incantation in this stadium!"

"Are your insane brat?! If you would have finished that chant it would most likely be left nothing more from this district than a smoldering crater!" the owner of the coarse, deep voice was a Beastman. With snow white fur that stripped with black tiger stripes. Two long twisted horns sprouted from the top of his head and it was most likely he could rip apart anyone with the long canines what peeked out from his mouth.

A long bow strained on his back as well two short swords that because of his massive size he used as daggers. The said daggers rested on the two sides of his waist. Crimson eye meet yellow eyes and the two side head-butted. "They insulted my chestiness and took away my precious sweet!" she pointed accusingly at the four men meanwhile looked in the eyes of the beast before her. Most people would be terrified even in the presence of such creature. But she showed no fear only anger.

The four said a man already trembled seeing the towering beast before them and shook like jelly. The four gentleman saw many things under their lives. But they never saw such big menacing furred creature as the one who towered before them.

"And it is enough reason to blow up the whole district! You know what happens when the guards get you?! You were already in custody three times!" he showed a three in his clawed hand. Then shook it to give weight to his words.

The girl looked away and huffed. "Not as if they could keep me down long enough to forget my art..."

The menacing looking creature tried to reason with the girl why not blow up her assaulters as well the district. But the girl was decisive, and the only thing what stopped her was the elder before her.

The small bandit timidly raised his hand. "Can we run away now?" The two of them turned to them and roared in unison. "Shut up!"

The four-man deadpanned. "Ok..."

The veteran Beastman massaged his nose temple. Under his more than one hundred years. He meets a few problematic children. But the one before him was the worst. She only joined a year ago to their little band of misfits. But they had more problem with her than with the other group members combined. True she was a strong, talented mage who grow astoundingly and according to her master Fluder Paradyne. One day she maybe even able to surpass him. Still, she used her talent to cause problems and to satisfy her infinite hunger of sweets and food.

"Whatever..." the Beastmen turned to the four assaulters. "You four are better to get away, or this little piece of energy bomb might blow you up..." the Beastmen veteran coarse deep, commanding voice seemingly completely froze the four assaulters. "Go before I change my mind." he waved them away lazily.

The four bandit had enough. They could handle a crazy Loly somehow. But a menacing looking armed Beastman. Now that what these four did not sign up. They turned around and started to run.

The girl turned away and huffed her face. "Stupid Pops always ruin my art..."

The Beastman shook his head and chuckled. He patted a few times the petite girl's head flattening her pointed hat. The girl glared at him angrily due he ruined her perfect headgear and treated her like a child. Again...

"Come Meguminoi. The boss is already waiting for us."

She shook herself back from her sudden wave of rage, and a surprised expression moved on her face. "Do you mean Zeno-dono?"

The Beastman nodded and headed outside of the dark alley. The girl catches up with him. "Pops?"

"Hmm?" the huge creature raised his brow.

"By any chance... accidentally? May you have some sweets?" asked the small mage. The Beastman growled showing his frustration. "Kids these days... just the sweets and the sweets..."

He looked back to the girl who showed her the most adorable face what he ever saw. For a moment he stopped and backed down because of the sudden overload of cuteness. "Please! Slapstorm-dono! Can you pity such young creature as I am with a little sweet? I need it for my survival! Can't you see? I could disappear at any moment..." her hand folded together in a praying position. "If I didn't get some... I fear I may die... worse... I disappear..." she slumped to the ground weakly.

Her crimson eyes radiated her infinite cuteness. The elder Beastman heart can take so much.

He rolled his eyes frustratingly meanwhile growled in his head. _"Damn kid! She knows the soft spot of this old man ice cold heart..."_ he started to search in his backpack. As he searched, he grumbled under his nose. "In my grandfather's time she would be on the table as a delicate... but now... such young gals can rule over me... where are the proud nation of the Beastman people sunk..." finally he found some sweet and threw to Meguminoi. Who jumped for it like a dog and greedily put it in her mouth.

The joy on her face was indescribable. She looked up to the old man who watched her with a grinning expression. "What?" she asked.

Slapstorm shook his head meanwhile chuckled. "Nothing..." with that. The two of them continued their way.

A few minutes later the strange duo reached the inn where they stationed while they were in the town. It was not the best Inn in Italica nor the worst. It looked quite normal compared to the ones where they usually reside.

The due entered the bar attracting the crowd attending a moment in their direction. Slapstorm looked around searching the man and the little group what he is looking for. After a moment of gazing, he found them.

On the farthest corner of the bar, there was a table around it three people sat. A crazy looking dwarf with the crazies red beard and hair what the people of this world saw. A girl with long prismatic colored hair and two Sapphire colored horn sprouting from her head. And a handsome male with brown hair, french mustache, goat's beard and blue eyes. He held a strange guitar like an instrument in his hands and in the exact moment he busy to fine tune his weapon and instrument even more.

The two adventurers headed in their direction and sat down. The first who welcomed them was the merry drunken dwarf who had a severely burnt mark on his face. "Aye lads! You are finally here!"

"Hey, guys..." welcomed them the bard of the little group. "What's up?"

The Beastman veteran nodded. "Nothing really... nothing aside from a little accident thanks to Meguminoi." he looked strictly to the small mage who sat beside him. "Noted." that was her only emotionless comeback.

"Where is the boss?" asked the Beastman.

"He will be here soon! Come drink with us!" the redhead dwarf raised his ale. Slapstorm nodded and raised the mug what the redhead dwarf ordered his friend. Then clung jugs with the dwarf.

"So... what happened our little hot head again?" asked the dwarf.

"Molesters..." answered the girl shortly as she licked her lollipop and signed to the bartender to come and bring food. "By the Forty One! I hope you are all right Meguminoi!" gasped the prismatic haired girl with the backward spouting horns on the top of her head. As she grabbed the little mage to inspect her. Under her robe, a few prismatic sapphire colored scales can be seen on her forearm.

"Those molesters did not have any sweets..." grumbled the girl.

The seventeen-year-old looking girl sighed. "Then I am relieved." The little group continued their little chat. About an hour later the one or the ones who they have waited finally arrived.

One broad elf man with golden hair clamped together to a horse tail. Encased in a legendary looking golden armor. And a white mantle wearing figure. A mantle what almost completely hide her face. Only her sharp red eyes, caramel colored skin and silver hair were visible under the mantle what she wore.

The duo headed towards the four adventurers.

"Ah... our prestigious leader finally arrived... how joyful!" announced the Bard as he spotted his leader.

"Hey, boss!" Raised his sizable paw the Beastman. The petite mage did not say anything just enjoyed her sizable meal. "Zeno! My man! How are you doing!" blurted the dwarf accompanied with a light-hearted chuckle.

Zeno smiled his friend enthusiasm and nodded to him. "Merryforge! Old bastard! It's good to see you!" he welcomed him with a similar manner.

"Heh! Speaking the one with more than 200 years behind his back..." he chuckled then turned back his ale.

"Z-Zeno-sama..." shuttered the prismatic haired girl with an entirely red face. "It is good to see you..."

Zeno nodded. "It is good to see you as well again Medhirth." The girl started to blush even more.

"Master Dandelion! I hope the girls in the town still virgin!" he gave a quick wink to his companion.

"You know me too well Master Zeno! No girl is safe from me!" he chuckled announcing his achievement.

The elf hero turned back to his guest. "Oh, I am sorry... it was several hours since we parted..." he laughed wholeheartedly. "They can be rather sticky..."

"Like fungus..." interjected the little crimson witch sarcastically as she continued her meal.

"Yeah... short off..." Zeno chuckled at Meguminoi's antics. "You know something girl..." the girl did not react her leader words. Instead...

"You owe me ten candy..." she retorted. "Business first. After candy," shot back Zeno.

The small girl nodded. Then the golden armored elf turned back to the woman behind him. "Let me introduce..." before he could introduce their client it stepped forward. Removed the mantle what covered her face and her head. She opened her mouth and started her introduction.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Japan:**

The train slowly pulled into the subway station under the National Diet Building, on the Marunouchi line.

The combination of the train station's location and the office hours of the government employees meant that they started to head home around this time.

A lot of these workers had secretly watched the National Diet broadcast during their working hours, and they couldn't help but sneak peeks at Lelei, Tuka, Rory, Momon, and Raidyn who stood out due to their eye-catching appearances.

In any case, every single look directed at the girls and the dark warrior was like a physical stab to Itami.

His JSDF uniform was long gone, replaced by a gray coat given to him by one of Komakado's men, who told him to take the train instead.

In his current outfit, Itami resembled an average salaryman, but anyone would be wondering "Who the hell is this guy?" if they saw him standing next to these four lovely ladies with their blonde, black and white hairs. And the impressive looking muscled gentleman with the always stern look on his face and that elegant black suit what he currently wore. Anyone would think Itami and the group have nothing to do with each other.

(Momon looked like he stepped out directly from some kind of anime or manga directly made for the ladies.)

It would be hard to say "They're my relatives" or "They're my daughters" given their different hair colors. Maybe he could try, "They're my girlfriends, you jelly?" and given the circumstances that might even work, but Itami was not the sort of person who would dare to say such things. The only one he could accuse he is his relative was Momon. Even then. Very far away relative from the other side of the world. What most likely the ladies who're in the train wagon eyed Momon most likely say. 'Such bland looking guy can't be the relative such fine gentleman as him!'

It was a literally total loss for the First Lieutenant. He sighed in defeat.

A kindhearted third party seeing Itami might think that he was part of a criminal organization which kidnapped foreign girls for nefarious purposes and Momon is a Yakuza bodyguard who is safekeeping the girls until the transaction has been made. It was a natural conclusion to reach.

It might be possible, but it would also be difficult to pass them off as a group of tourists visiting Japan (with Itami showing them around the country) or with Itami as a producer bringing four idols back to his office. Among these three options, the first and the third would be eliminated first.

If he wanted to improve his disguise, he should make a tour guide's flag and wave it while saying "Hihi~ please walk this way~," taking them to high-class restaurants and hotels, and posing them in front of ads which read, "For illustration purposes only." That way, at least onlookers would think this was some sort of unethical tour agency.

Itami had been following the plan to board the train in front of him, and in the instant the door opened, he swiftly darted aboard, as though to escape people's eyes. Lelei and Tuka joined him, and then looked around in curiosity.

Rory, on the other hand, looked afraid. It was an expression he had never seen her before.

Raidyn quickly jumped in the train car with a satisfied expression on her face. _"This is so retro! I only saw such metro wagons in the museum when I was a kid!"_ she squirmed.

Momon pushed inside the car the reluctant Rory who were wary to even take a step inside of that hellhole. It needed a little push, but in the end, Momon managed to push the poor girl into the car. " _Wow! This is so old fashioned! I am sure if Yamaiko-san would see this she would start to lecture us about this old tech and how important this was..."_ he remembered his former guildmate who was an archeology teacher in an elementary school.

A quick glance around the cable showed that Bozes and Piña were looking uneasy on Beelzebub's face curiosity settled as he looked around as they entered the underground area of the metro. Kuribayashi and Tomita were beside them as their escorts.

"Yo."

Itami raised his hand in greeting, and Tomita nodded to him.

"We were supposed to take the bus to the hotel, but we were suddenly told to alight at Yotsuya and take the subway over. Time was tight, so things got a bit hairy."

"Well, at least you boarded without a problem, right?"

Itami looked at Bozes, who was clinging to Tomita's arm.

Although everyone expected Tomita to bear a grudge against Bozes, the way the two of them were attached to each other made him think," Oh, congrats, you two!"

Tomita wore a jacket and leather boots, and he stood tall, radiating an air of masculinity similar to Momon. In contrast, Bozes was a noblewoman who looked like a piece of intricately-carved gold jewelry, but his visual impact was no less than hers; in fact, they even complemented each other. The only flaw in this display was the frightened look on Bozes' face. As a single male, this lack of a romantic atmosphere was the only thing he could be happy about when he saw them.

Piña was not clinging to someone like Bozes, but she stood stock-still beside Beelzebub, who wore his ceremonial outfit and the red golden waved cape on his shoulder. What made them, even more, stick out from the crowd. Her nerves all wound up. If there were a loud sound and a power stoppage, the Imperial Princess most likely would shriek and tightly hug Beelzebub's arms.

As he thought about this, Itami was tempted to scare her, but he decided not to for fear of making everyone angry.

"They call this the Marunouchi line, but it feels more like we've gone into a catacomb. At least, it feels just as uncomfortable. Even if everyone says not to worry, what if the ceiling collapses? What if the lights go out? Are we going into the depths of the earth like this? It's kind of scary."

Beelzebub looked up and raised his brow. He fondled his chin as he inspected the ceiling. "I think it will not collapse..." Pina sighed in relevance. "At least for now..." Hearing these cruel words leaving Beelzebub's face Piña stiffened. As the blood left her pale face, she glared accusingly to Beelzebub.

The first heir laughed. "Don't worry. It will surely not collapse.". Piña looked at him questioningly. "How can you be that sure about that Prince Beelzebub?" she stuttered as she looked around warily.

The heir of Ainz smile only widened. "I don't know... just a feeling..." he pointed at his forehead mysteriously.

The princess snarled. "That's not funny Prince Beelzebub! What if we die here?" such words left her beautiful face.

"It's just common sense. I don't think Sir Itami and his people would let their citizens travel in these things if they were dangerous. Don't you think?" he glanced lazily to Piña.

The Princess looked at her thoughtfully. "Yes... you are right..." she nodded thoughtfully. "after what I saw... I know... Sir Itami people are caring about the wellbeing of their citizens as much." she mumbled. "Still... it's better to be safe. Then regret later!"

Beelzebub nodded. "Wise words." However, as a being who can teleport and wore his reinforced uniform. Even if the ceiling collapses unto them. He would not be squished like a bug. He knew that. He felt that.

They had boarded from Yotsuya Station, so the train was still above ground. When it plunged into the earth halfway during its journey, it gave Piña a huge shock and started to grab into Beelzebub arms tightly.

What after a first bump she immediately let go with an embarrassed red face. But after the second bump, she was back on the position what she left a moment ago. In other words, she clung to Beelzebub arm like she was his lover the whole time under their travel.

She could not calm down no matter how people tried to explain things to her. After all, this might have well been the most shocking experience in Piña's life to date. The train car's lights were bright, but outside the window, she could only see the jet black of the underground. It was like taking the public response, but Piña had no frame of reference for this at all, and she had no idea where they were headed while underground. Asking her not to worry in these circumstances was an impossible task.

"Are your ghost houses called 'catacombs''? (This was a new word, so he had to scribble in his phrasebook). Well, between the noise and the ringing in the ears, it's no wonder you'd be scared. But you know, the Marunouchi line is much better now. Used to be, the train lights would cut out while the train was in motion and the whole cabin would go dark."

Just as everyone was chatting like this, the train horn blew, and the cabin doors shut.

The noise frightened Rory so badly that her body was trembling uncontrollably. She nervously reached a tiny hand out and tightly clutched Momon's muscular hand. Momon looked at her with a dumbfounded expression. "What, what's wrong?"

Esdeath just grinned under her disguise and almost burst out of laughter. If Albedo or any other woman from Ainz's personal little harem would saw this. They would skin this girl alive. Or even more Ainz's creation. Pandora's Actor. He would do his over exaggerate ridiculous dance and spoke something gibberish in the German language out of his joy about his master found a new mate. Out of Momonga's shame. Fortunately... she made sure no one knows about this little 'Incident.'

Aside from that. She recorded the whole thing with the hidden camera what she put in her costume. Blackmail material. Who know when you can use it.

Was Rory frightened like Piña was? However, there seemed to be a fundamental difference between Piña and Bozes' discomfort, and Rory's abject terror.

"The, the underground is Hardy's domain…" she muttered.

"Hardy? Is he a friend?" asked Itami.

"She's bad news. If we met her here, I'd be snatched away to become her wife. Hardy's been like that since 200 years ago, always, always, always, always…"

As she said that, Rory squeezed Momon's left hand with her own even more rightly.

Her right hand was holding her canvas-wrapped halberd. Although he was not too sure what she was on about, this God called Hardy (since she lived underground, could she be some sort of demon lord?) seemed to frighten Rory into a child-like state.

She looked up to Momon with a pleading expression. "Momon! Please protect me from her!"

Momon nodded. "I can certainly try. But I can't protect you meanwhile you are hugging me..." he deadpanned.

"I need to embrace you. Hardy hates men, so if I had a man nearby, Hardy might stay away." Rory looked around with a terrified expression.

"This Hardy guy is a weird one..." Raidyn deadpanned. Then straightened herself and started to pose like a smart ass. "But don't worry. We... my little humble self and the great Momon the Black! We! The adamantine adventurer group. Darkness. Can easily take care for such pesky deities such as the Hardy guy you spoke about!" she laughed with a tone of the victor.

Rory looked around with a frightened expression. Like a lamb who spotted a wolf. "Do-don't say such things! We are in her domain! She might hear you! You can't kill a god!" she trashed out of her fear. "You should be wary to Raidyn! She detests men, but she loves woman! If you make her recognize you! She may take you too!"

"Bah!" she threw her hands in the air. "What is a god to a non-believer?" she announced. Rory tilted her head out of her surprise. Raidyn started to smirk. Momon face palmed. "Not again..."

"Challenge!" she announced. "Persons full with themselves always announce themselves as Gods or deities. Until they taste their own blood... then they start to plead. Until they taste my fist!" she raised her fist to the air. "Shannaro!" she shouted. Many people looked in her direction. Giving her confused looks.

Rory looked to Momon with eyes of disbelief. "Did you really killed gods?"

Momon scratched the back of his head. "Well... under our long career we killed plenty of monsters and persons who called themselves such title..." then looked back to his goth loli companion. "But I don't know if they were like your gods or not..."

Raidyn scoffed and threw her long white hair from her face. "They were really full of themselves." she sighed and shook her head. "Whatever... let's speak something else just thinking about this irking me..."

[Message]: "Momonga-san. Did you got the reports about those people who follow us?"

[Message]: "Yes... where is Zero!? His task should be to take care such things!" frowned the Undead Shinigami.

[Message]: "Well... I tasked him with a special task..." she explained.

[Message]: "And the task is?" Momonga raised his illusionary brow as he turned to his companion.

[Message]: "Collect the things from the list what I gave him. I already said to you before... I will not say anymore. You will see the results when we arrive back in Nazarick..."

[Message]: "I hope he did not do anything drastic..." said Momonga worriedly.

[Message]: "Don't worry. He is my creation. I ordered him to do not cause any ruckus. Aside from that. We are being chased like some criminals. Isn't this exciting!" she announced joyfully.

[Message]: "Well... it's certainly more interesting than being under constant surveillance. It is annoying back at home as it is. But here too? No way!" expressed himself the undead lord meanwhile he frowned sourly his illusionary brow. "By the way... did. G.O.L.D.I.E. reported you?"

[Message]: "Yep..." the white-haired woman nodded. "She reported. And found some interesting stuff. But let's discuss that later in a calmer environment."

Momon nodded physically. [Message]: "So be it... but I will expect a full-scale report."

[Message]: "Oki-Doki bony! By the way... did Pandora-kun ready to replace you meanwhile you will be away to introduce yourself for the UN?"

Momonga turned to his friend. [Message]: "You don't want to come?"

Raidyn scoffed expressing her physical disgust. [Message]: "Me and those politics!? Pffft... Don't be ridiculous! You know hot headed can I be. In the end, I may blow up their moon."

Momonga hummed. [Message]: "Hmm... I see... still... you will come with me. I already prepared your dummy."

[Message]: "What!?" Raidyn turned to Momon with an accusing expression. For the others, it seemed Raidyn was just frightened because of the newer bump of the car. "You can't be serious!" she accused her companion through their shared mental channel.

Momonga chuckled maliciously. [Message]: "If I suffer... you will suffer too... that's right. A bodyguard had to near the protected her king."

[Message]: "Why don't you just bring Albedo, Demiurge or anyone else who would even enjoy such political bullshitting?! OR even Beelzebub? The kid most likely learn from this little negotiation! You know I can't be bothered by such things!"

[Message]: "Exactly that's why... cause I am on vacation mode... and I need a little break from our precious friend's precious children's. However, I love them... even my fragile mind can take as much."

Esdeath sighed announcing her defeat. [Message]: "Fair point..." then she turned to Momon Meanwhile up kept the mental connection. "But I will not speak. I will not do anything political scheming and bullshitting! I will put my headphones on put my shapely arse on the couch and sat in silence meanwhile listening to my remix and drink my cocktail! You know what happens to those who disturbs me meanwhile I have my headphones on!"

Momonga sighed remembering the last poor victim who frightened her meanwhile she listened to her music. It did not end well for the said person.

Momonga sighed in defeat. [Message]: "Yes ma'am..."

Esdeath nodded victoriously. [Message]: "That's the spirit!"

[Message]: "I only ask you to keep a little bit of your attention on the discussion. In the case, they may ask you something..."

The white haired, dark elf impersonator scoffed in disgust and turned away. [Message]: "Fine then... I will be your escort... ass!"

The dark knight chuckled under cover of the mental connection. [Message]: "Kukukuku... you are adorable when you are angry. I wonder why you are not found a good husband yet..."

Esdeath's face reddened and started to trash Momonga. [Message]: "I am a guy stuck in this body you sick bastard! That's why! Asshole! Even now I like more the companion of women! Even if I had some urges..." she mumbled the end of the sentence.

The conversation continued as every look were pointed toward the not so ordinary company on the end of the car.

Teaching people from the Special Region about the ways and customs of this world seemed like an uphill task, but as a true otaku, Itami still wanted to hear the girls say those clichéd lines. Itami secretly resolved to educate the girls in these matters thoroughly. He even thought about that he involves Momon deceiving him. Saying... it is a Japanese custom and as a fellow man, it is his duty to help him fulfill this righteous task. He snickered inside his head as he waved his sinister plan.

The next stop was Kasumigaseki station, and Komakado boarded with a "yo" as a greeting.

"What happened?" Itami asked as the man before him disturbed his train of thoughts.

"Turns out we've been followed, and they knew we were leaving from Ichigaya Park. I think they even know we're taking the train. So far, we've got at least two possible suspects for the leaks. We need to take care of those guys following us, or at least, shake them up a little."

By "taking care" of them, he meant finding out who the people following them worked for.

"And the two people who might have leaked the info?" Itami raised his brow as he suspiciously glanced the senior man.

"We'll leave them be for now. It's all part of the plan." waved away his concern uncaringly the man before him.

"Wouldn't catching them be better?"

"There's no need for that. We've known they would leak secrets for some time now. Our plan is to have the enemy rely heavily on them before catching them all in one fell swoop. They should be linked to some ideological organization, or maybe they've been honey-trapped and made to work for the enemy. They'll be dealt with sooner or later, but for now, we'll keep an eye on them. Our main concern now is the rumors about cultist started to crowd the streets. Blabbing about the Apocalypse and the appearance of the Anti-Christ. This makes our work a lot harder than it should be and cause traffic jams in the choke points of the city."

"Really?" Itami turned to Beelzebub as he nervously started to scratch the back of his head. "Well... It was not the best idea letting those worshippers approach the Prince... hehe..." he laughed nervously.

Beelzebub laughed nervously as well. "Hahahaha! Indeed! I did not expect the thing turn out like this.

Kuribayashi turned furiously her superior. "First Lieutenant! Be more serious! This is not a joke! People can be hurt!"

"Hey! No one expected it is turning out like this!" Itami tried to fend off the brunet.

"A honey-trap, huh…"

Komakado sighed but kept his usual calm controlled expression. "It cannot be helped. Fortunately, this also made the enemy information gathering considerably harder. Also... If they reported that they were honey-trapped to their superiors, we would have prepared some suitable information for them to pass on. So they can enjoy their cash, women, or hobbies to their hearts' content, as long as they keep their superiors informed, they can do whatever they want. And when the enemy gets mad and threatens to reveal the secrets they have, since we're already aware of it, all we need to do is mock them. Of course, it's annoying that not everything goes this way."

The enemy would obviously prefer to pick people who would not turn on them. The problem was that Japanese moral values did not emphasize national security, and given that nationalism was treated as a dirty word nowadays, it would seem the enemy could pick and choose who, when and where to strike.

Komakado knew that any country in the world could easily honey-trap Japanese citizens, and he laughed coarsely.

"Well, we wouldn't have to worry about Mr. Itami being honey-trapped, at least."

"Really?"

"Don't you think so…"

As Komakado said this, he looked at Rory who was clinging to Momon's left hand, Lelei who was standing on Itami's right, and Tuka behind Raidyn, who looked like a US high schooler in her T-shirt and jeans. Komakado had not seen the Diet telecast, so he did not know Rory, Momon, Raidyn and Tuka's ages.

"Well because most countries haven't trained operatives of this age, no, wait…"

If enemy nations started mass producing Loli operatives, Japan would be in grave danger. "No, no, wait. Recently, there have been a lot of call girl agencies recruiting young girls. Maybe we should keep an eye on those…" Komakado started thinking seriously as he said that.

"Call girl agencies?"

"Ah, well, these—"

Komakado made sure the ladies around him could not hear him before whispering to Itami.

These were known to provide female companionship to highly-placed officials who were sensitive to scandals or first-rate businessmen. Of course, the girls they supplied were of the highest quality, dressed from head to toe in branded goods. The actual "transaction" would take place in a five-star hotel, to create the impression that they were family members going on holiday together so as to avoid the suspicion of bystanders.

If these organizations were actually run by some country's intelligence organs, they would have people record the indecencies which their targets would perform with their partner. After that, they would threaten their target with exposure of these deeds to the media, and nowadays they might even just upload the relevant images or video to the Internet and wait for it to go viral.

Perhaps their targets might still be able to explain it away as a simple love affair if their partners were adult women, but if they were caught engaging in lewd acts with an underage girl, there would be no way out of it. Therefore, anyone blackmailed like this would go along obediently for fear of being socially and financially ruined.

"No way, where would they get little girls like that?"

"Some dictatorships can manage that." explained Komakado.

They could select attractive young girls from their population, brainwash them into obedience and then send them out. People could do anything if they received the right training, just like the way suicide bombers could fearlessly blow themselves up, or how child soldiers could unflinchingly gun down their fellow man. All these things were simple enough to achieve in a country which laughed at the concept of human rights. History also told of women like Da Ji, Bao Si, Xi Shi and Diao Chan, all of whom were beautiful maidens, and weapons that brought powerful nations to ruin.

Itami watched quietly as Komakado whipped out his phone and sent an SMS to all his active officers conducting searches. He could not send the message right now because they were underground, but he could finish typing it up and send it once they reached the surface again.

"It's a bit ahead of schedule, but we'll be heading to Hakone now."

Komakado told Itami of their travel plans as he typed on his phone. However, Rory interrupted him. She was sweating profusely, and her skin was as pale as death.

"Hey~ could we get out of here right now, please?"

"What's wrong, are you carsick?"

"I don't know, I just feel really uncomfortable, and I can't calm down."

"We'll be getting off two stops later. Can you hang on a bit more?"

Rory's fingertips sank forcefully into Momon's illusionary arm. For a moment Momon worried the illusion what concealed him will break off because of the suddenly appeared inhuman force what the Goth Loly produced. But fortunately, it held firmly. He sighed in relevance as Rory gasp eased. The girl who looked no older than a twelve-year-old looking high schooler looked miserably as she looked around.

Just at this moment, the train reached Ginza Station.

Momon tried to pry off Rory from his arm gently, but it seemed his every attempt were unsuccessful. He did not want to express too much force what could hurt the Gothic Lolita. Of course, as she and Lelei explained. She could regenerate from about any injury. Still, it left a sour taste in his fleshless mouth to hurt a girl. He was the ladies' man after all...

Itami looked desperately as Lelei clings on his arm. But seemingly Beelzebub and Raidyn did not mind Tuka and Piña's affection. But Tomita seemed to sweat bullets as Bozes pressed his arm between her sizable assets.

Komakado did not seem to understand what the gesture meant, so Itami continued looking around. Lelei locked eyes with him, and her expressionless face seemed to convey her approval, and Tuka shrugged to show that she wanted to get off the train.

Momon and Raidyn showed a neutral face like it was an everyday thing for them. Komakado eyed them suspiciously. He read the reports that said... they meet 'weird' things (as the First Lieutenant quoted the two adventurers) every day. So it was the normal behavior from them. Still, it was strange to him. He needs to keep his eyes on them.

The station was flooded with office workers heading home and shoppers who were done for the day. And then a brief window opened — the instant when the passengers on the train had finished alighting, but just before the incoming passengers came aboard —

"Mr. Komakado, we're going to get off the train here."

"Coming through~," Itami said as he led his group off the train like a father minding his family. Because he was selfishly going against the flow of traffic, all the incoming passenger shot dirty looks at him. However, once they saw Piña and Bozes, that resentment evaporated. The feeling Japanese had about "not being able to read the atmosphere" only applied to their fellow countrymen. When they saw people from another culture, all they could do was say, "It can't be helped" and try to be more understanding. But when they spotted Beelzebub demonic horns, golden irises and vertically split pupils what made him resemble a demon lord. Most of the people suddenly get him as far they could.

Some of them even held up either their cross, prayer beads or other various religious symbols to fetch off the devil amongst them. Beelzebub only sighed and shook his head seeing this kind of reaction. He knows very well. Such symbols are useless without a faith-based magic caster blessing them. Even then. The descendant of the Guardian Overseer and The Overlord of Death cannot be repelled by such pesky tricks. It was almost insulting to his undead as well his devil side.

"Hey, wait, what are you guys trying to do?"

Left on the train, Komakado tried to catch up with Itami and the others. The gasp around Itami and the others quickly closed leaving Komakado alone. Since he was Japanese, the crowd was only too happy to press him back, and into the train, so he looked like a swimmer flailing desperately through choppy water before he finally managed to squeeze out of the train.

"This is good too, right? Besides, we're only one stop away."

Ginza Station was right in front of Tokyo Station, and they would only need to walk a little further to reach it. However, as Itami and his gang crossed the ticket stand, they heard that the train on the Marunouchi line — which was to say, the one they had just gotten off — had been halted halfway between Ginza and Tokyo Station by a line fault.

Rory sighed in relief, glad to be outside of the underground train station and back under Ginza's night sky. She stretched her arms out and exhaled deeply. Although the air here was filthy, to Rory it was still better than being under the earth. She was happy to be out of Hardy's clutches. Piña and Bozes also seemed relieved and overjoyed to be above the ground once more finally.

Piña still clung to Beelzebub's arm tightly aside her perception. Realizing this she immediately released his hand and jumped back in an embarrassed manner. Beelzebub looked at her with a confused expression. "What's the wrong Piña?"

Piña's face was like a tomato. She was so embarrassed. Not only as the representative of the Empire but as a woman as well. "Not-Nothing..." she stuttered as she turned her head away to hide her embarrassment.

"Ok..." deadpanned Beelzebub. The Prince was one of the best fighters in the Kingdom. Versed in tactics and for his distaste somewhat in politics and negotiations. But when it comes to women. Well, let's just say he was unable to separate the wheat from the chaff. In another word. (despite his mother was a succubus) He was innocent and simple who can't recognize when a woman looks at him 'that' way.

Everyone looked around at night-time Ginza. Unlike in the day, there were lights everywhere, and in readiness for the fierce mercantile competition of Christmas, the shops everywhere sported a huge variety of illuminated decorations, turning the night into a sea of multicolored light. Several people stood holding billboards in their hand. Saying. 'The Apocalypse is near! Pray for Lord Beelzebub for absolution!' or 'The Shinigami made his appearance! Is it the end of the world? Gather brothers and sisters!'

Kuribayashi and Tomita had already realized the abnormality in the train stoppage, and as they realized the machinations at work, they scanned their surroundings with wary eyes.

Beelzebub wondered where his father secret services are. Of course, he was in an another world where he did not fully understand the customs. But to stopping so many times to reach point B? Something is not right. And when something is not right around him or any member of his family the Secret Services of the Sorcerer Kingdom will make an appearance sooner or later.

But strangely he did not detect any Hanzo, Eight Edged Assassin or other stealth units from his father agency. Either they did not make it here, or they were busy to deal something else. That meant something is not right. First time under their time here he started to worry. First the appearance of that strange structure, then his father sudden introduction for this world.

 _"_ _Father... just what are you planning this time?"_ he narrowed his eyes.

"What does the enemy gain by doing this?" Itami's questions made Komakado's eyes narrow into a line.

"They're probably trying to prove something. They might also be trying to probing our strength, which means this is a recon in force."

"They" had already tried isolating and following the microbus, on the hunch that there might be otherworldly visitors aboard.

"They" had even gone so far as to engineer an incident to force a train stoppage.

Although none of them had been put in danger so far, this string of incidents had everyone on their guard. Could it be that "they" just wanted to let Itami's side know and fear their power? In other words, this was a warning along the lines of "Mark my words; you will not escape the palm of my hand."

However, all their schemes had failed so far; the microbus surveillance was foiled by Komakado's plan, while they had evaded the train stoppage because of Rory and sheer luck.

Still... the fact remained that very few people knew that they had changed from the bus to the train, so Komakado was still trying to track down leaks even though his mind was whirling with confusion. Who on earth had revealed that information? Itami kept looking over his shoulder as a result.

"The enemy must be worried because they've got two strikes against them. One more and they're out, so there's a high chance they'll take direct action this time." Komakado suddenly turned to Beelzebub and looked at him suspiciously. "Something in my face?" Beelzebub scratched his face nervously.

Komakado shook his head. "No... nothing... Mister?"

"Beelzebub. Beelzebub Ooal Gown First Prince of the Sorcerous Kingdom." He introduced himself properly.

A sly smile moved on Komakado's face. "Oh! Then Prince..." he bowed his head respectfully. "We need to get you some sunglasses and a hat big enough to cover those horns." he pointed at Beelzebub headdress.

"Something wrong with them?" he squinted his eyes accusingly. "I am proud of my heritage... why should I hide them?"

Komakado placed his hands into the pocket of his gray raincoat. "Prince Beelzebub. Your 'unique' appearance made the people uneasy around you. Please don't take it as an insult." he looked with his sleepiest look to the Prince.

"Right..." Beelzebub looked around. "I have noticed."

Komakado nodded. "I am glad you see it in my way. You see. Our people are not accustomed to such things... I am sorry but can you tell me what race do you belong?"

"I am a hybrid. My father is an Overlord one of the highest ranked skeletal creatures and my mother is a succubus!" he puffed out his chest proudly.

Komakado leaned closer and inspected the Prince. Then nodded humming. "I see... so that's why are you look like a charmer..." chuckled the sly looking man.

Beelzebub said nothing. Komakado did not get away his gaze from the young heir. "Itami. Please get a sunglass and a hat what can cover our guest 'assets.'"

"Yeah... right..." Itami replied.

"That will be not necessary." he waved his hand before his face. His horns started to fade away, and his eyes changed. However, they remained golden colored. Everyone looked at him with wide eyes.

He shrugged. "What? Simple illusion magic..." Lelei watched him with wide eyes. She still tried to figure out how these new people magic works. True she got a fast course from Raidyn when they shared rooms, but for the small mage, it was far not enough to satisfy her curiosity. She often thought that maybe she asks Raidyn, Momon or even Prince Beelzebub to let her visit their world to learn more about their magic.

"When you say direct action, what do you mean?" Interjected Tomita disturbing Komakado's train of thoughts.

"Well, for example—"

Just as Komakado began to speak, Rory was attacked. A man who looked like some sort of punk tried to snatch away the wrapped-up halberd she was carrying.

"Grabbing an item and forcing a chase in order to lure people into a trap is a traditional method, but what the hell is that guy doing!" he pointed to the thief.

However, in the instant that the punk grabbed Rory's halberd, it squashed him to the ground and left him unable to move. Itami and the others knew what was inside, and they had knowing looks on their faces as they looked on the poor punk in pity. However, Komakado knew nothing, and all he could do was find it strange that a punk could be pinned under something a little girl was carrying so easily.

Komakado reached out to grab the canvas-wrapped package, and in that moment, a loud cracking sound came from his waist, like a tree branch being broken.

"Gwaaaaah!"

It was an acute lumbar muscle sprain… in other words, he threw out his back. Worse, he might have given himself a lumbar disc hernia. Intense pain coursed through his torso, and Komakado could not help but collapse to both knees, and then fall to the ground on all fours.

"It's so damn heavy, is it a barbell or something?!"

Komakado collapsed on the ground. People around them were flocking around to see what the excitement was all about, and the distant sirens of an ambulance carried over the commotion. At the same time, some people who had watched the National Diet telecast, and they whipped out their phones to take pictures of Rory, Tuka, Momon, Raidyn, and Lelei.

Of course, Raidyn could use her magic or Momon one of his healing potions to heal him. But why waste resources for such trivial things. The man will be better for a day or two. Not their problem. Aside from that. The application of magic of every possible situation may sound good and make life a lot easier. And that was the problem... Magic made life too easy. So, out of this reason, the two Supreme Beings tried to use it as less as possible and sought to solve their problems through simple methods what does not require the usage of magic. In this way, they made their lives more interesting and colorful as well not slacked as much as they did if they used magic for everything.

Back to the current scene. There was no way the enemy could act covertly with so many eyes on their intended targets.

And so, the third attack by the unseen enemy was foiled by the sacrifice of Komakado's body.

Raidyn raised the covered Halberd and flipped a few times in the air masterfully. "I don't understand... It is light as a feather." she threw it to Momon with a flinch of her wrist. "Catch Momon!" Momon caught it without even glancing to the direction of the flying weapon. He measured it. Raising and lowering the bandaged weapon in the air. "It is really light..."

Rory chuckled. "That means you are blessed by Emroy!" she wrapped them in a tight hug then looked up to them with a bright face. "Only the chosen of Emroy can raise his blessed Halberd!"

 _"_ _Or we have the magic resistance to invalidate the enchantment on the weapon or the skill to use the weapon or both..."_ rolled his illusionary eyes Momonga as he looked at the weapon.

 _"_ _I used [Appraise Magic Item] spell on it when we were the other side of the gate, and that weapon are only a level 55 legendary class weapon enchanted with a medium amount of data content... lame!"_ scoffed Raidyn. _"I expected at least artifact level weapon from a demigod... sigh... what a rip-off..."_

Suddenly Momonga looked in the direction of the nearby building. He felt something flaring up. A similar presence. A similar yet unknown. It was like a sun appeared suddenly amongst the forest of small candles. [Message]: "Did you felt that?" He asked his companion.

Esdeath nodded. [Message]: "Yeah... someone is following us... and I don't speak about the CIA or the lackeys of the other nations... this is something bigger..."

[Message]: "Keep your eyes open... we don't want any kind of unfortunate accident."

* * *

 **Scene Change: Carne the Capital of the Sorcerous Kingdom:**

It was since two months after the appearance of the strange edifice in the middle of Carne. The Capital of the Sorcerous Kingdom. Since then around the structure, a quite a sturdy magical and physical barrier emerged thanks to the tireless work of the Kingdom's workforces.

High-level vassals of Nazarick patrolled and stationed in the scene in the twenty-four hours of the day. A few of them using their abilities locking the space around the area to fend off every attempt of teleportation.

Of course, they had to rotate each other after a while due; the ability to lock dimensions for a long time was a costly ability. The vassals needed to change each other after a while out of mana exhaustion.

To minimize the security risk, only the selected few allowed in the area using teleportation methods and only after discussing it with the higher ups long before the transportation happened. So when the time of the teleportation came, the vassals can lower the dimension lock. And only with delayed teleportation or otherwise, the security measurements will come to life. This gave a small window to the person to teleport in the area.

You don't have to figure out. In such event, the alert level increased drastically in the area, and the officers mobilized every offensive, defensive and detector units to minimize the security risk.

The freshly built barrack near the structure gave home thousands of fresh soldiers. Various creatures and Gryphon Knights regularly patrolled in the air. Keeping in check the air traffic. In the underground. Spectral Wraith Guards patrolled constantly searching for possible grooves and traces of tunneling.

The area all around the air, ground, and underground became a restricted territory.

Only a few selected individuals and the Kingdom's military units could pass the border of the structure. Of course, the traffic was constant as the military units, the new adventurer groups, magical researchers, and the traders who dreamed to find their fortune on the other side passed the gate.

Of course, only those who had the clearance from the mayor of Carne or any other higher ups can cross the borders of the structure. But as in every system, the governing regime of the Sorcerous Kingdom has its loopholes. Despite the tireless work of Albedo and the vassals of Nazarick no system was perfect.

Bribes and corruption happened time to time. It cannot be helped it is the part of living in a community as the essential thing what accompanied the thing what the people called free will. As long as free will exist such thing as greed and ambition will exist. Of course, the corruption was a lot less than in the Empire or in Earth (mainly in the circles of the high nobility), but it runs much closer to the surface than in other countries.

Ten-meter-tall undead and other creatures stood constant guards around the structure holding their huge weapons. Such as weapons what emitted dreadful black fog and energy based bows and close ranged weapons. Amongst the freshly built trenches and magical wards, the units of the Sorcerous Kingdom patrolled constantly. A few magical researchers stationed not far from the structure taking measurements.

Not far from the structure the traders who managed to acquire goods from the other side offered their wares. Mostly exotic spices, food, and items what contained the magically recorded pictures and recording of the other side. Such items were quite popular in the circles of the nobility. Fortunately, there were such recording items for the lower class citizens as well who can't afford such expensive things. Of course, such items quality was lower.

Outside of the locked area, the life of the Kingdom's capital was the same as every day. The people thrived, and each of them went to their own way. Lived their lives. As it was the corresponding day of Sunday on Earth. The whole square was so crowded it was almost impossible to get through the crowd without accidentally stepping on one or two people's foot.

Such as in such day the nearby guard units' patrol were more frequent than in other days.

But the strangest thing was not this. No. The most bizarre people stood not far from the gate under layers and layers high tiered illusion and invisibility magic hidden from the naked eyes. A few white lab coat, mage robes, and hazmat suit-wearing figures stood near one of the pillars of the structure. Just outside of the magical ward what separated the edifice from the outside world. They were accompanied with their weird looking machines, consoles and other otherworldly looking equipment. On the left shoulder of their strange uniform, an odd badge can be seen.

It was the symbol of Achnologia... the secret magical research and development branch of the Sorcerous Kingdom's Research and Development department. Founded by Esdeath herself with the purpose of investigating anomalies and found the answer why they exist and how they can be reproduced and controlled.

Naturally, only the best of the best and among them only those who can be trustable are invited to the organization.

Only the selected few high ranked individuals knew the existence of the organization and even them are strictly forbidden to share any information about it.

The order to investigate the strange structure came approximately one and a half month ago from the higher ups. From the Supreme Beings themselves. After that, the researchers immediately set up their mobile research station to monitor the situation.

Under one and a half month the scientist and magical researchers could found out a few things, but most of the mysteries of the strange structure were shrouded with secrets. This is why they were called. To solve this riddle that was the external structure.

Among the white uniformed people, three stood out. A stern looking white-headed man in his thirties with a neatly trimmed mustache and beard. A grizzled old looking veteran with circles under his eyes.

And a blonde youngling around her eighteens.

The first mentioned was Fluder Paradyne the head of the Magical Research Branch of the kingdom and the principal of the prestigious Magical Academy of Carne. He was more than four hundred years old. Still. He looked like he was sin his thirties. This was due around two hundred years ago the Sorcerer King used his special ring [Wish Upon A Star] and gave him back his youth. And the fact he used a Forbidden Rituals to substantially reduce his aging process make him look younger than he is.

The second veteran looking grizzled man was Daidre Bareare the head of the Practical and Alchemical Research Branch of the Kingdom. He was more than one hundred years old. The third one was his great- grandchild. The great-granddaughter who shared her great-grandfather passion and talent towards science and other similar things.

Harumi Bareare. As said she was the youngest amongst the grandchild of Daidre and the one who resembled him talent and passion-wise the most. Being a half-elf, her long elf ears peeked out under her long silk-like blonde hair. Her brown eyes shined in the early rays of the sun.

Just now she stood near one of the strange machines that task was to survey the magical interference what the structure produced. "Fluder-dono. Grandpa. We got the new readings." she walked to the senior mage and her great-grandfather. The two of them nodded. "Very well..." Deidre nodded approvingly. "Combine option two with delta measurement method. Start to bombard the isolated area with gamma rays."

She bowed her head. "At once!"

Daidre turned back and glared to the structure. _"Just what are you..."_


	11. Just Relax! I take care of things!

**Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There**

 **by oblivon2991**

 **Proofread by: Not yet proofread. Read at your own risk!**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.**

 **I don't own the _Overlord_ (** **オーバーロード** ** _Ōbārōdo_** **?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **Please review it. I know I will make mistakes that I intend to correct and will try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

* * *

Because the bills had not been paid, the cell phone line had been cut.

So was the gas.

Phone calls kept coming in, demanding payment of the water bill. Things were getting worse.

Pension and health insurance payments? Yep, they were due.

However, without the computer everything would be over, so the power bill had to be paid, along with the Internet fiber charges. In exchange, there was no money to buy food.

Cereal and soya bean milk from the 99 yen store cost 208 yen for 2 meals (1 meal = 104 yen).

After that, the 99 yen store again once more yielded a bounty of vegetables and rice. This was dinner, which cost 208 yen.

Thank you, 99 yen store, our Japan is such a prosperous country.

Since yesterday, all three meals had been cereal and soya milk, a diet without any variation. However, this meant that the day's meals would only cost 312 yen, so no matter what, this discomfort had to be endured.

"I need to hang on until the winter doujin markets. Hang in there!" murmured the thin looking young woman.

The pen moved over the tablet. Ten more pages and it would be complete.

But more money would be needed to hold on until X-day. Debts had to be paid, bills had to be cleared, and the new year had to be celebrated. A warm meal would be nice.

"Although I can't do anything but endure this, for now, this'll kill me if this goes on. I only see cornflakes in my dreams now. 100 yen today is more useful than 10000 yen tomorrow. Why did I only realize this truth now~" murmured the brunette desperately.

The empty fridge had been unplugged for fear of running up the electricity bill further. All lights except the bare minimum had been switched off. Heating? What was that, could you eat it? Thicker clothes would have to do, coupled with the warmth from the computer's fan.

The LCD display of the computer's monitor was the only source of light in the house.

"Can someone lend me money~" She'd sent out the email, but all her friends from doujin circles were hardly better off than her. Everyone was rushing like mad to get their work done before the printer's deadline, and they were racking their brains on how to get money. As a result, all the replies she had received were cold rejections.

Her relationship with her parents was in a shambles, so turning to them for money was not an option. If this kept up, would she need to dumpster dive or sell her body?

As she thought about that, she looked at the reflection of herself in the window glass.

Her skin was rough and uncared for, while her hair was unkempt and dirty. Her glasses were as dirty as a milk bottle bottom, and she had panda eyes. Lit by the monitor, she looked like a walking corpse against the background of the dark room. Nobody would be interested in paying for her skinny limbs, her stringy muscles, and her flabby belly, even if she wanted to sell herself.

As she thought that, she sighed deeply.

"What kind of men would want to pay money to embrace a 29-year-old hag like this~."

An email from a friend appeared on her PC.

 _"_ _Didn't you divorce Youji? That was you being stupid. However, bad things might have been, at least you would have been guaranteed clothes, food and a place to stay."_

"Ah, it doesn't matter if I realize it now, I was just stupid back then. Argh, I fail as a human being~" she yelled out loud out of her frustration as she started to brush her uncared brown hair angrily.

She recalled how she had gotten married to her sempai in the first place. That had been because she had been annoyed by her parents nagging her to get married.

Her financial situation had been just as dire back then. She had been drawn to her sempai because his civil servant position guaranteed a steady income for him.

She had known him since middle school, so she was very clear that her sempai was a good-hearted man, and she understood her sempai's family situation.

It had happened on the Christmas when she was 25, on the spur of the moment.

She threw herself at him because she was hungry and wanted something to eat.

"Well, that's fine," he said, and then sempai brought her to a nearby restaurant and treated her to roasted chicken and other stuff.

At that time, she realized the power of having a stable income. The roasted chicken and onions she had then were indescribably delicious.

"Sempai, please feed me. In turn, I'll marry you."

And that was how she confessed to him while she was drunk. She knew her sempai was not the sort of person who would reject her, but he did not reply to her right away like she thought he would. He looked at her, and she had no idea what she was thinking, and after an uncomfortable silence, he replied, "Yes."

She thought sempai saw through her even then. Rather than being "married," she wanted to be "fed." Their married life could not have gone well from the beginning.

Even though sempai knew what she was thinking, he still gently said "Yes" to her. Because that was the kind of person, her sempai was.

In the end, she still wrote the e-mail for help to that caring sempai.

Normally speaking, asking that sort of thing of her ex-husband would be very strange. After all, her sempai did not leave her because he disliked her, but because he took marriage too lightly. It was not his fault in any way; She just wanted to return their relationship to how it was before they got married. What did sempai think of her when she asked him to put his chop on the divorce forms?

She just thought and thought and thought about whether or not to send that e-mail.

"I don't have water, food or gas!" she muttered.

The decision over whether or not to send that email had been like debating a nuclear launch.

"I'm a really selfish woman." she murmured as she looked down with an ashamed expression.

After that, she had not eaten anything. Her last meal had been yesterday, and she had grimly held on until now.

Her head was aching fit to burst, and her eyelids were heavy for want of sleep. Even so, she still tried to cheer herself up, clenching her fists and muttering, "Just one more page" in a small voice.

The time was 2335 in the lower right corner of the 27" TFT screen.

It was then that someone opened the house door.

It was a familiar sound, that of a key sliding into a keyhole

After that, the sound of the door being pushed open, accompanied by cold air from the outside.

"Risa, you are still awake. If you are up, why're the lights out? I thought you were asleep. You must be cold like this, why don't you turn on the heater?"

That familiar voice belonged to her sempai, Itami Youji.

"Ah, senpai!"

In the end, Risa still called him by that name, and after that, she muttered, "Food." As she wanted to embrace her senpai through a wild jump until...a few other individuals came into her field of vision.

To Risa, the scene before her was an earth-shaking revelation.

"Sem-sempai, you brought other women back?" she shuttered as she stepped one step back.

Coming to her house with women in tow and saying, "Sorry, but we need to spend the night here, God, I'm tired," before barging in was hardly something she thought Itami would do.

Seemingly oblivious to Risa's dumbfounded stares, he said, "Hey, come on in," and beckoned the ladies and the two man outside to enter.

On closer inspection, they were foreigners.

The thing was, these foreigners were exactly the type which excited her.

"Uwah! A black Gothic Lolita, an elf girl, a silver-haired girl, a white-haired dark elf, a redhead princess and a beautiful drill-hair ojou! Guts from Berserk!? And even a demon lord cosplay?! So cool! So bad I don't know which anime he is from!" she squalled out of her excitement. "There's even a big-boobed chibi, is there some kind of national cosplay event?"

[Message]: "Why do you have to make the illusion look like Guts!? You blow our cover!"

[Message]: "Well... excuse me! Captain Obvious! But your previous illusionary face what you used was a crap! I can't let you run around like that. Aside from that. Guts is just cool with his huge chunk of metal what he swung around!"

[Message]: "I hate you!"

[Message]: "I have the high ground."

[Message]: "You underestimate my power."

[Message]: "Don't do it Banakin!"

[Message]: "Hmm... Star Wars. I like that show." hummed Momonga as they finished their little mind battle.

[Message]: "Everyone like it. So bad after the fifth trilogy it became crap." Esdeath rolled her eyes.

[Message]: "Indeed." noted Momonga.

Risa thought that she had memorized the event schedules, but apart from the upcoming winter doujin market, there should not be any others. Itami looked guardedly out of the window in response to Risa's doubtful questions, and then he turned back to apologize and explain why they had barged into her house in the middle of the night and disturbed her.

Or at least, he planned to explain, but when he turned and saw Risa hugging Rory and going, "So cuuuuute~" nobody would have been able to resist facepalming themselves. Raidyn as usual just giggled and teased poor Rory what she answered with a hateful glare.

"Actually, the hotel we were about to stay in caught fire, so I need to take shelter here for a while."

"Caught fire?"

Risa began looking through the recent news on the net.

In the end, she found a headline about a fire in Ichigaya Park. The cause was apparently arson.

After that, the line fault on the Marunouchi line.

And then, the pictures from the National Diet meeting, which was the first time Risa had seen them. It was only when she saw their pictures on the news that she realized that the girls and the two imposing man were from another world.

"Hmm…"

With a click, it seemed that Rory Mercury's "Are you an idiot?" had already been turned into a banner. A following had already built up around the girl from another world who overturned the logic that long-lived people were old. The tweets on the media sites were reflecting messages of this nature.

And then there were the pictures of the two beautiful elves the silver-haired girl, and the man who almost exactly looked like the certain protagonist of a famous manga.

In every news channel and forums, the people spoke about the girls, Momon and the Demon Lord who numerous people saw passing by. As well the appearance of the Shinigami itself caused quite of a ruckus amongst the people of not only Japan but Worldwide. Many religious channels started to question if this was some kind of faking or the end is near.

Thanks or in this case not... to the advanced information network of the world. Shortly after the Diet. Every people from every little corner of the world knew about the appearance of the new arrivals.

Many artists after seeing Momon and Raidyn imposing armor and the true Momonga appearing seemingly from the nowhere. Got inspiration and already made them anime figures inspired by their armor what was looked like if they stepped out from some kind of MMO RPG as high-level characters. Momon, Raidyn, and Rory pose and drawing them as if they fight against monsters or Momonga sitting in his throne and deciding the fate of the souls of the deceased before him.

It was very interesting to see how the artist is reacting to the two adventurers and the Overlord of Death. The girls and the appearance of the Shinigami. Many YouTube channel already uploaded the through analyzation of the diet mediation giving them many new subscribers.

Momonga and Esdeath were surprised. The Diet was only today afternoon. Still, the people of the Earth managed to squeeze such amount of content out from themselves. It was truly astounding.

 _"_ _Was the black Goth Loli in the video the same Goth Loli in her room?"_ Wondered Risa.

She was dressed in a jet-black Gothic Lolita costume heavily decorated with ribbons. Her black hair was covered by a thin black veil, and then there was the mysterious piece of luggage she was holding on to that was taller than she was. And then, there was the fact that despite looking like a young girl, she spoke and acted like a mature woman. Someone else like her would be pretty hard to find.

Conclusion: they were the same.

Then, she compared the Elf in the pictures to the blonde-haired woman in her room now.

Her hair coursed down to her waist like a golden waterfall, and her ears, as long and slender as rice-stalks, traced a beautiful curve as they peeked out from between the strands of her hair. Her eyes were as blue as sapphires. She was still wearing the suit that she had on during the Diet question and answer session. Although she had changed her pants for a pair of figure-hugging jeans, the unique characteristics of her body were still easily spotted.

Conclusion: they were the same.

Once again, she looked at the silver-haired girl in the video, and then at the girl in her room.

Depending on the light, her bob cut hair could be seen as either white or silver. Her skin seemed paler than most dolls, and her body was slim and petite and clad in something that looked like a Native American poncho or robe, though it was the slimness of her neck that drew Risa's eye. Her prim and proper face seemed to bear a constant blank expression, yet it wasn't a dispassionate mask that repulsed people. There were clear signs that she was a living person there. If pushed, she would describe her as a girl who had a detached look on her face.

Conclusion: They were the same.

Then she looked to the tall, masculine figure. He wore the same black suit with the tie as the mediation. His perfectly tanned skin showed he spent countless hours under the radiating rays of the sun. His face what was like the real life replica of Guts from the Berserk Manga showed a stern expression as well his black hair and eyes what was so black it seemed they are sucking the life out from the room. It was once frightening and assuring from the brunet.

Conclusion: They were the same.

And of course lastly. The other elf. From her exotic dark caramel colored skin and from the numerous manga and games what Risa played when she was younger. She suspected... she is a dark elf. The subspecies of the normal elves. She wore her costume pants, shirt, and the red elegant long coat. The same what she wore in the diet. The coat quite resembled Dante's red long coat from the Devil May Cry series. Her silk like long white hair reached entirely to the middle of her back. Her almost illuminating heterochromatic jade green and sea blue eyes completely mesmerized Risa. On her face and intrigued expression settled as she looked around with an interested expression. Her ears were a little longer than her fellow blonde-haired elf but only with a few inches.

Conclusion: They were the same.

After taking a close look at the news headlines and reading the summaries of the Diet interviews, Risa suddenly clapped her hands as a great revelation dawned on her.

"So… these girls aren't cosplayers, but the real deal. Huhuhuhuhuhehehehehefufufufufufufu~"

As they watched this woman with murky glasses laugh by herself, Tuka decided to represent the entire room by asking, "Who, who is this?"

Just by looking at Risa, one could tell she had long since abandoned the look a woman should have, and after seeing the mountain of empty boxes and piled-up books, one would wonder how she had managed to live until now. And all the spare room in the house was filled with intricate dolls, which looked weird no matter how one viewed it.

Rory trembled and asked, "Is there a Hardy here too?" before taking shelter behind Momon's back. (To his own displeasure) She looked like she was on the verge of tears.

 _Who's this?_ Sensing that question coming from everyone, Itami decided to answer.

"This is my ex-wife." he announced.

"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" gasped everyone. Even Momonga. This revelation was so surprising to him. It even triggered his emotion suppression.

"The Lieutenant actually got married? I can't believe someone actually existed who would marry a man like this! But then again, now that I look at her, they're a perfect match for each other!" The big-boobed short stocked Kuribayashi seemed to be saying what everyone had on their mind.

After a long absence, Risa's house was filled with light again.

The air-conditioner woke from its long sleep and began producing warmth and warm air. After Itami had transferred her some emergency funds, Risa did not have to worry about her bills anymore, and could pamper herself a little.

Speaking of which, Itami had immediately curled up in a corner to sleep after finding a place to lay his head down. For the guests from the other side of the "Gate," camping outside during travel was only expected, while Piña, Bozes and even Beelzebub were experienced in the life of a traveling soldier, so they were not offended or disturbed by the arrangements. Besides, there were ample towels and blankets for everyone to use, and there was a roof to keep out the wind and the rain, so these conditions were not bad at all. In addition, the room was filled with all sorts of entertainment to ward off boredom.

Of course, Ainz or Esdeath could use one of the basic building items or their magic to construct a magical log house what was larger in inside than outside. Similarly, to the Tardis from the series Doctor Who. Or Ainz could summon a whole fortress with similar properties using his tenth level spell [Create Fortress]. But that would most likely make a huge hole on the cellar not speaking about taking away the air of campaign for the two Supreme Beings.

Not speaking they were in undercover. Moreover in vacation. They can't blow their cover using such methods.

Lelei swiftly claimed the spot next to where Itami was sleeping. For some reason, something seemed to be bothering her. Beside her was Tuka. Rory was also sleeping beside Itami but on the opposite side of Lelei. By the way, Bozes and Piña were sleeping with Tomita and Kuribayashi. Originally Rory wanted to sleep next to Momon, but Momon was still wide awake despite she asked him to lay beside her. He simply answered no. With a bland tone. After minutes of trying she gave up and fall over near Itami out of her exhaustion. Despite she was a demigod. She still had a body of a mortal.

"H~m. I roughly get the situation, but I don't want to be caught up in dangerous stuff~."

Risa was muttering to her monitor in between mouthfuls of the bento Itami had bought her from a local convenience store. At times, she would grab her stylus and tablet, apparently to make final changes to her doujin manuscript. It looked like she was going to pull an all-nighter. Someone watched work behind her back. With every motion of her hand followed by a heterochromatic eye pair. Risa felt a gentle breathing on her neck.

She turned around with a frightened expression and jumped up with surprise. "EEEEEI!"

"Sorry..." Deadpanned the Dark Elf with a mouthful of bento in her mouth.

"I-Its nothing..." gulped the artist.

"What are you doing?" inquired the dark elf swallowing the food in her mouth. Risa sighed in a tired tone. "Working..." then turned to the Dark Elf. "Are you interested in my work? I can show you a few of my drawings." Raidyn nodded timidly. Risa started to show up her work for her. Seeing this even Momon and Beelzebub gathered around her and watched the picture art of the woman. Beelzebub fondled his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm... I saw comics like this in father's archives."

Risa immediately turned her towards him. "Your father archives? Who is your father?"

"Did you saw the mediation?"

Risa remembered the news. Then shook her head. "No. But I read the news."

"Well..." a sly smile appeared on his face. "He is Ainz Ooal gown. The one with the black robes." he pointed at the picture what was opened on the tab of the browser.

Risa spat out the drink what was she drinking. "Whaaa!?" she pointed at the picture. "You say he is your father!?" for her loud outburst some of the sleeping people raised their heads. Then put back and continued their dreams.

Beelzebub nodded. "Yeah... he and aunt have a disturbingly a great many of these kinds of arts, They really love them."

Kuribayashi eyes almost popped out. "Don't say the Sorcerer King is an Otaku?!" a depressive aura started to surround her as she started to crouch one of the corners of the apartment. Then started to emit the aura of depression. Beelzebub looked at her with a confused expression. "What is an Otaku?"

[Message]: "Indeed we are Otaku's!" announced Momonga proudly.

[Message]: "Most likely the most powerful Otaku's in all existence!" Esdeath chuckled. "But how you are not yet introduced Beelzebub the Otaku culture?! Momonga! How dare you!"

Momonga bowed his head down out of his shame. [Message]: "How could I forgot such an important thing... I am a horrible father..."

[Message]: "Indeed you are! How could you forgot such important thing!?"

[Message]: "Sorry..." he said in a lethargic tone. Then raised his head. "By the way... what G.O.L.D.I.E. shared with you?" he turned back his friend.

[Message]: "Well, it seems our ancestors did not exist in this Earth. That means this is an alternate Earth where our human self most likely will never exist."

Momon nodded. [Message]: "I see... what else?" Esdeath started her long explanation through the mental link to her friend. She gave Momonga every inch of information what her creation shared with her. It was kinda boring in the end.

By rights, Itami and Tomita should be taking turns on watch. It was 0120 now, and Tomita was arranged to sleep at 0400. After Itami had closed his eyes, he drifted off to sleep soon enough.

"So, Miss Risa, you really were Lieutenant Itami's wife."

"His ex-wife, Now we're just friends."

Risa answered Tomita's question without looking at him, her eyes glued to her PC monitor. Raidyn still watched her work. Momon laid on the nearby blanket closing his illusionary eyes. But in truth under his illusionary eyelids, he watched the cellar of the small room and tried to ease his overstrained mind. _"Ahhh... it is so good relaxing a little bit after a while..."_ he opened his eyes and glanced around. _"The apartments in the 21st century is way bigger than I had back in 2138 and a lot more like a proper home instead of a sleeping cabin..."_ A smile curled on his face. _"I remember only rich people could allow themselves such comfort in the overpopulated Earth. it is so nostalgic... it made me remember my old life..."_

Beelzebub was sitting near the imperial princess and watched the television in a low volume not to accidentally wake up the others.

"But can you really go back to being friends after a divorce?" asked Tomita as he looked around.

"I don't know about the other people, but to me, it was better being his friend after we got divorced. I couldn't settle myself down just after I got married, and acting like a model housewife got really tiring after a while.

Tomita looked at the stacks of doujinshis piled throughout the room, as well as the sheer number of ball-joint dolls which filled every available space, nodding as he muttered, "Ah, yes, that's right" in a somewhat uncaring voice. He did not want to say something that might demean the other party, nor did he want to lie, and thus chose this neutral option.

Tomita picked up one of the books from the pile and flipped it open Raidyn jumped near him to look what he is inspecting in the exact moment. Their face instantly froze as the first picture came into their vision. Raidyn eyes started to twitch out of her sudden nausea, and an Excalibur expression settled on her face.

"Ahh, you probably shouldn't look through those, they might not be good for your eyes. Or did my warning come too late?"

As he put down the lovingly illustrated 18+ BL manga he had just picked up, Tomita's face looked like he had just stepped on a landmine. He followed that up by carefully closing the book, with all the seriousness of a man reburying a mine, and placing it back into the mountain of its fellows. "That was mildly disturbing..." muttered Raidyn as she turned away from the pile of manga with the face of a person who just saw a ghost.

It was 4 am on a winter morning, and the sunrise was a long way off.

The printer whined and cracked as it spat out the final copy of the manuscript, while the room's owner, finally free of the tension that had gripped her for so long, passed out in front of the PC monitor.

Itami gently covered Risa's sleeping body with a magical girl-print blanket, and looked outside, at the world beyond the window.

The lights in the apartment were out, in order to eliminate the possibility of being silhouetted by them, and thus more easily spotted by the enemy.

So far, there was no movement within the area he could see.

Just then, the newspaper delivery bike's 4-stroke engine began ringing through the streets below. A taxi deposited its drunken passenger at its doorstep, and a loud argument about meter fare began. It should be about time for people on the night shift to be heading to bed.

And so, the sounds of daily life returned to the city as the sun came up.

* * *

 **Scene Change in the Prime Minister's Residence**

"I'm sorry to disturb you during your rest, but Mr. Prime Minister—"

"What's the matter?"

The Prime Minister was dressed in pajamas, which rustled as he reached over to bring his telephone's handset to his ear.

"The guests from the Special Region have vanished."

"When did this happen?"

"Around 2300 last night. Ichigaya Park, where they were supposed to stay, caught fire."

The Prime Minister looked at the clock beside his bed. It was now 5 AM. _"What! The meeting between the UN and that king are only one and a half day away! If we can't find his son that will eventually lead a diplomatic incident!"_

The Prime Minister had enough problem even without this.

The main problem was that certain influential groups within the country actually welcomed the increased international scrutiny.

The ruling and opposition parties, various NGOs and countless religions had already expressed their desire to enter the world on the other side of the Gate. They also wanted the guaranteed rights to observe and act freely in the Special Region. The mass media also wanted unregulated access for their personnel, and even permission to freely speak and interview the relevant people who had been to the other side of the Gate, and so on.

All these demands had come about because of yesterday's Diet session. The words of the girl and the two adventurers who called themselves "demigods." Rory who claimed to be over 900 years old had shaken the world. Not speaking about those two adventurers and the Sorcerer King himself who seemingly appeared from the nowhere and answered every question without hesitation. Even the questions that made even the veteran political parties redden in embarrassment. His statements seemed ridiculous. Yet they can't deny what they saw with their naked eyes. That deity or whatever it is simply ripped a portal through the very fabric of time and space then disappeared after stating his wish.

Saying. _"I will go and explore your world. Prepare your leaders to a long conversation."_ It was an ultimatum. Not a request. The Prime Minister and every party know that.

It was worrisome enough knowing that man or whatever he is can appear anytime from nowhere. But to think about that he got news about newly formed groups whom started to worship the Shinigami. It was mildly disturbing.

The phones were ringing off the hook from magazines, media outlets, talent agencies and even strange religions requesting a meeting with them. Even the pope and the other leaders of the main religions of the Earth stated their wish to meet Ainz personally and participate in his meeting with the UN. One could not help but laugh at this farce.

And so, all these voices seeking full disclosure put a lot of pressure on the government.

The reality was that if the weight of public opinion was not carefully managed, once it was joined with the overseas voices which sought a sharing of power, a lot of previously inconceivable demands might become a reality. The international community was like a rowdy classroom, and the UN, in the role of the teacher, was ineffective at maintaining order. Unless the students wrote a suicide note filled with their hatred and suffering, the police would not intervene. And of course, there was no international police in the real world, so it was the same as saying that nobody would try to manage the situation. As a result, the children in the classroom could only make friends with strong colleagues, and ensure safety in numbers for themselves in this world.

The first nation they would need to deal with would be their ally America, followed by the EU, with whom they had good relations. It appeared that there would be a need to give them the benefits they wanted. In reality, they still did not know enough about the Special Region, not speaking about the Sorcerous Kingdom what according to the reports had enough military and technological powers to oppose the United Nations if the case wishes. Even so... maybe even invade them from the space. Unfortunately, they do not have enough information to deny or confirm this, and this made not only him but everyone else worried.

So even Japan itself would have problems trying to dominate and develop the land as was planned. Frankly speaking, all Japan needed was to control the important areas of the Special Region. The rest could be left to the EU and the US. But it was not as easy as it first said.

They had to consider a new party in this game too. The Sorcerous Kingdom. Any movement in the wrong area may cause a diplomatic accident. What may trigger a long and bloody war with the other side. What may also trigger the intervention of UN. In the worst case of scenario. The forces of UN will take complete control over Tokyo referring it to 'it is for the safety of the Japanese people and our own citizens.' Or even the destruction of the Gate using ballistic rockets to make impossible the invaders to invade Earth.

For now, the main problem was Russia.

Russia employed hardline diplomacy, with their natural resources as their bargaining chip, and their methods had set the EU and other Western nations against them. The EU's interest in the Special Region was largely fuelled by their desire to stop being at Russia's beck and call. Once the EU could get their hands on a stable supply of resources from the Special Region, they would no longer need to heed Russia's demands.

Of course, if this happened, Russia would be in trouble, which was why they were demanding that the United Nations administer the Special Region. To Russia, it would have been best if the Gate had never existed, and thus they were the ones who had to be watched most closely. They were a nation who could calmly sink a cruise liner or fishing boat, if the situation went out of control, they might even launch an SLBM(submarine launched ballistic missiles) to destroy the Gate and everything around it.

The thing about Russia was that they could not let the EU handle talks with them for fear of giving them a reason to take drastic measures, mainly because the Special Region would greatly reduce Russia's influence over the EU. As such, they would need to say that "we are taking this point into consideration, so please be at ease," while also implying to Russia that they would not escape unscathed if they tried to take action.

China, on the other hand, did not resent the existence of the Gate like Russia did. A lot of factors had led to that decision. China was a country which both imported and exported resources. It was a country which had the foolish goal of giving all 1.3 billion of its citizens a happy and prosperous life. It was a goal that had devastated its resources and its environment, and which would still require ten times the current amount of materials and energy to achieve. This was because controlling 1.3 billion people was an arduous task, even for a country like China. Perhaps it was a necessary step to unify the country, but after long years of biased education, the egos of the Chinese people were growing without limit. Chinese ways of thinking, their nationalist spirit, an excess of racial pride, the one child policy which ensured any children would be spoiled rotten, all these combined to create an excess of ambition which could not be satisfied by their current poverty.

Much like the stars of the American and Japanese shows they watched, they wanted to drive expensive cars and enjoy affluent lifestyles without wanting for anything. At least, they wanted to, but as members of the mighty Han race, they were forced to live more miserably than the Koreans or the Japanese. This created resentment in the 1.3 billion, and much of this resentment was directed at the inequalities within their nation. After all, they belonged to such a great country and were proud Han citizens, but they could not live comfortable lives.

This accumulated resentment demanded an outlet.

They had no cultural influences to rein in their greed, and their egos were fragile without any natural ability to protect them. They saw the ones who pointed out their true face as the enemy, and turned their excess of egotism into what they called "justice."

Dissatisfaction like this had to be vented.

A democracy like Japan could peacefully demand a change in government if they were unhappy with it. But a dictatorship could not be changed by any force short of violence, which was why people under dictatorships often revolted violently. This was the worst nightmare of China's leaders, especially since the seemingly impossible dissolution of the Soviet Union had occurred just recently. As a result, they desperately tried to soothe the people's anger and did their best to satisfy their unlimited desire for more. They constantly told the people, "The future under the Communist Party will be a bright one, the party promises a wealthy and wonderful future for all its people, all nations will revere China as their ancestor and bend their knee in respect."

Japan could not avoid making contact with a China like this. Therefore, rather than risk messing the situation up, peaceful coexistence was the most beneficial relationship for the two powers.

The bait they would use for this would be the Special Region.

Since China needed to obtain resources by any means necessary, they would take it by force, or if that were impossible, they would try to build an alliance with Japan or even the second civilization that the JSDF meet and beg them for a share of the prize. China was currently at a stage where they were both guarded against and envious of Japan and their exclusive domination of the Special Region, but in the future, they would try to get closer to Japan. In doing so, they would reveal the true aims of theirs.

In a sense, it was like crossing a log bridge.

"I need to lecture them about this."

He said that, but the fact was that in his position as the Prime Minister, there was no way he could pretend that he knew nothing about this. The guests from the Special Region were potentially their key to ending this war, and important factors in establishing good relations between the Special Region, Japan and the Sorcerous Kingdom after the war was concluded. More importantly, the five of them had made a big impact in public. If anything happened to them… just thinking about it made his head hurt and his scalp itch.

Therefore, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number.

After a long series of rings, someone finally answered.

"Kanou, sorry I got you up so early."

* * *

 **Scene Change: Somewhere in Japan: Warehouse** :

Somewhere in Japan. Under cover of the infinite night. A warehouse stood in the middle of the industrial area of Japan. This warehouse was not special or anything. The only thing what made it special was the fact. It was the place where the publishers stored their freshly released magazines, manga, games, anime and any other kind of media products.

And because of this. The security was not the highest. Only a few low paid security guard patrolled the area. Making sure everything is all right under their night shifts. Nothing ever happened. Most of the time the guards just sat in their makeshift container and watched their small television. Occasionally glancing in the monitors, standing up and walked through the warehouse lazily to comply their guard duties.

Outside of their knowledge. A butler uniformed figure and several other strange ninjas costumed spider-like humanoid creature appeared on that night. Searching for the merchandise of the building and occasionally taking a few copies, a few sample from every magazine, manga, games and other products.

The leader of the strange creatures looked like a typical young man. Black hair. Almost illuminating blue cybernetic eye. Handsome features. Typical butler uniform with a vest. And of course. His eyepatch what became his epithet over the years.

Currently, the young looking man fulfilled his master, his creator orders and collected samples from various cultural sources. He and his little group were effective. Only taking the necessary numbers of items. They progressed well. Until now they managed to avoid every attempt of detection under their invisibility field. Still, despite their inhuman speed, finesse, and intelligence. Even they needed time to collect the ingredients from the list what his master passed to him.

Of course, G.O.L.D.I.E. the Artificial Intelligence who he treated as his little sister gave them the location where they can collect these items. The points where they can collect these things was far away from each other and great in numbers. Even with the help of Shalltear who opened [Gate] to them in the various points of Earth. It took the time to search in a restricted area.

As he found the next item on the list, he raised it and checked if that item is the right item. On its cover, a man pursued a woman in lewd clothes. On its cover, the next title can be read in Japanese Kanji. 'Icha Icha Paradise.'

Being curious about the book content he opened it. Using his automaton brain and abilities, he finished it under a few seconds. He raised his brow. "Interesting... I need further examination..." he put away the book in his personal storage and continued his collecting work.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Japan: Tokyo: Shopping day:**

The veil of night was finally pulled aside, giving way to the day.

The TV was showing a couple of irresponsible commentators talking about everything and nothing. There was no meaning to their mindless prattle. In order not to wake up the sleeping people, Itami turned down the volume of the TV set. Besides that, he had to tread carefully so he wouldn't wake up the people sprawled all over the floor. With careful steps, he made his way to the kitchen of this small apartment, where he began making french toast with bread, milk, eggs and other ingredients from a nearby convenience store.

Itami could only make a few recipes, usually related to roasting or frying things, and when it came to seasoning his food, he was limited to simple methods like adding sauce or sprinkling salt. Complex seasonings were beyond him. If he absolutely had to flavor something, he liked to use bonito fish sauce bought from a supermarket.

Therefore, to put it nicely, sous-chef Itami's simple dishes brought out the natural flavor of the ingredients, and the only utensil he really needed for this dish was a frying pan.

If Itami had to make dinner, he would buy the cheapest Australian or American meat he could find, fry it lightly, season it with salt and pepper, and eat it without any further preparation. Most of the time, he ate frozen vegetables from a bag, but if he felt like enjoying some fresh vegetables, he would buy a head of cabbage and chop it up into large chunks. He would usually prepare four portions of rice at a time, then put the rest in the fridge and reheat it in the microwave as needed. In summary, Itami did not carefully prepare his food like a chef but instead chose to cook simply and eat without ceremony. Granted, it was not gourmet food, but neither was it inedible. Itami's attitude toward food was generally "good enough."

Amongst his thoughts, a figure stepped behind his back. His steps were so soft Itami can't even hear it. A strong hand took out the spoon from his hand. "You are doing it wrong." the distinct voice of Momon boomed behind his back.

"Ah! Momon-kun! You are awake!" Momon nodded as he started to season the food and tried to save what can be saved with the few ingredients under his hand. He was not a cook. Neither could he make such delicacies as Zero or Sous Chef back in Nazarick. Neither the food what he prepared gave any kind of buff. But under his long life. He learned how to cook properly. At least compared to an amateur kitchen juggler.

"I did not sleep. I just rested my eyes..." he explained.

Itami deadpanned. "Sure..." then looked as Momon preparing the food like a professional. "You never mentioned you could cook."

"Well... under the years you learn one or two things..." he explained. Of course as an undead being. Momonga can't taste the food. But under the years he managed to take up the skills to use ingredients out of instinct using Esdeath as his judge. Out of the simple reason, at least she honestly said to his face if the food what he prepared was shit or even could poison other people.

Itami watched him for a moment then asked. "What are you doing?"

"An everyday food of my home..." he explained.

"Are you even know the half of the ingredients what you are putting in the blow? What if you poison us?"

Momonga acted and sniffed one of the spice what he recovered from the cabinet. "They smell similar..." he answered simply.

"I hope you will not poison us..." Itami muttered, and sweat dropped as he imagined what will happen after tasting the food what the adventurer prepared.

A smile curled on the dark warrior's illusionary face. "Don't worry... it will be fine." Itami nodded, and after sorting out everyone's messily scattered luggage, the center of the room was clear enough to set up a folding table, upon which Itami placed the bowls and plates for everyone.

Raidyn was a little-strained reading manga all night, and now she needed to wash her face to regain her composure.

Tomita was snoring loudly, having finished an all-nighter, while Kuribayashi woke up to go to the bathroom and then went back to sleep. By the time the two of them came round, the breakfast Itami and Momon made had gone cold, but they did not seem to mind. Piña, Bozes, and Rory rose earlier than the others from the Special Region. Rory knelt in front of the window, basking in the sunlight as she prayed. Piña and Bozes, on the other hand, were startled by the TV at first, but because they could not understand the language of the news and other shows, they quickly lost interest and turned their attention to the mountain of doujinshi in the apartment.

Beelzebub laid on the ground and rested his eyes. Of course, he had a ring what made it unnecessary to rest or the consumption of the food and drinks. Still, it can't protect him from the mental exhaustion.

"Your, Your Highness! This is!"

"U~mu. I didn't expect this world to have art of this quality…"

"Your Highness, this is another world."

"That is true."

"..."

"..."

"If only I could understand the words here without the translator item..."

"Your Highness, allow me to come to this world to learn its language.'

"How cunning…"

"But once I learn the language and return, I will surely translate these works for Your Highness."

"You can keep the necklace if you like it, Piña." Beelzebub shot a lazy glance towards the redhead princess lazily.

Piña head perked up. "Really!?"

Beelzebub nodded. "Yep! Of course, consider it as a gift from my father..."

Piña grabbed the necklace and squeezed it out of her joy. "Thank you... Prince Beelzebub. I will treasure it more than anything!"

"..."

"Your highness! That's not fair! Lend me that artifact so I can read that art too!" Bozes reached towards the item.

"No way! As the third daughter of the Emperor! It is my privilege to wear such precious artifact!" Piña puffed her chest proudly as these words left her beautiful face.

The two noble reverted to simple rivaling girls in the debate who wear the necklace. Beelzebub smiled seeing this. This kinda made him remember his sisters and the times when he was a child and played with Creon.

 _"_ _Good times..."_ he wondered.

Bozes turned to Momon desperately. "Sir Momon! Please lend me your necklace!"

"..." Momon did not answer the girl plea.

"Uu, umu."

Itami had been looking for an opportunity to cut into their heated conversation.

"Well…" As he made the sound, Piña and Bozes immediately put down their manga and looked up with shocked expressions on their faces. Rory, having finished the morning prayers she took so seriously, turned to Itami with a curious look on her face.

"We made breakfast, do you want some?"

"All right, then we'll spend the day having fun."

After finishing breakfast, Itami spoke to the girls from the Special Region, who were watching the TV. Currently, a repeat of yesterday's interview at the Diet was airing.

"Well, although you said we would be having fun, we can't really let ourselves go, right?"

After the way they were followed yesterday and how their hotel caught fire, Kuribayashi reminded Itami that they could not be careless, given that there were enemies around.

However, Itami shook his head. "My motto is 'eat, sleep, play, and relax.' Life is everything that happens in between!"

 _"_ _But that's not the problem,"_ Tomita thought as he tilted his head. However, if the highest-ranked officer on the scene ordered them to "spend the day having fun," he could not say anything else as a Sergeant First Class, could he?

"In any case, if there's really an enemy gunning for us, even if we hide in here, we'll still be in danger. That being the case, we should go have fun in a place with lots of witnesses, right?"

Although Itami's reasoning was quite persuasive, there was the feeling that it was sacrificing something important. Naturally, Tomita and Kuribayashi were not workaholics, and as young people, they wanted to go shopping and travel. In the end, everyone accepted Itami's declaration with a shrug and a "Well, that's fine too."

The question now was not whether or not to go, but where to go.

"Good, good! If we want to buy stuff, we should go to Shibuya and Harajuku!"

The person raising their hand and shouting a suggestion was Risa.

Her desire to shop must have been some sort of predator's compensatory behavior — now that she had money after being poor for so long, her habits of scrimping and saving had inverted into a powerful desire to buy things that filled her mind.

"And why should we use your suggestion?"

"Ehhhhh~~~ aren't I one of your friends? Are you bullying me? Huh? Are you?"

"No, I'm not bullying you. If everyone approves, then we'll go with it."

"Woohoo!" The happy Risa aside, Kuribayashi also wanted to go shopping. As for Lelei and Tuka, they said "As long as there's clothes and underwear" after they were told about Harajuku and Shibuya. Rory, on the other hand, seemed completely uninterested until Risa muttered something about "Black Goth… you look good as you are, but there's a shop in Shimokitazawa which specializes in this sort of thing. Want to go?" After Kuribayashi had translated her words for Rory, her attitude made an 180-degree turn, and she was eager to go there too.

As for Momon he up kept his cool dark warrior persona and only nodded saying. "So be it ..." in his completely stern tone and expression. Of course, as the appointed bodyguard of Beelzebub, he will go wherever Beelzebub go.

But Raidyn was not so encaustic about the whole shopping thing. She hated shopping. It was the understanding of the millennia. She ordered her creation out of her desire to avoid going to shops. Especially going into a lingerie shop. But she said nothing just huffed out of displeasure, showing a flat face meanwhile murmured under her nose.

"I hate shopping... why do I have to go in those stupid places... why I had to endure this..." In truth... she rather goes back in that damned corrosive dimension to fight against that Khorne and Nurgle guy than go shopping.

Hearing her murmurs, Risa grabbed her hand. "It will be fun Raidyn-chan! You will see! We will buy so many cool clothes! All of them for the expense of Itami!" she pointed to her ex-husband. Itami only sighed in defeat knowing his dear ex-wife will hit the ass of his account. Raidyn could only sigh in defeat She knows very well. Never argue with a woman. You can't win.

As opposed to the three girls, who wanted to go shopping in Shibuya, Itami said, "As for me, I want to visit Akihabara and Nakano..." His intentions were pretty obvious from the names of those places.

"I'm fine with going anywhere, but Bozes says she wants to find out more about this world, so I was planning to take her to a library." Tomita was simply relaying Piña's and Bozes' opinions, but in truth, he must have been planning a library date of some sort. As the reason why he was here. Beelzebub accompanied the two nobles out of his mere curiosity and out of his mission to know more about this world.

The way things were, it looked like everybody's plans would not mesh up.

Itami looked quietly at Risa's face. His sixth sense told him, no, it screamed at him, " _you must not go with her, you absolutely cannot follow her_." As a man, going shopping with girls would only result in a terrible fate for him. If he did not have the resolution and the ability to lose himself in the experience, then it would be better not to go in the first place.

"In any case, we'll all do our own thing in the morning. After factoring in some additional buffer time, we'll meet at Shinjuku Station at two. It might be a bit late, but we'll have lunch there. In the evening, we'll go bathe in the hot springs, and at night, there'll be a dinner party!"

And so, Lelei and the others went shopping on the streets of another world.

But for now... Let's just jump forward in time and space a little bit.

Itami was moving alone, and after parting ways with Tomita, Piña, Momon, Beelzebub, and Bozes at the library, Rory, Raidyn, Tuka, and Lelei set out for Harajuku with Kuribayashi and Risa.

Although they had seen it several times, walking in such large crowds made them feel like being swallowed alive. Lelei stuck closely to Risa, Tuka to Raidyn and the first shop they entered was a clothes shop.

"Well, you didn't have to torture yourself by wearing this…"

After Risa said that, she stripped Lelei naked, removing her robes in an instant, and she had a look on her face like a sexual offender. It was a wicked smile that seemed to say "Uhehehehe, it's okay, right, it's okay right?" Risa brought out all sorts of clothes - kawaii-type, gyaru-type, natural-type and more for Lelei to wear, and it looked like Risa was dressing up a life-sized doll.

She put clothes on and took them off, took clothes off and put others on. Judging by Lelei's expression, the outfit that made her react the most was a simply designed blouse that reached down to her legs (or perhaps it was just a shortened dress), with a pair of pants that ended at her knees. The clothes were long enough to cover up the curves of her body which embarrassed her, but at the same time, her pants were made of a body-hugging material which exposed the lines of her thighs. It was a small gamble in this otherwise safe ensemble.

"Hm, but since we've come all this way…"

She picked out blue, yellow and pink clothes — colors so bright they could strike men blind — for Lelei to wear. Risa's aim was to select cute, yet practical clothes for Lelei to wear in Tokyo's winter. But Lelei's favorite color was white, so in the end, she only ended up picking white clothes. In the end, it was a girl clad in white from head to toe who appeared before Risa.

"This is white, that is white, doesn't everything blend together?!"

To counteract that, Risa suggested that she select clothing with extra decorations and embroidery.

In the end, her top was still white (although Risa pranked her by selecting an item with a particularly revealing back. It exposed her slender shoulders and radiated a coquettish charm). Her leggings were white as well, but Lelei ended up getting a pair edged with lace and ribbons.

In contrast to that, Tuka had been happily strolling through the aisles, for the sorrow of our dark skinned adventurer, she dragged her with herself after seeing her sitting alone in a corner and reading one of the Light Novels what she snatched away from Risa's home.

She helped herself and of course to the fellow elf whatever she liked it or not. Not caring about the bitter face what Raidyn showed all along surrounded by such amount of clothes. Tuka picked one clothes after another and gave it to Raidyn. Saying. 'It will look good on you!' The twitching eye of the adamantine ranked adventurer was indescribable. After each piece of cloth what the blonde piled up in her hand and the pile just grow and grow.

Although Tuka found her stretchy T-shirt and jeans were pretty good, she was worried that she would accidentally expose her belly button, and also that she would be losing out if she bought less stuff than Lelei. Not speaking about she needed to teach her fellow elf a few things about style and how to shop.

However, the clothes Tuka picked for herself and her new friend were all T-shirts and dresses which emphasized their good figure, suggesting that she must have been quite confident in her body. Although she was different from the brainless titty monster Kuribayashi, Tuka and Raidyn still had obvious curves and body lines. She picked the color which forest elves most preferred — grass green. Knowing little about the Dark Elf culture, she asked Raidyn what color clothes her people prefer. She usually answered question by a question or a sarcastic retort. Being an innocent girl of course, Tuka did not understand sarcasm. 'Take your pick this place is just depressing..." she said with a lethargic tone then slumped deeper into her depression. She even considered to leaving behind an Aether Clone to take care of the things in the scene then go exploring the world.

Tuka followed her advice and picked what she preferred. Under their way, of course, the two elves chatted. Mostly about their people and their people's culture, the life on the other side of the gate, other races and similar things. However strangely, Raidyn sought to avoid more girly themes.

Risa took a look at Tuka's waist and gave her a belt. She also considered how to protect her from the cold, and debated recommending a jacket for Tuka to wear over her other clothes.

After Tuka and Lelei finished trying on the clothes and stepped out of the changing room, Risa and Kuribayashi went "Ohhh!" at their new styles. Then looked to Raidyn who in that time immersed herself in the deepest pits of despair and emitted a wailing, depressive aura.

Risa, Kuribayashi and the other two girls, of course, can't let her like that. They grabbed her arms, stripped her clothes and tossed her into the changing cabin.

The blonde-haired, blue-eyed Tuka, the white-haired heterochromatic eyed Raidyn, and the silver-haired Lelei looked like a triplet of foreign models, and they were swiftly surrounded by the shop's customers, while the interior of the clothes shop had the atmosphere of a modeling runway. The staff realized that they had brought in a lot of customers, so they treated them pleasantly.

And so, Lelei calmly swept a flower-patterned camisole and other clothes into her basket. For Tuka, she had a deep-V side cut dress and other sexy items of clothing as well Raidyn who had the clothes what Tuka chose to her. All for her displeasure and lethargy.

The people who had watched the National Diet live telecast or the morning news could not help but wonder, "Are these the girls from the Special Region?" out loud as they saw Raidyn, Tuka, Rory, and Lelei. As they went to pay for their purchases, the shop gave the six of them special treatment and a discount, as thanks for bringing more customers in.

By the way, three of them paid for their own things.

Earlier, it was mentioned that Lelei was receiving a salary for working as a translator for the Japanese government, but Tuka was also employed in picking suitable places for logging and finding water sources (finding water sources was an important job), as well as playing the role of a consultant. Rory, on her part, had been hired as a religious consultant to avoid accidentally violating the Special Region's religious taboos. As a result, the three of them had a lot of Japanese yen which they could not spend in the Special Region.

The only exception of this was Raidyn who did not have any Yen. Just the Sorcerer Kingdom's currency. What consisted platinum, gold, silver, and copper. Their value in descending order. As expected the salesclerk looked at her with wide eyes as she asked 'how many is that in gold?' as she opened her leather purse stuffed with platinum, gold, bronze, copper, expensive looking jewelry and gemstones. (Good to know: Platinum usually used for high-value trade business between and inside of the countries of the New World.)

Kuribayashi pitying her and defying her suggestion to simply putting back the clothes in their places. She paid instead of her. To the distaste of the exotic beauty.

"Next up, underwear! Then the black Goth shop! And jewelry!"

Raidyn started to sink deeper in her despair. _"Noo! God! Why have you forgotten me! I don't know how much my weak heart can take! Why can't I just simply die? I swear if they try to force me any of that stuff again I will simply blow up this dirt ball they call Earth!"_

 _"Oww... but you look so good sister..."_ the chirping, charming voice of our favorite red leather wearing big mouthed mercenary voice boomed in her head.

 _"Oh god... why... I thought I get rid of you last time..."_ she rolled her eyes with a disgusted expression. "Just why are you back!?"

 _"Oh! It's just me! Deadpool! Your favorite partner in crime! We met so long time ago! I missed you so much! Cutie face!"_ The regenerative degenerate hugged her mental avatar. Pressing the plush unicorn to her tightly what he usually used... khm well... everyone knows what Deadpool used his plush unicorn who saw the film.

 _"Let go of me or I swear I blow you_ to _pieces!"_ the merc with a mouth hugged her more tightly. Reacting to this she blow him to pieces in her mind cape. _"Aww... that was just rude..."_ groaned Deadpool painfully as he started to regenerate from the pieces what remained after him. _"So, what's the program bro?"_ he posed like a gangster.

Esdeath groaned. She had enough today.

After hearing Risa's declaration, the six ladies continued to a shop specializing in underwear.

Elsewhere, Piña, Bozes, Beelzebub, and Momon were headed to the library, led by Tomita.

After seeing the sheer quantities of books within the library, the girls' eyes were as wide as dinner plates. They were deeply struck by this country's ability to make such a huge amount of books freely available to the public.

"Then, what kind of literature were you looking for?"

There was a nearly endless variety of research on this side of the Gate. However, because Bozes (Unlike Pina who used translator item) were not fluent in Japanese, she could not read the words here, so she should naturally prefer pictures or videos. At least, that was what Tomita thought, but the ladies two of them instantly replied in unison.

"Art!"

Beelzebub chuckled hearing the two-woman enthusiastic union. Then turned back to towards the rows and headed towards the history section. He is mostly interested in the military history of the Earth. However, Momonga as a real Otaku piled up a big stack of manga and light novel on his desk. Sat down and entertained himself reading it. Immediately after he sat down, he heard the desperate plea of his friend through their mental connection.

She pleaded him to save her from her fate what consisted buying lingerie products.

He only chuckled. Shook his head and continued reading his stuff. Ignoring her completely. Of course, he knew later she will make him regret this decision in her subtle ways. But it was the perfect prank. Too good to let it slip away.

The meeting time came, and standing at the meeting point, Itami looked at everyone else and sighed. That was because they were all carrying lots of stuff.

"Ara~ it's been a long time since I went shopping~," Risa said that but could a simple "Ara" encompass it? Just looking at the clothes, accessories, women's products and so on, Risa alone had pretty much finished spending all the money Itami had lent her, but she insisted, "No problem, there's still the money from the winter Comiket!"

Tuka was also carrying a bag that came from an outdoor product shop, as well as a compound bow wrapped up in the paper from a sports product shop. As expected of a Forest Elf, everything she bought was related to the outdoors. "This bow is awesome!" she enthusiastically proclaimed.

Predictably enough, Lelei had bought about a dozen sets of books. "Books are important," she quietly said.

Apart from that, she was gingerly carrying a box with a notebook computer. Itami was worried, not because she bought a computer, but he was wondering where she would get a power supply in the Special Region.

Rory had her massive halberd to carry around, so she bought correspondingly fewer things. She was carrying a paper bag stuffed with black frilled ribbons, earrings, assorted clothing and other accessories. She proudly declared "picking out these things was difficult."

However, Raidyn looked miserably. Her face is completely devoid of life, her eyes empty as the deepest void. Around her, the aura of desperation settled as she held her several bags of stuff. Mostly clothes what the others forced her. Aside from that. On a separate paper bag, she carried separate comics and manga as well a few light novels and of course a plastic Deadpool figure.

As the two groups meet. She fell forward like a sack of lifeless potato. "Never again... I rather fight again the Khorne than going back that cursed place again..." she murmured in half spleenful tone. "It was even worse than participating one of Shalltear's tea parties..." she groaned.

Momonga walked to and crouched closer to her. Poking her lifeless corpse a few times in the process "Hey...Are you alright? Are you even alive?"

She looked up with a lifeless expression. "I hate you so much... I saw things... horrible things... things what a man never should see...ever..." she mumbled. In this exact moment, she really wanted to break her last friend jaw with a strong punch. Momon leaned closer spotting the comic in the bag. "I hope there are a few things for me too... and what is that Deadpool statue in your bag?"

"The voices forced me to buy it..." she mumbled turning her face towards the asphalt.

"Voices?" asked Momonga.

"You are just jealous because the voices do not speak to you..." she mumbled.

Then turned to Momonga. She recovered under a moment and despite a moment ago she lifelessly lied on the ground. Now she was battle ready. She pointed at her friend accusingly. "No! You don't deserve anything from this sacred bag of mine... it's all mine!" she hugged the bag tightly to her breast. "My precious!" Momonga chuckled. "I see... then I had to stole from you when you sleep."

"Asshole!" she retorted vulgarly. The group around them just laughed in this small attic.

In contrast, Piña and Bozes, who had spent their time in the library in search of art, were very jealous of Rory and the others, who had gone shopping. Piña and Bozes could not bring any distinctive souvenirs home with them. Tomita said, "They seemed to be looking for something, but they did not find it. They seemed interested in Greek and Roman carvings, but it seemed like it was different from their expectations."

As for Momon and Beelzebub, they exactly found what they looked for. Beelzebub war history. Momonga otaku related stuff.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Sankai Resort:**

After the long, exhausting day, the band retreated the Sankai Resort. This resort was exclusively reserved for the officers of the JSDF. But due to the special occasions. The higher ups authorized Itami and the band to relieve their stress in the resort.

The resort was beautiful. With multiple pools both covered and uncovered, both cold and hot and of course multiple sauna and shower for both sex. Narrow tiled stone paths led through the rockery what led from the main building to the side buildings, the pools and the saunas offered relaxation to the parties.

The men and the female branch of the little group separated in two parties after their arrival and of course dropping down their packages in the rooms. Each sex got their own shower and hot pool. Each sex went towards their own changing room. However, Rory had an another idea and tried to snatch away Momon. He patted Rory head a few times. "No Rory... bad Rory."

"But Momon! Who will protect me from Hardy?" she pouted.

"I trust you can protect yourself from her..." he hissed her away like a cat as they continued their way to the changing room.

When they arrived in the chamber. Itami asked the two foreigners if they know what needed to do. He wanted to play a little prank with them in the case if they don't know what a shower is. However, for his own displeasure. The Sorcerous Kingdom has similar public hot pools as well Nazarick has multiple various kinds of hot, cold and every other kind of relaxation facility. So the two of them exactly knew what to do.

As Momon and Beelzebub undressed. Tomita and Itami looked in their direction with wide eyes. They knew Momon was muscular. But what they saw was a little too much. Muscle upon muscle and the number of scars what covered his body were without numbers.

Of course, Beelzebub as well did not have to shame himself. He was not as broad shouldered as Momon but as said he was muscular as well. Not too much but only the right amount to his body shape. But what caught the first Lieutenant and Tomita eyes was the two black feathered wings what sprouted from his waist. His messy long hair stood left and right. He would have looked like Goku if not the two protruding horns on his head and his demonic eyes.

"What are those?!" pointed Itami to the wings suddenly.

Beelzebub fluttered his black wings. "Those are my wings..." he deadpanned.

"Just when do you get them?! I did not saw them on our way here!"

"I can hide them. See?" the wings dematerialized to a black smoke and disappeared. "See? Easy."

Tomita and Itami looked at each other with wide eyes. After that, they headed towards the pools. Wanting know no more.

After they had settled they leaned towards the walls of the pools. "What a bliss..." mumbled Itami as the layers of tension started to melt from him. Then he looked to the others. Tomita and Momon shared their stern expression. Beelzebub closed his eyes and leaned against the walls. Massaging his nose temple occasionally washing his face.

Itami turned to Momon. "So...?"

"So?" asked Momon.

"You and Raidyn...? I mean you two are companions..."

"And?" asked Momon.

"I mean... you two are together who knows how long time, Come on man! Speak! Something surely happened I know!"

Momon chuckled. "You speak nonsense Itami-kun. We are only friends and squad mates."

Beelzebub raised his brow as he glanced at Momon. "The romantic novels say otherwise..."

"The wild imagination of the writers. I assure you Prince Beelzebub. They based on a fictional situation. "

"Really? Now then... you don't have to lie to us... we are fellow men! Come on!" pranked him Itami.

Momonga sighed. "As I said... it's only a fiction."

Itami giggled. "Of course... 'fiction'..." he said playfully among quotes.

Momon just shook his head and sighed in defeat.

After this Itami turned to Beelzebub. "Prince Beelzebub... If I may ask... your father really is a skeleton?"

Beelzebub shook his head. "No... he is an Overlord. Those who are unfamiliar with the two. Can easily mix the two. But no... he is an Overlord. The highest ranked amongst the skeletal type undead."

Itami nodded uneasily. "He had a really menacing aura around him..."

"Ah! So you meet him..." Beelzebub turned to Itami and smiled in a friendly manner. "I am not surprised. He has that effect on people. I wonder if he forgot to disable his [Despair Aura] like always." he said.

"De-[Despair Aura]?" Itami gasped and backed away. "W-What is the [Despair Aura] what you speak about?!"

"Oh... it is one of his ability. The first level can strike fear in anyone. The second causes panic. The third causing confusion anyone who is around him. The fourth causing instant incurable insanity. But the fifth..." he left a fat pause.

Itami gulped. "The fifth...?" he asked in a trembling tone. What can be worse than insanity?

Beelzebub expression turned a scary one. "Instant death anyone who is in his immediate area..." explained the young Prince with a face what was comparable to a dead person from a movie.

The cold ran through Tomita and Itami's spine hearing this and seeing the Prince's changing expression. They bowed their head in unison out of their sudden depression. "Please say no more..."

Then Tomita broke the momentary silence and turned to Momon. "Momon-san. You are an adventurer. Can you tell us about your adventures?"

Momon hummed and fondled his chin. "Hmm... let's see..."

Meanwhile in the women branch.

The girls already took their places in the bath and just started to release tension. They speak and speak. Mostly womanly things what Raidyn can't stand. So she simply laid back and tried to shut them out from her head. Instead, she submerged in hot water so only her nose can be seen. She started to bubble releasing her tension. After such long time, she can relax. Occasionally she glanced around and measured her fellow's assets. Thanks to her long years of practice when she bathed with the guardians and the training what she received from the Gallant Toad Sage. She mastered... no! Perfected the art of peeking. Now. No one was able to catch her peeking attempts. She was not a pervert... No... She was an SUPERPERVERT!

When she first saw Kuribayashi bazongas, she almost bleeds out due to the sudden pressure difference when every blood cell in her body traveled towards her head. Giving her body a paler coloration. Of course, Tuka, Bozes, and Pina were not bad either. Risa, Rory, and even Lelei were cute with their slender Loly like assets. In other words, every one of them was a jackpot in their own way. Under her long years, she learned how to appreciate small things. As the saying goes. 'Appreciate small things in life.'

Then she became aware of the life force which is watching them since they left the metro appeared near them. The creature who watched Esdeath and Momonga was like comparing a mountain to a simple rock if we want to compare a simple human life force to the thing what appeared near them.

[Message]: "Momonga-san! That life force appeared again!"

[Message]: "I am aware of it... I already sent a message to Shalltear and Zero to investigate the situation..."

[Message]: "Ok... I hope you said them to be subtle..."

[Message]: "Of course... what do you think what I am? A noob?"

[Message]: "Your illusions in the level of a noob..." retorted Esdeath.

[Message]: "And your magic is like Beelzebub's... horrible..." retorted Momonga.

"So Bozes... you had a crush on Tomita? Yes?" asked playfully Kuribayashi. The blonde knight completely reddened as she turned her head away. "K-Knights are forbidden..."

"Cut the crap Bozes! I want to hear it too!" Interjected the Imperial Princess.

"W-Well..." she started to play with her two index finger. Gently raising them above the water and in a circular motion moving them. "S-Sir Tomita definitely has positive qualities..."

Everyone looked to Lelei. "Itami is nice..." she said with her expressionless face. Then Tuka. The blonde hesitated for a moment. "I-I think both Itami and Raidyn is nice..." she said the last part extra quiet then squalled out of her embarrassment.

"What about you Princess!" the stocky brunette stood up and pointed to the Princess. "I-I don't know what are you speaking about..." the redhead turned her red face away. "I am a royalty... I have duties... As the third child of the Emperor... my fate most likely will be a political marriage anyway..." she bowed her head in disappointment.

"What do you want to form a man?" asked Rory with a stern tone from the Princess.

"Well..." she started to play with her fingers similarly than her fellow knight. "He had to be handsome, clever, a good chatting partner and of course he had to a person who's rank befitting to me..." she glanced away from the looks.

"What about Prince Beelzebub? He is a royalty. He is handsome. And after our chat, he seems pretty clever. He is the perfect candidate." explained Rory the Reaper.

"Well... I-I mean of course... It would be not against me if my father ordered me to marry him... of course only if he wants to..." she was thoroughly embarrassed spoke quieter and smoother after each word left her mouth.

Everyone looked to Raidyn who still played with her bubble game. "What?" she asked realizing everyone looking at her.

"What is your relationship with Momon?" asked Rory in a stern tone as she glared at her. Every look turned at her.

"We are friends..." she deadpanned meanwhile looked in Rory's crimson eyes. "Really? You know... we can share him. I think he can take both of us." said Rory playfully.

"He is all yours..." noted Raidyn as she turned back to the bubbles in the pool. "I am fine by myself. As always... "Tuka feeling her loneliness moved closer to her. "Can you tell me about your world magic?" asked Lelei with her usual flat tone.

Raidyn nodded. "Of course... but I am crap explaining stuff... maybe if you visit us once I can introduce you one of the best magic teacher and the Principal of one of the finest magic academy of the Kingdom."

Lelei nodded up keeping her stoic face. But inside of her little world, she squalled out of her joy.

"But I can certainly try to explain the thing..." She started to demonstrate few of her abilities. Abilities that casually not caused any permanent damage to the surroundings.

"So you said... you meet the God who passed through in the Diet." asked Rory casually after the little presentation has ended.

Risa gasped. "What!? You meet a G-God?!" she pointed at her. Raidyn scoffed. "Despite what people said... he is not a God. Neither he told anyone he is one. No. He always said he is not one. But stupid people remain stupid after all..." she rolled her eyes nervously.

"Whatever you say. I know how a genuine presence of God feels. And he is everything that a God has to be. Aside from that... you are to a demigod. Don't the deity you worship rebuke you for your lack of faith?"

She glanced away with a bored expression. "Yes... Whatever... say what you like Rory. Ainz-san still cheating in the game what we played until now I just could not catch him cheating... but I know... I feel he is cheating... filthy cheater... " she cursed under hear breath then continued.

"Second... the people call us that distasteful title whatever we like it or not... we never actually proclaimed us as ones. True...it is actually hard to kill us, and many people say we are immortal. But under the years with the help of Momon-kun, we pretty much killed countless creatures what supposed be immortal or even proclaimed by themselves or by others as Gods. I did not worship anything due to this reason."

The demigoddess glared at Raidyn.

"If you ask me Miracles are illusions caused by insufficient observation and understanding. They're just... glorious misunderstandings."

"That... was... pretty scientific from someone who is living in the world of magic." noted Kuribayashi.

Raidyn sighed. "Magic as well everything based on rules. Of course, not the rules of the physical world or the physical dimension or really what the ordinary people usually made physical contact. But super dimensional rules what often people can't even fathom, understand or even sense with their limited five senses. In truth... I am more an Esper than an actual mage. I know a few magic tricks. But I cannot be compared to magic casters like Fluder Paradyne or others when it comes to magical prowess. No..." she shook her head. "I am an Esper. I manipulate reality through putting new variables in the equality of existence. For this... I need to know and perfectly understand the rules around me and the rules of other dimensions to be able to manipulate these rules with great efficiency." explained Raidyn.

"You are an Esper!" gasped Risa. "I remember there was an anime about Espers... it followed almost the same rules."

"Then it has some truth behind it..." Mumbled Raidyn.

"So, how did the two of you meet?" asked Rory perplexing Raidyn. "Who with who?" asked back Raidyn. "You and Ainz-sama of course!"

She chuckled. "Yeah, funny story... shorty story short... two hundred years ago he gave an ultimatum to the Kingdom named Re-Estize to put down their weapon and convert to his vassals or he may be 'forced' to take actions. Of course, this happened after a few persons invaded his territory."

Pina and Bozes listened to her with open ears. They need every information, and this was the best opportunity collect information. "And then?"

"Well as you can suspect... one year passed, and the Kingdom of Re-Estize prepared its usual clash with the Baharuth Empire. The Baharuth Empire was the nearby country of the Kingdom. In that time, the Sorcerous Kingdom was not even founded. It was not even more than Ainz-san's personal territory. Not larger than a half square kilometer." she looked around and continued.

"Being the ally of the Baharuth Empire Ainz-san lent his help to them. In that time, Momon-san and I were already famous adamantine class adventurers with an established base of income. The armies of the two sides aligned in the Katze Plains. A land devoid of all life only inhabited only by naturally spawning undead. A short walk away from the Fortress City of E-Rantel." with a wave of her hand an illusionary map appeared floating above the steaming water.

"On the two sides of the battlefield, the sides aligned their rows. Sixty thousand highly trained knights equipped with the enchanted armors, items, and weapons what the Baharuth Empire can offer. Backed with the highly trained magic casters of the Empire and the few mercenary units. The two sides stood face to face. On the Kingdom's side, an army composed of two hundred and fifty thousand peasants of the kingdom peasants, supplemented by the magic casters of the Kingdom and the higher ranked workers and retired adventurers."

"Workers?" asked Kuribayashi.

"Ah.. yes... workers... An interesting bunch of people... Although most of the workers selected this job to just earn more money than normal adventurers, a few of them became workers to help people or to satisfy their own passion for dangerous explorations. This is through using illegal means such as without being strictly bound by the law of the Adventurer's Guild or a respective country.

On the other hand, workers do not receive information support from the Adventurer's Guild. Therefore, they must investigate the difficulty and expect something good in return for doing the quest by themselves. This makes the risk quite high, so much so that the career of a worker proves their strength and discernment." explained Raidyn

Everyone nodded. Then the white-haired elf continued.

"The forces of Kingdom, of course, lacked the training, the equipment and the experience of the Knights of the Empire. But they were enthusiastic. Of course, this was supposed to be only a yearly clash between the Empire and the Kingdom. After a few thousand losses they should retreat from the no man's land."

Pina nodded. It was sensible. Her Empire as well did similar small clashes with the nearby countries. Occasionally clashing with them just to measure their power. Give real life experience to their soldiers and if possible weaken the enemy nation resistance by forcing them to keep ready their troops and with this undermining their economy.

"Well... I personally was not present in the clash... but the few survivors who lived to tell the tale... told things... nightmarish things... almost all of them went insane after the battle. Most of them committed suicide immediately. Speaking about some kind of huge monsters and every time they heard a sheep meek they started to cry out of physical pain."

Pina gulped then asked. "Wha-what happened?"

"According to the tales. The Sorcerer King marched to the scene with his escort. Five hundred Death Knight sat on Five Hundred Souls Eaters and two hundred Nephalem Guards escorted him. If you want to measure power. Three Soul Eater made a completely deserted a Beastman city. Knowable... An average Beastman usually ten times stronger than a strong adult human."

It was sensible to the Imperial princess. Demi-human races are usually stronger than simple humans. So it was not surprising. Even the Saderan Empire struggled to keep them in bay time to time.

"Continuing... Previously the said Beastman city thriving with life and the center of trading. Home of several thousand souls." Pina and Bozes gulped.

"Under one week. The three creature made the city completely devoid of life. Nothing. Not a single living soul remained. Either laid on the ground of the deserted city as a lifeless corpse or fled before the creatures could reach them."

Pina saw before her eyes how her Empire would burn. If three of those dreadful horses that escorted the Prince can do that. What can a whole army do? And that was only the escort. She needs to convince her father at all price, or they are doomed. The young princess did not want to hear anymore, but she needed the information. So she forced herself to listen.

"Continuing the battle. The Kingdom forces charged towards the Empire Knights. But the Knights did not take a step. Not because they did not get an order. Although, that was a reason to. But according to a few tales, they were so frightened by the appearance and feeling the dreadful aura of Ainz. They trembled under their heavy armors." Rory rested her chin on her palm and listened to the story with broad ears.

"The Sorcerer King started to charge his magic. Blue magical runes danced around his body. Then... when the army was in half way... he released his magic... and boom... before the forces of the Kingdom even could clash swords with the creations of the Sorcerer King. One hundred thousand healthy, youthful soldiers collapsed to the ground devoid of life, emptied completely like a husk of their own self, the light of life immediately disappeared from their eyes as the black fog reached them before disappearing in a black vapor." Everyone except Rory gasped. She only smiled hearing this. She did not expect less from a god.

"It is not over yet..." Raidyn raised her finger. "From their sacrifice. An apple like black goo descended from the sky... it shattered... born five hellish sheep-like creature. Five creature is taller than the biggest giant. Sturdier than the sturdiest dragon. Strongest than the strongest warrior. Of course, seeing the creatures the forces of the Kingdom immediately started to retreat. But you know what happens when a frightened herd starts to run different directions all at once. They are trampling on each other. The tragedy already happened. The monsters have been released. And there was no undo button. Every attempt to hurt the five monsters was without reaction. The five monsters simply brushed of even the strongest weapons and trampled the wielder to a bloody goo."

Pina placed her hand before her mouth out of her horror. "Only fifteen thousand lived to tell the tale of the battle of Katze Plains. And almost all of them went insane in that day. Of course, according to the rumors. There were heavy causalities in the side of the Empire too. But that was due they trampled on each other out of their fear of the Sorcerer King turning his monstrous power against them after seeing his terrifying magic in work."

Rory giggled. "Truly fitting demonstration for a god." Then turned to Raidyn. "But you did not yet say how you meet him."

"I will be right back to it." she cleared her throat. "So.. after the quick victory. He marched in the closest city. What was the Fortress City E-Rantel. A lovely place if you ask me. Whatever..." she rolled her eyes. "So he marched in the city to claim his prize. Surrounded by his vassals and those horrific creatures that we all know. One little child threw a rock at him. And started to accuse him because he killed his father. For this, his bodyguard raised her weapon and wanted to cut down the grieving child. Fortunately, or unfortunately, we were in the scene with Momon-kun. "

"Is the child saved? Is Momon saved him?" asked Risa with an excited tone.

Esdeath sighed. "He stopped the blade. What made the guardian angry. In so much... she almost started an open battle in the middle of the city. The Sorcerer King stopped his guardian of course. He offered two choices to us..." she showed up her open middle and index finger.

"Two choices?" raised her brow Kuribayashi.

Raidyn nodded. "Yes... one. We can fight with his forces in the middle of the city. Completely outnumbered and overpowered by the creatures around us. That may be the thing what I would agree and participate such suicide mission. But that would compromise the security of the citizens and after our defeat. The Sorcerer King would execute the remaining citizens to make an example of them. Or..."

Bozes and Pina gulped. "Or?"

"The two of us became his vassal in exchange the citizens will live, and through us, they can relay their compliments and problems to their new King. As it turned out. It was the better decision. Not long after this. The people became accustomed the new ruler and the constantly patrolling forces of the Sorcerer King. The security was a lot better, the criminal activity almost completely disappeared and finally, the city and the surrounding area started to grow. We reported directly to him. One time he invited me to play a game with him. This is the story how I got a new chess partner."

For a moment everyone in the hot spring was in complete silence considering what Raidyn told them. Then Rory spoke up. "Raidyn! Can you tell us a story?"

"I already told you a story..." she rolled her eyes.

"An another one! Please!" she pleaded.

She sighed in an exhausted manner. "Fine... If you in exchange do the same." she shoots back. "I am sure under your more than nine hundred years you had your fair share of adventures."

Rory smirked. "You can bet on that!"

Raidyn pondered. "Well then... what story I can tell you one... " she waved her hand, and an illusion appeared above the pond. It started to project the story. A huge walking mobile fortress appeared with eight legs and the shape of a monstrous spider constructed from stone and metal. Around it, a whole country burned. Dead people on the streets wherever the mobile fortress appeared.

And with it. Raidyn started her story. "I will tell you about the mobile fortress what destroyed a country and its creator last days," she smirked. (I will only write down the creator last days. Sorry. -,- why you ask? because it is fun! So skip if don't want to hear the story and laugh a big.)

* * *

 **Side story: Skip if you don't want to have fun...**

 _-O month X day. The higher ups of the country gave me a tough problem, asking me to create a mobile weapon. Impossible. They wouldn't listen to my protests, and ignored my apologies and requests. I wanted to resign, but they wouldn't accept my resignation letter. I pretend to be retarded, streaking around in my underwear. But the female researchers simply asked me to take off my underwear too. This nation is going to be over."_

 _-O month X day. The deadline for the design is today. What should I do? I couldn't just submit a blank paper. Why did I started drinking out of desperation and spend all the funds away? As I was feeling frustrated staring at the blank design plans, a spider which I hated the most showed up on the paper. I shrilled and picked something up to smash it. The spider is now stained onto the design paper… The economy is bad, and high-quality paper like this is expensive, I won't have money to compensate for it. Screw it; I will just submit this._

… Ugh. The atmosphere was turning awkward as Raidyn continued.

 _-O month X day. That design was unexpectedly well-liked. I don't dare to say to them 'that was the goo that spurts out when I squashed a spider, why are you touching it.' And is it really fine for the project to carry on like this? What should I do? The only thing I did was kill a spider, and they made me the director. Yahoo!_

 _-O month X day. I didn't do anything, and the weapon was still taking shape. Am I not needed at all right? Whatever, just do what you want, I just want to live my life leisurely… When they came to ask me about the power source, I couldn't be bothered. I said from the start that it was impossible, if you want a power source then get that super rare legendary ore rumored to be able to burn for eternity, the Coronatite. I rebuked them. That felt great! Bring it to me if you can._

 _-O month X day. They really brought it to me. What should I do? They actually did it. They are even placing it in the power reactor, what should I do? What the hell should I do? I only said it because I thought it was impossible, and they actually did it. What if it doesn't move? What would happen to me? Death penalty? If it doesn't move, I will be sentenced to death? You have to move, please._

 _-O month X day. They said the activation test would be tomorrow, but to be honest, I didn't do anything. The only thing I did was squash a spider. This should be the last day I can sit on this chair so leisurely… I start feeling mad when I think about it. Forget it; I will just drink. This is my last supper so that I won't hold back! There wasn't anyone left in the machine today, so it won't matter how much I drink or how drunk I get. I will start drinking from the most expensive wine!_

 _-O month X day. When I woke up, I felt a strong tremor. What is happening? How much did I drink? I don't remember anything. No, I don't remember anything about yesterday at all. The only parts I remember was heading to the central zone and lecturing the Coronatite. No, wait. After that, I said I wanted to test its courage and flicked the lighted cigarette onto the ore…_

 _-O month X day. I finally realized what was happening; I am doomed. The mobile weapon is running amok right now. What should I do? They would definitely think it was my doing, so I am probably a wanted criminal right now. They wouldn't forgive me even if I cried and begged for their forgiveness… How irritating… They would probably destroy the mobile weapon, drag me out and execute me. Damn king and the officials, and that female researcher who smirked after taking off my underwear, they are all scum! It's fine for such a country to fall. Enough, I will just drink and sleep. Fortunately, the food and wine are plentiful, I will think about this after I wake up."_

 _Towards the end, the sound of someone clenching their fists tight and muscle tightening could be heard._

 _-O month X day. The nation has fallen. Oh no, it has fallen, it is really gone! The citizens and high officials had all fled. But I destroyed my home country. Oh no, this feels great! I am satisfied, I have no regrets. Alright, I have decided. I will live out the rest of my life on this machine; I can't alight or stop it anyway. The one who made this thing must be retarded… Wrong! The one in charge of creating this thing was me!_

* * *

After soaking in the hot springs and washing off several days of fatigue, Itami's group went on a wild drinking binge after a sumptuous dinner. Just as they felt they had done enough and should turn in, Kuribayashi and Risa went to get more alcohol and snacks. As the other people squinted at them and said, "Let's sleep" the two of them had already arrayed sake, beer, wine and whiskey bottles on the table, along with potato chips, fruits and other finger foods which filled the table. After that, Kuribayashi and Risa began drinking cheerfully, and Piña and Bozes eagerly joined in.

"I know this is wine, but what is sake?" they said, and they showed a lot of interest in the whiskey. Then, Tuka, Raidyn, and Rory took part as well. Lelei, who was reading the label, said "Drinking too much is bad for your health," but she ended up being dragged in and forced to drink beer as well.

Momon being an undead and unable to get intoxicated or enjoying the drink. He withholds himself and only drinks with two or three glass wine and whiskey. Beelzebub and Raidyn were wearing an item what made them immune poisons and toxins such as alcohol cannot be intoxicated with it.

But after Momon offered Beelzebub to turn off the item and enjoy the night. He did so as well Raidyn with the girls, and after a few drinks, the drinks came to Beelzebub's head., Despite his hybrid race. Strangely not deadly toxins such as alcohol can still affect him. He already felt himself tipsy a little bit.

As the room got rowdier and rowdier, Kuribayashi and Rory decided to raid the men's room. "Oi, you men, get your asses in here!" they said, as they literally dragged Itami, Beelzebub, Momon and Tomita into their room. Despite their small frame, they had an inhuman amount of strength to manage to drag the descendant of Ainz, Ainz himself and the two poor souls in their room.

"What the..."

The scene which greeted the four man was like some kind of Black Sabbath, or perhaps the word "orgy" might be a better way of describing it. Everyone was stinking drunk; their yukatas were barely hanging in place, displaying their underwear for all the world to see. When one thought about this, was it not very shameful? In the end, everyone was made to kneel on the ground, and they were lectured for close to an hour.

The only one who was somewhat sober was Raidyn who sat on one of the corners and tottered forward and back. Mumbling something about voices speaking in her head occasionally looking around with a frightened expression. "S-Stay... stay away!" she shouted.

As Tomita scolded Bozes about her state of undress, Bozes mumbled, "But, what's wrong with that?" The other girls muttered, "You're a pervert in denial." "You wanted to see it, didn't you?" "You should reflect on yourself before scolding others." "You wanted to do lewd things with her in the futon storage cabinet, right?" among other things. In the end, they chased Tomita into the corner of the room amidst a flurry of thrown pillows, where he had no choice but to stay quiet.

Pina shamelessly leaned closer to Beelzebub and started to charm him showing more and more cleavage in the process. The Prince, unfortunately, was sober enough to understand 'everything' what the redhead whispered to his ear. Due to his embarrassment and the lewd things what Pina said to him. Every inch of blood streamed directly in his face and lower parts of his body as he glared at the drunk princess who offered herself as a courtesan.

Rory clung on Momon's muscular arm all for his displeasure and whispered lewd things to him making his emotion suppression playing yo-yo with him. Whenever he thought it would end. Rory said an another thing what make him so embarrassed his emotion suppression activated again.

Itami, on the other hand, realized that it was better to shut up and decided to focus on the food and drinks, trying his best not to stare too openly at the lovely displays all around him. However—

"Oi! Itami! I've got something to tell you!"

With a _pomf_ , Kuribayashi plopped herself down in front of Itami. Given that she was wearing a barely-on yukata and she was sitting with her legs spread, he wondered if he should mention that her goods were on display before deciding to shut up.

"El-tee~ Itami~ Lieutenant Itami, I've got something to ask you… well, I need a favor~."

Being terribly drunk, she pounded his shoulders with her fists as she spoke. It must have hurt.

"Introduce me!"

"What?"

"I said, introduce me!"

"Introduce you to…"

"Introduce me to someone in Special Forces Group!"

"Uh, what?"

Itami knew her ambition, so surely Kuribayashi wanted his recommendation to get into SFGp, right? However, one had to be Ranger-trained to join, and for now, the Ranger course was not open to women, so he was prepared to tell her to give up on that dream. However, the words that fell from her mouth were far from what he had imagined.

"Introduce me so I can marry them!"

"Hey, hey, wait a minute! You're not so easy that you'd go with anyone, right?"

"'Course not. They have to be Special Forces, and they have to be single!"

"But the way you're talking about it, you aren't taking the guy's feelings into consideration, right? Although more than half of the guys are single…"

"Isn't that OK then? When you think about it, a normal woman can't handle the duties of being a proper wife to people who go on dangerous missions and spend almost every day outside. But I'm perfect for that! I've got a small body, and I'm a powerhouse. I'm pretty, and I'm lively, and I have a cheerful personality. I have a close combat badge, so they don't have to hold back in domestic squabbles. And I'm a battle-tested, combat proven veteran! And then there are these boobs! Even if they have to come back with wounded hearts from missions that nobody knows of and which they won't be praised for, my boobs will heal their bodies and minds!'

"You call them boobs, but those are just lumps of muscle." retorted Itami.

"Hell no! My girls are 40% muscle, 60% fat, and they're 92 cm across. They won't sag even if I lie down, they're firm and fill the hand, and they're as bouncy as rubber!"

A cat-like expression crept across Kuribayashi's face as she ranted, and she proudly thrust her pert pectorals forward. "How about them?" she shouted, as though she were about to fire her oppai missiles. Although Itami was transfixed for by them for a moment, he quickly recovered and looked up and to the right at the ceiling before muttering a reply.

"Well, er, the members' love lives are a pretty serious matter, I'll let the people on top know about it. Rather than marry a foreigner of dubious origin, marrying a local would cause fewer problems, and it would help out their prospects. I mean, you're earnest, pretty, curvy, and you've got the right way of thinking. If I can, I'll try and hook you up."

"Awesome!"

Kuribayashi shouted joyfully as she threw her hands up in a "banzai" pose.

"By the way... what about Raidyn..." he pointed at the tottering adventurer who mumbled in herself and speaks to the 'voices' in her head.

Kuribayashi hiccupped. "She is weakkk-hicupp~ she can't handle a proper drink..."

Suddenly, an intense pain shot through Itami's head.

With a _dong_ sound, a smell of metal spread bitterly through his nose, and his vision went dark. How strong had that punch been?

"Ah, I accidentally hit the el-tee."

As his consciousness faded, Itami thought he heard "Well, it's okay for him to sleep like this, right?" as he gave up his struggling and let his consciousness drift away.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Command Room Defense Ministry:**

After they had detected the unidentified armed men were nearing Sankai Resort, the silent battle began.

The Situation Room's central display showed the progress of the battle around Sankai Resort. Several analysts were huddled around the terminals facing the commander as they sorted through the information from spy satellites and disguised aerial drones while they muttered softly to themselves.

"Three heat sources, north-northeast, on the upland. Archer, they're on your 10 to 11."

"This is Archer, target sighted."

"Procedure 03. Got it?"

"Understood."

The Special Forces Group's history was short, and they were in the dark regarding how they should handle this low-intensity, unconventional operations. After trial and practice, followed by revisions and refinements, they settled on the Master-Servant system. In other words, they would pair a rear echelon operator (the Masters) with frontline combatants (the Servants).

Currently, there were seven of these pairs, codenamed Saber, Archer and so on. The naming scheme was influenced by the fervent preaching of a certain person.

"Lancer, shift to Point Three."

"This is Lancer, understood."

"Caster, Procedure 02. Rider is moving from your 3 to 4. Hold fire. What the!"

"Lancer! What happened! Your signal has been lost!" shouted one of the operator.

"Oh, my goodness..." shuttered Archer. "Nooo!" gunshots can be heard as the points what portrayed the Special Forces in the digital map started to blink rapidly then disappear one after an another. A scream can be heard through the communication channels.

Until now the battle turned to the Special Forces favor. But under a moment. They started to lost the signal of every special forces soldier rapidly.

The commander of the Self-Defense Forces shouted out of his sudden rage. "What the hell happened!? Where are my units!"

"Sir! We don't know... their signals completely disappeared."

Kanou turned to Ryuuzaki. "Ryuuzaki what the hell happened!? Where are my units."

"You ask me?" frowned the man. "I have no idea... if you ask me it is the fourth party. Up until now, we encountered only three parties."

Kanou turned back to the screen. He wondered. What should he do? The dots what represented his soldiers rapidly disappearing one by one. If this goes one, he will lose his every unit in the scene. Kanou clicked his tongue because he did not have enough information to come to a decision.

Then his phone started to ring. He inspected it and it, said the Prime Minister is personally calling him. "Yes." he nodded a few times. "I understand." he put down the mobile. "Blow full retreat. I repeat full retreat."

"But sir!" one of the officers said.

Kanou glared at the soldier. "I said full retreat soldier! That's an order." the officer nodded and relayed the orders to Archer with a sour expression.

"I hope nothing will happen them..."

* * *

 **Scene Change: Woods near Sankai Resort:**

Among the woods, the three special cover units headed towards the resort. A unit from the CIA from the side of the USA. A unit from the SOF (Special Operation Forces) from the Russian Federation and one unit from The Chinese Special Force the PLASOF (People's Liberation Army Special Operations Forces).

All three of their mission was to give their nation 'invitation' to the guests from the Special Region. Whatever they want it or not. Of course, the higher-ups ordered them to use as less violence as possible. But as it turned out it was not as easy as it should be. The Japs are better than they expected.

All three moved through the woods under cover of night without a flashlight or any other light source. Only using their Military Night Vision. All of them approached the resort from different directions. All three units were unaware of the presence of the other two. And all three of them suffered minimal causalities from the Japanese Self Defense Forces. No one amongst them expected they were this good and started to hunt them down one after another right after they took a step amongst the woods.

For their confusion after a few minutes of cat mice play the guns silenced one after an another. For the Russian and the Chinese special forces, this was strangely disturbing, and their commander ordered them to be more cautious. The Japs may be planning to trap them. But for the American special squad, it was all part of the plan.

For this exact occasion, the President used one of his trump cards and forced to revoke the JSDF protection around the resort. Slowly but steadily the three Special Squad forces will reach the resort through the woods.

Chuck, the leader of the American squad, could only smile smugly. He did not expect the mission will be so smooth.

Then... amongst the shadows a man... no... more like a teenager boy stepped out. He wore typical butler uniform and white gloves. Every American soldier pointed their gun at him. "Who is that? Speak, or we will shoot!" said Chuck in perfect Japanese.

Through their night visor, the special forces could clearly see the boy's face. It emitted his complete lack of interest and boredom towards his unit. Around his gloved fingers the thin rays of the moon what managed to penetrate the thick canopy of the woods. Reflected on something. The said thing was a thin shiny wire that thinly encompassed the boy's fingers. It was a ninja wire or in other name wire strings.

"I ask you again! Who are you?!" asked him again sternly Chuck. The boy did not answer. Chuck signed to his subordinate to approach the boy slowly and bound him. They will later question him. The man only takes one step. Reacting to this the boy moved slightly one of his fingers. Then... "Captain... I can't move..." Chuck and everyone else froze in the spot where they stood.

The teenage looking boy stepped out of the light. The moon lighted his face what showed his complete lack of interest. "Such lowly beings wandering in the woods of the Supreme Beings... unacceptable..."

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Well, that's for now...**

 **Phew! It was a rough ride.**

 **I hope the chapters did not disappointed you.**

 **I promise in the next chapter the UN will finally meet Ainz.**

 **Until then... Stay safe! Safe Winds! :)**


	12. Amaterasu

**Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There**

 **by oblivon2991**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.**

 **I don't own the _Overlord_ (** **オーバーロード** ** _Ōbārōdo_** **?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **Please review it. I know I will make mistakes that I intend to correct and will try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

* * *

When the United States of America heard that Japan had hidden the fact that they had invited guests from the Special Region to their country to form healthy relationships with them, they were unhappy, to say the least. More precisely, they were jealous.

Perhaps it might be easier to explain the situation this way: Imagine a Japanese boy meeting a cute girl, and then an American boy — who thinks of himself as the center of his world — also wants to meet the girl as well. However, the Japanese boy keeps the fact that he knew the girl a secret and responded by playing dumb even when directly asked. However, in matters like these, the first one to make a move was the winner. Even if the American boy could understand and praise the protagonist of Natsume Soseki's "Kokoro," he could not understand the feelings of guilt and frustration in his heart. It was only natural to the American boy — who believed that victory justified everything — that he should kidnap the beauty and take her back to his country. Even if the Japanese government protested, all he would need to do was a reply, "What guests are you talking about?" and the matter would be settled. After all, the Japanese government was also acting on this in secret, so they could not take too harsh a stance. After that, all they would need to do was build a strong relationship with the guests, and then they could do as they pleased. For example, if Japan wanted to establish ties with the countries on the other side of the "Gate," they would have to get through the US first as an intermediary and beg them for the right of passage. Because of this, even without sufficient intelligence, the CIA brass ordered their Far East Branch to begin the events which led to this farce, and this way of thought was not exclusive to the Americans.

The thing that made it a comedy was that it was not just the Americans who thought they were the center of the world. Other people had also decided to take action the same way they had.

And so, all the men who planned to snatch the "guests" from their beds. Originally the plan was to sneak into the house where the sleeping beauties sleep. Incapacitating them snatching them away from the castle. Snatching them away from the nose of the dragon that was Japan.

At least this was the plan. And it worked. The president of the USA even managed to force the Japanese Prime Minister. Motoi Shinzō to recall the nearby JSDF forces and let them a free pass. Of course, the Russian and the Chinese Black OPS unit found quite strange the suddenly ceasing fire and suspected this some kind of trap. But in the end. They rather used this newly opened opportunity and advanced towards their objective.

Until... they meet the strangest creatures that they ever saw in their life. Indeed... as the members of the special ops of their respective country. They get used to seeing strange people in even more unusual places. But when they found a teen boy with cladding of butler uniform and the most outlandish, unfriendliest facial expression in the middle of the woods. They were rather surprised.

And when they thought no more surprise could happen on this strange night. The boy clearly urged them to throw away their weapons and come willingly with him, or there will be consequences. The further surprise was the Chines and the Russian forces that he perfectly spoke both the Chinese and Russian language. Like he was a native in the said countries.

Then an even bigger surprise came. When they wanted to confiscate and incapacitate the boy to take him away to further interrogation. The forces of the posting nations froze. Simply cannot move anymore.

This is where we left the last chapter. Let's continue...

Zero Rei... leader of the Sorcerous Kingdom secret services and worshipper of the forty-one. Moreover, faithful servant of his creator who did not leave him in the hour of need.

The night was dark. And he almost finished with the gathering of the items that his creator entrusted him.

He checked every piece. Every little detail personally. Not to accidentally he may present a wrong item for the Supreme Beings. That would be unacceptable treachery towards the beings that surpassed the gods and ruled over them. Unforgivable treachery towards the creators...

He still has a few items in the list. Still, he is here tonight. Here because the shadow demons that he ordered to watch over the young master and the two last Supreme Beings reported him the fact... Those lowly humanoids are trying to disturb his master's relaxation and personal information gathering.

The relaxation that the beings who surpassed the gods earned a long time ago. Even then... even under their relaxation. They work for the kingdom. To preserve their comrades legacy.

Zero was proud. He was proud to be the servant such compassionate beings. And these cockroaches... no! Cockroaches at least have some role in nature. No. These people more like mongrels or even parasites. Entirely disgusting and worthless in the automaton NPC eyes. These beings disturbed his masters' relaxation.

The only thing that kept him back from their obliteration was the fact. His master strictly forbids him to harm them without good reason. In typical case. Their mere existence would be good enough reason for their obliteration. But in the current case. That also was forbidden by his creator. Saying. 'We don't want diplomatic accidents here… leave out the lethal methods as much as possible and be subtle.'

In cases. He would oblige. But now… that these flies threat the Supreme Beings and the heir to the throne with their mere presence. He was furious at least. Of course, he could have simply sent a few lower ranked vassals to take these beings out who he could hardly call people.

But that would question his trustworthiness in the eyes of his master. So, that option was out of the question. Not as he did not trust the vassals of the Sorcerer King and the skills of his own subordinates. No. Many of them trained by himself. He knows their capabilities. He just can't entrust them such important and critical task as taking care of these flies.

He already took care of that ridiculous defensive force that these people… called Japanese stationed here and took them into custody.

Compared they were simple humans without the guidance of the Supreme Beings. Their skills and tactic were remarkable. Zero must admit that and approve their struggle. He just can't entrust the protection of the highest beings with such lowly creatures. If they can't even detect a mere shadow demon. How would they want to protect the heir of the Sorcerous Kingdom? Not speaking about the princess of the foreign empire!

As the assassin job classed automaton NPC blinked through the night. He neutralized the nearby guard units one by one. Two Eight Edged Assassin and Two Hanzo unit followed him close behind. Making sure no surprise catching him unguarded.

Further units monitored the perimeters of the forest. One by one. He neutralized the oppositions. First the forces of the JSDF. After all, he doesn't want them to disrupt his operations.

The next target was the force with the members of full white skinned people. Using the item that his master entrusted him he browsed through their memories with a fast pace after they were out of the cold. And it turned out they came from a country named China.

The second enemy unit that he took out was the Russian black ops unit. In both cases, the enemy confused him with a teen who lost in the forest. First, both teams yelled and tried to incapacitate him. That failed miserably. He really doesn't want to say it out loud. But sometimes his appearance make his enemies confuse him with a simple, innocent 17 years old boy. Of course, he knows his creator created his appearance this way to his targets underestimate him and make his spy work easier. Still, sometimes he really wished his creator would be made him more intimidating with a few scars.

After one such thought, of course, Zero cursed himself even thinking about belittling his creator hard work that she dedicated to his creation.

In both cases, of course, he offered those mongrels a peaceful solution in the form of their unconditional surrender. But as he expected in both cases the enemy would rather choose the harder option. And he had enough. He gave these flies enough chance. He apparently felt the third group will not be different.

Still, he wanted to give them a chance to a peaceful solution. He positioned himself. Tidied his necktie and his uniform. After all, being a gentleman, he just could not show up with dirty clothes.

After a quick fit, he disabled his physical concealment and revealed himself to the American unit.

He wanted to speak first. But those primitives preceded him. "Who is that? Talk, or we will shoot!" shouted the man with a black cap on his head. Then... he had enough… even after revealing himself. These people could only shout. He has enough. Preparing the ninja wires made from material sturdier and stronger tensile. Stronger than spider man web. Under a moment he enmeshed the soldiers before him.

Those poor fools did not even realize it as hundreds of capillary wires encircled their every body part. It would be so easy. He would only need to move one of his fingers and these people all collapse before him in pieces as the sharp wires cut through their soft flesh and bony. It would be so easy...

"I ask you again… who you are?" asked the man who seemed to be their leader.

He did not answer. It was too late for these mongrels. They already decided their own fate. He had enough. Beings so disrespectful towards him and towards the Supreme Beings! Unacceptable!

As one of them started to head towards him. Slowly, he slightly moved one of his fingers. Not much. Just to tighten the strings around the group before him. "Captain… I can't move…" all man realized what happened. And none of them could move in an inch.

"Such lowly beings wandering in the woods of the Supreme Beings… unacceptable!"

"W-What… what happened?" shuttered the captain of the unit.

Zero glanced at him lazily. "Let me introduce myself…" he bowed slightly. "I am Zero Rei. The leader of the Sorcerous Kingdom secret services." multiple strange looking creatures stepped out from the shadows behind him.

For the humans. They looked quite menacing. Almost inhuman. The creatures wore some kind of ninja disguise. But instead of two. They had multiple limbs attached to their body.

All of them bowed in unison. "Zero-sama. We finished with the reconnaissance of the area. Aside from the high-level energy source. We did not find any more opposition."

Zero nodded. Then turned back to the little group before him. Moving his fingers slightly. The strings strained around his hand. Like a puppet master his puppets. He moved the small group in neat rows.

He started to stroll towards them. His expressionless almost dead face made the small group shiver under their skin. "Well then…" he quoted. "Why are you here?" he asked.

Each member of the American group kept their mouth shut. They were highly trained agents after all. Zero bowed his head. "We can do this the easy way… or the hard way…" the young looking man offered the two options to the men before him.

No one answered. Zero nodded acceptingly. "Very well… then be the hard way…"

Zero took out a strange pocket watch from his breast pocket. His cold, merciless behavior started to freak out the CIA agents as he kept up his pace. Chuck, the captain of the current forces, had to decide. His country most likely will deny their involvement in the case.

Numerous options ran through his mind as he searched the way out.

"We already captured the agents of the SOF ( Special Operation Forces) from the Russian Federation and the representatives of the PLASOF (People's Liberation Army Special Operation Forces) from the People's Republic of China. They as well was not very cooperative."

Chuck and his agents gasped. "Wa-Wait! You said agents from Russia and China!?" The captain of the CIA forces was surprised at least. He and his superiors thought about the possibility they may stumble agents of other countries. But they would never imagine that two players actually send their forces to retrieve the guests.

Zero just nodded. "Yes… and they were not cooperative at least… until we forced out the information from their head… in our most delicate way…" saying this makes the CIA agents start to sweat and the chill ran down on their spines. "After that… they chirped like the song bird. Of course, without the sound dampening enchantments. Their screams could be heard from miles. But thanks to the research branch… nowadays… we have many smart devices that can solve this little problem…"

Zero continued his way. Using his most cold expression. "Wa-wait!" Chuck panicked. "I am sure we can negotiate! You see! We are just here to give an invitation to your Prince! Nothing else!"

Zero stopping tilted his head. "Negotiate?" he blinked. "I am afraid… it is too late for that now… you know… my master is quite patient with your miserable kind…" Zero was silent for a moment. Then looked back at the man before him. "But that could not be said for me. If it were on me, I would either give you Neuronist and Clementine or myself conduct your long and painful interrogation."

Chuck gulped. Then give Zero a piece of his mind. He had to try his idea. If not… they surely die here. "Forgive me… but it does not cause an international incident if your kingdom sends agents into a foreign soil? Our country is undoubtedly searching for us if we go missing." the automaton NPC squinted his eyes. Knowing what Chuck is speaking about. Seeing his reaction, Chuck smiled.

"I am right. Aren't I? But if you let us go and give our President invitation to your leaders. We might forget this little incident."

Zero glared at the man. Then shivered uneasily. He could barely hold back his hand to obliterate the man before himself. However. Because of his race nature. On his face, just a slight frown can be seen. "You really an idiot…?" he spat.

"What?!" Chuck's eyes widened. His men tried to move their heads, but it seemed it was an impossible task in the current situation.

"I don't even know why my masters care about your pathetic civilization. I just can't understand. Why don't they just trample over you and the other side like a pathetic grub… but it is only natural. They are way above us. Even we… their servants could not fathom their wisdom."

"Wha-What do you mean?" shuttered Chuck.

"Do you think we are stupid? Do you believe that we did not do our homework and prepared before coming to your pathetic realm? Do you really believe that we did not review every law… every custom that you have?"

If Chuck could tremble from the tight strings around his body. He would most likely shake like jelly. He and his men will surely collapse if the strings do not keep them in a straight line from the suddenly appeared killing intent.

Zero nodded and the pressure lessened. "Yes… we know… if an agent operating in the foreign soul without the knowledge of the said country. The said state denies the mere existence the undercover agent. In other cases, the mere agent existence is erased from the records. In other words…" seemingly one of Zero's fingers twitched for a moment. Immediately after that, the CIA agents felt the pressure increasing around them as the wires cut into their soft flesh.

"You are not existing… you are nothing but an erased footnote somewhere deep in you agency archives."

Chuck's knees trembled. Then gulped deeply. "Spare us!" he yelled. "Please spare us!" he and his men as well started to panic as an another creature appeared near Zero seemingly from the nowhere.

"Zero-sama… Shalltear-sama and Mare-sama finished with the hunting. They managed to locate and restrain the said person."

Zero nodded. "Very well…"

"What do we do with them? Zero-sama?"

Zero glanced back coldly at his opponents. "We keep them as hostages in the time being… they will be the perfect bargain chip for Ainz-sama for the negotiations with this dirtball leaders."

The creature bowed gently.

"Very well… at once!"

Meanwhile with Ainz and Esdeath.

It was two hours past midnight, and most of the people are either slept the dreams of the righteous or was on the verge to collapse from the many liters of booze and crackly crackers that they consumed in the party.

Seemingly only two person was wide awake in the middle of the night. Staring at the stars. Wondering… is this reality? Or it is just fantasy? They did not know…. The two players could do only one thing. Admire the painting above their head. Breathing… absorbing every bit from their surrounding… even if one of them actually does not have lungs.

The woman from the two sighed heavily. "It is soo good relaxing a little bit after a while… hic..."

The muscular man nodded. "Indeed… we really deserved it. Thinking back to it… it will be hard to go back and to continue life as before."

"Well… it will be indeed hard!" Laughed the white haired, dark elf with a drunken look as she raised a big glass of whiskey and started to drink. "After all this booze and food I don't know how I will be going back and live as before."

Momonga looked at his companion. "I thought you could not get drunk…"

Esdeath sighed heavily. "I disabled my passive poison and toxin resistances for this night. And now…" she shoots Momonga a tempting drunken smile. Momonga rarely saw his companion's face this red as she was now. She turned to Momonga and gave him a toothy grin. "I am completely drunk! Hehehe!" she laughed in her drunken stupor.

Momonga sighed seeing his companion behavior. "Even after all this time… you did not change… how that is?" he inquired.

Esdeath drank a big ship from the whiskey in her hand. The released a satisfied groan. "This stuff is good! We should send a [Message] to Zero to bring a few hectoliter from this drink back to Nazarick."

Momonga really doesn't want to spoil his friend drunken happiness. But if she gets too drunk. She may do something irreversible. She already drunk ten bottles of alcoholic drink. He did not know where she found it. But he saw clearly as she pours into herself bottle after bottle. And he was sure by that time she already disabled her passive nullification.

If she continues like this. She may lose her head. Like last time when she almost destroyed a city when she gets pissed and lost her mind, and a drunken guest grabbed her bottom. After all, they will meet the leaders of the world tomorrow. She needs to be sober. But thinking about it. There is nothing that a little Potion of Intoxication or healing magic can't solve. So, it will be fine...

Now, Momonga gives thanks to his body undead nature. Without it, he would most likely drink himself under the table. His former self... Satoru Suzuki was not a big party face. But when the leadership ordered their worker's mandatory team building or there was a company party with mandatory participation. He did not look down on drinking a few glasses of drink. Just to get away from the crowd.

The drink was almost always synthesized and tasted disastrous back in his old world. But it helped survive the harder days and those annoying public gatherings. Being his old human self-was a simple salaryman that was at the mercy of the leadership of the company. He had to bow down his head and accept their thrashing. Meanwhile kept his mouth shut and somehow survive his daily life.

After all. The shit flows downhill. In the highest level. The senior leadership got the thrashing from their children/wife/husband. Being frustrated because of this. They yelled at the people underneath them. Then those people yelled because of their superiors frustration. They projected their frustration at them. Then those people yelled with his superior. Then his boss yelled at him. Being a mere salaryman who did not really have anyone underneath him. And in nature is not that kind of person who projects his frustration to others. He just remained in silence and gulped down the offenses that left his boss mind through his mouth.

Using the DMMO-RPG YGGDRASIL (Dive Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) fantasy world to relieve his stress and meet his online friends. Occasionally farming players to relieve his frustration.

In the current situation. His last friend sat beside him. Barely holding herself together. Her kimono almost entirely open falling apart. Showing a steady cleavage. Balancing on the thin edge of a breakdown and falling asleep.

Suddenly she spoke. "Momon-kun… hic! I have a qu-qu…" she looked at Momonga stupified searching the right word. "What is that word my dear fri-fir-fiend?" she looked at Momonga with a confused expression.

"I think the word what you are looking for is a question."

She obliged nodding her head hastily as she held up her index finger. Swaying left and right.

Momonga felt it will not end well, but he authorized the question. "Ask away…" he raised one of his illusionary eye brows. _"It will not end well... I feel it..."_ he thought.

"D-do you think? Hic..." she asked hesitantly. In the midst of her drunken stupor, she just can't find the adequate words. "What?" Momonga started to feel something wrong. Very bad will come after this.

The white haired, dark elf impersonator grabbed his hand suddenly and placed to her chest. "What do you think? Do they feel real?"

Momonga emotion suppression jumped in and out. Trying to suffocate his sudden emotional high ground. If he was still a flesh and blood man, he would die under moments due to the sudden blood loss that his prompt nose bleeding caused. If anyone would see the light green aura that appears when his emotion suppression kicks in. He would lighten up this dark night. And most likely despite the heavy light pollution that Japan has the astronauts could see the suddenly appeared new green light source.

The girl looked at herself. "I try to fine tune them since hundreds of years. But I never feel them real enough. Hic..." a thoughtful expression settled on her face. Then laughed.

"Please stop…" Momonga pleaded as he tried to calm down.

But his friend did not hear him. Either because she did not want to hear her friend pleads or simply she was too drunk to listen to the words that left the Dark Hero's mouth. "On-Once I accidentally grabbed Albedo's blossom... 'accidentally'" she showed quotation marks with her fingers. Momonga raised his illusionary brows. "Wh-When we stumbled on each other, and hers felt…" she thought for a moment as looked up. "How could I express… natural and bouncy… maybe squishy?" she wondered, and blood started to sprout from her nose that shoots her back. Smirking like a pervert.

Momonga sighed with a tired tone and began to massage his illusionary nose temple. "Please stop telling stories how you 'accidentally' groped my wife… it's embarrassing…"

Esdeath turned to him. "Yo-you are just jealous because you can't appreciate those wonderful melons!" she accused Momonga pointing at him with her completely smashed state. Then started to make groping motions with her hands. She looked like a pervert

"If you say another word. I may have to give you a house arrest…" warned her Momonga using his most menacing tone.

"Try me! Hic!" she giggled. "I am not pretty enough for you?" Momonga looked at her with a dumbfounded expression as she leaned closer. Showing more of her tempting modest cleavage and a tempting confused expression. And he just can't decide. If she is serious or just completely smashed and just can't control what left her mouth.

She giggled and stumbled forward. Momonga let her face to collide the cold ground. Maybe this will let her head clear a little bit. One thing was sure. She will have a serious headache and hangover when she woke up in the morning. Checking her, he realized she has fallen asleep. He never saw her so peaceful since a hundred of years.

Small traces of droll appeared in the corner of her delicate mouth and started to snore softly.

Thinking about it... she looked kind of cute. Almost like watching Mare and Aura when they slept. Momonga wanted to send her to sleep but don't want to disturb her dreams in her current state. It was since a long time since she managed to close her eyes fearing the constant nightmares that haunted her. Using his dimensional pocket, the Overlord of Death pulled out a simple pillow and blanket and placed her into sleeping position.

He sighed and continued to watch the skies. When he got a [Message] from Shalltear. "Ainz-sama… we managed to capture every agent who dared to disturb your relaxation. As well we are tracing the unknown signature close to you…"

Momonga nodded approvingly. Previously he got reports from his subordinates about the foreign agents who want to kidnap them and felt another high-level presence that he ordered his vassals to track but do not interfere with it until it clear what it is or become dangerous.

In other cases. He would simply ignore them and send his vassals to take care of the case. But now… they are in a foreign soil. True… it was Earth… but not their Earth. Not anymore. Maybe it was never their Earth... the world where they came from.

They need information and due to his experience. He knows very well. Agents send to foreign ground operate undercover, often became nonexistent to the nation where the officers came from. The countries just can't take the risk to start a war because a few captured agent and simply denies they have any kind of relationship with the said agents. Saying: 'Those agents are rogue elements those work towards to spark a war between our nations. We don't have any kind of connections with them.'

In rare cases, the nations secretly exchange captured agents. Hoping the captured agent managed to recover valuable information under their time in captivity. It was business… nothing more. Momonga knew that very well. After all. He ruled over his country more than two hundred years. He has practice dealing with foreign agents in his territory.

[Message]: "Good work…" praised his vassal Momonga. "Give my praise to Mare and Zero as well… keep your eyes open… do not reveal your presence until it is necessary! This is important! But react the threat with the best of your abilities… you can defend yourself if it's necessary."

[Message]: "As you wish. Ainz-sama." the [Message] ended and Ainz could finally breathe in relief.

Several minutes later he heard several light steps approaching him.

He glanced back. It was the priestess of Emroy. Rory Mercury.

"Ah! Rory… are you still awake?" asked her Momon with the friendliest tone that he could muster. After this night. He really doesn't want to be in the immediate area of Rory. I will not tell you what happened under the party that upset Momonga that much. I think you can figure out by yourself. Imagining the usual behavior of the demigoddess.

Rory softly walked next to Momon. Then breathed in the chilly air of the outside. On her face, her usual sadistic smile settled. That completely contradicted her beautiful face. "Yes… Itami is knocked out by Kuribayashi and fallen asleep. As well everyone else is sleeping." on her shoulder, she rested her huge weapon wrapped in a brown canvas.

Momon nodded understandingly. "I see…" he looked toward Rory. "So… why don't you sleep?" asked Momon curiously.

She grabbed her two sides with an ecstatic manner. "Bloodshed in this night… not far from here. A battle has been fought between sides…" she bit her lower lip in her excitement. Then grabbed Momon's thick arm.

 _"Shit! I said them avoid bloodshed at all cost!"_ Momonga cursed in his head.

"I can't bear it anymore! Please help me, Momon!" Momon merely shrugged her off. "Rory… bear yourself!"

The priestess of Emroy just could not bear it anymore. She grabbed her wrapped weapon and rocketed towards the woods with impossible speed. She was like a flash as she disappeared into the night.

"Shit…" Momonga cursed under his breath. He just prepared to stand up and go after the Goth lolicon. But his sleeping partner suddenly jumped up from her dream. "Freddy is in my head! The gummy bears attack!" she screamed. Then her eyes became heavier and fallen into Momonga's lap. Immediately after that. Embracing his waist in her merciless grasp.

 _"Ahhh! What now!?_ " panicked the Overlord of Death realizing his current situation.

Meanwhile amongst the woods. A shadow like, lighting fast girl ran. Her black hair seemed entirely harmonic her blood red eyes that promised death anyone who stood between her and her prey. Her white kimono drifted in the air as she soared through amongst the woods.

Her massive looking halberd left its protector canvas and now mercilessly massacred the creatures before herself. Creatures… wolf like creatures with glowing red eyes filled with anger and malice. The creatures made from shadow tried their best to stop the offender. But seemingly they did not even come close even to starch the gothic priestess. All of them were slain with the artifact weapon of the girl.

Her finesse, her strength, her very movement was like watching a legendary warrior using her tool of art to carve through hordes of demons. The numbers of menacing looking shadow wolves just grown and grown as they tried to overwhelm Rory with their sheer number.

All of them got the same fate. Disappearance in a gust of swirling shadows as the girl weapon collided them. In the end. Rory arrived in a small clearing. Two women waited for her. Pale in the skin and red eyes glared at her. Only a thin, revealing white dress covered their good bodily proportions.

The creatures were vampire brides. Their nails elongated slowly. Preparing themselves to attack with their natural weapons. After all, the girl before them dared to hurt their master's household summons. She is an enemy.

Rory standing still tilted her head. "Hello there… who are you?"

The creatures just growled did not answer the girl's question. "Silent type aren't you?" she asked playfully. Before she could introduce herself. The two women lunged towards her. Using their natural weapon trying to tear her to pieces. On their mouth two sharp canines were visible. Showing their race true predatory nature.

They were fast. Quicker than any human Rory saw before. Of course, except Momon. But being a demi god like herself. He was not really human. But Rory was faster. She dodged the two bride's attempt of massacre gracefully. Either blocking their sharp knife like nails with her halberd. Or simply jumping back. Occasionally dodging their strikes.

The creatures hissed dangerously as they gained newer and newer wounds. The wounds steamed as the holy artifact of Emroy carved in their flesh. After each wound the creatures received. Their unholy regeneration has been slowed by the weapon of the demigoddess.

The flurry of strikes that the two sides exchanged seemed inhumanly fast. Brutally intense. As the two teams changed blows. Small ripples of air disturbed the surrounding showing the great force behind the strikes.

Both sides gained injuries. Both of them healed under mere moments. It was a minute since Rory, and her oppression battled the merciless battle. And it seemed. The demigoddess won. Her prey laid before her legs as her numerous wounds slowly closed. Leaving her spottles porcelain skin intact. Her white kimono bathed in her and her enemy's blood.

Breathing the creatures hugged each other with fear. Occasionally hissing towards the Lolita before them. The previous bloodlust that resided in their eyes. Replaced with primal fear. A childish smile formed on Rory's red lip. Enjoying her ultimate victory. Celebrating her opponent's immediate demise. Her immediate contribution towards her God.

"Thank you for your contribution to Emroy tonight. I enjoyed the battle. Don't worry. Emroy is not picky about who passes his realm. Be it human, elves or monsters. He welcomes every fallen soul who fell in battle. Because he is the God of Darkness, War, Death, Violence, and Insanity." she chuckled. The two vampire bride trembled. They grabbed each other even more in their fear and waited for their immediate fate.

They know very well. Their queen... as well the Supreme Beings will not save their unlife. They did not worth as much to be able to pique the interest those higher beings.

Rory raised her halberd slowly. A malicious smile formed on her lips. Preparing to behead the two women before herself. Then she stopped. Hearing a few gentle steps approaching her amongst the shadows. "You have some guts… you not only killed my household animals but dare to threaten my vampire brides." the figure with the gentle female voice stepped out from the shadows. Revealing her beautiful face that was like someone artificially crafted to be the perfect mirror of beauty itself.

On her face, a sadistic grin settled. She had a short stature and had the appearance of a buxom fourteen-year-old girl. The moonlight reflected from her pale shiny skin, seductive red eyes, and fine facial features. Her silver hair is tied in a ponytail, allowing others full view of her face.

Rory licked her lips in her excitement. "Who are you strange visitor?" she squinted her eyes playfully. "Are you not human? Are you?" she asked. She clearly felt her newly appeared opponent was not human. She clearly felt she was strong. But she just could not measure it. Something overshadowed her true sight. This girl hid something before her. But she felt a similar feeling than when she meets Ainz. The presence was here, but it was weaker.

Her opponent smiled. She wears a soft black evening dress with a big thick skirt. Her upper body is dressed in a lace embellished ribbon and a short tailored jacket. Her hands are donned with long lace gloves, not showing any bit of skin. Compared to her appearance. Her bust was abnormally big. Maybe she used an excessive amount of breast pads.

As said. The vampire girl smiled. Then glanced at the trembling brides with a dissatisfied expression. She clicked her tongue. "Get out my sight before I am punishing you. You failed your task! You disappointed me..." she frowned at her two vampire brides.

Deep in her heart, she wanted to punish the two dress wearing women with the most creative ways. But she withholds her hand thinking back what Ainz taught her. 'Everyone makes mistakes… even me… the only thing what you can do is learn from your mistake and make your best to not to commit it again.' quoted her master often.

However, she often thought her master is just too humble and only wanted to console them to not feel so miserable after failing their task. It did not happen often. Still, it happened time to time.

From some reason. The two women started to tremble even more under the sudden pressure growth what they just felt in their necks. Knowing the consequences of failure very well under the leadership of the buxom women before them.

Knowing what will come for those who fail their mission under the petite girl's command. The two of them hastily stood up. Bowed deeply and retreated. The true vampire turned back to the black Lolita before herself. "Ainz-sama does not tolerate failure… similarly to me," she said then licked her soft lips. "You looks delicious… I wonder how rough I can go on you… maybe I transform you a servant so we can play back in my room."

Rory tilted her head. "So you are the servant of Ainz-sama?" she asked curiously.

Shalltear made a small curtsey. Worthy for a true lady. "Shalltear Bloodfallen. Guardian of the first three level of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick and the first wife of Ainz-sama." she introduced herself. And laughed manically inside her head imagining Albedo's frown after she said this.

"It is nice to meet you." Rory smiled happily. "I am Rory Mercury. Priestess of Emroy the god of darkness, insanity, and death." she as well made a small curtsey. Barely a few white spot remained in her ragged clothes. Then looked up suddenly. Remembering what Shalltear just said. "You told... you are his wife?"

Shalltear nodded proudly. "Yes, indeed."

Rory is recognizing her mistake and feeling the suddenly appeared pressure wanted to back away. She felt the sudden chill ran through her spine as Shalltear started to release her bloodlust bit by bit. Slowly but steadily raising the pressure in the area. Then strengthened her grip on her halberd.

No! She will not let this woman get Ainz for herself. That pristine looking bone structure. Those marble like bones. No! She had it only for herself.

She prepared her weapon. "After I defeat you Ainz-sama will be mine alone!" she yelled.

Shalltear frowned raising her handheld fan. Covering her delicate lips. "You have some dare…" she chuckled in an amused way. Then started to smirk like a predator under her fan. "Your head will be a perfect present to my lord. But before that…" she closed her fan. "Let's play…" closing her crimson eyes bowed her head the vampire.

Rory charged towards her. Using her immense weapon weight and inhuman strength she stroke towards her opponent. Shalltear chuckled in an amused way. She raised her fan and blocked Rory holy artifact. Then with a flinch of her wrist, she repelled it.

The two side clash was like a dance. Beautiful and once… dreadful. Rains of sparks flew after rains of spark as Rory stroke towards the true vampire. But only using her simple looking black fan… the vampire geisha blocked every attempt that directed to strike her down. She does not even step away. Simply standing in one place like a statue she managed to repel the demi goddess merciless strikes.

One by one she repelled Rory strikes. Often yawning on the demi goddess meaningless effort to harm her. After a full minute of the insignificant clash. Shalltear bored herself to death. Literally, she was not alive. So it does not count. Of course, she was angry… such weak dirt wanting to take Ainz from herself. Even thinking about such thing was revolting. Offense towards Ainz.

 _"He is the world's most beautiful being. Even precious gems can not be compared to his pale white body."_ thought Shalltear almost drooling under the fight as she thought back Ainz pristine white bones. Being spaced out for a moment. She lowered her fan. Rory saw the opening. Her body is full of scratches from Shalltear fan's playful swings.

Rory breathed heavily as she swung her weapons towards the opening. She almost reached the opening. She aimed Shalltear's neck. With a fast swing. Rory will behead this monster who dared to announce herself to the Shinigami wife and claim her price on the side of Ainz.

She aimed to the neck. Everyone knows. Monsters like vampires. Despite their immersive regenerative capabilities just could not survive without a head.

Her blade almost reached her thin neck. It was almost time. Just a few more centimeter. Time seemed to slow down for her as she reached the last part of her strike. She did not felt this often... she only felt this kind of excitement a few times under her life. Times when she fought the most relentless opponents. When she fought the worthy opponents.

"I will remember your name… Shalltear Bloodfallen…" she whispered. Her blade was just a centimeter away from Shalltear's neck. Then… 'Clang!' a clinking sound can be heard. Rory saw the impossible. The petite girl before her held her halberd between her two thin fingers. Showing the expression what mix an of between her annoyance and amusement.

Rory tried to get her holy weapon away from the grasp of the true vampire. But she just struggled. She just could not believe what she saw. This girl before her just stopped her holy artifact that managed to slaughter thousands with a single swing with her two fingers.

Shalltear let her weapon go, and Rory jumped back. "Just what are you?" she asked with an annoyed expression. "Are you deaf?" Shalltear asked. Rory squinted her eyes. "Then I introduce myself again…" Shalltear bowed slightly. "Shalltear Bloodfallen… guardian of the first three floor of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick… first wife of the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown."

Rory gritted her teeth. "Are you a god?"

"Gods?" Shalltear chuckled in amusement. "Those parasites?" she shook her head. "No… the Supreme Beings used to hunt that annoyance for fun and the items what they dropped… at least I heard it from Esdeath-sama." Rory stepped back and gasped. _"No! That cannot be!"_ she thought.

Shalltear showed a sadistic grin. Her toothy white canines were visible in her delicate mouth. She started to walk towards Rory. Rory began to tremble. She did not feel this feeling. She almost forgot this feeling. What was this feeling what she just felt right now? What is that called? Was it fear…?

She swung her Halberd towards Shalltear. But for her surprise. The guardian just brushed her weapon away with a simple wave of her delicate hand. Showing a big yawn. Showing her boredom.

Then with a quick jump. She disappeared. A frightened expression settled on Rory's face. Searching her opponent in all direction. Raising her halberd before herself in a horizontal position. Then Shalltear appeared before her out of nowhere. Grabbed her neck and raised her high. "Are you one of those? The type that doesn't understand how high the sky is? Do you think you can touch the stars simply by reaching for them? That type of naivety should be reserved for children like Aura. It's just disgusting with an adult."

She started to suffocate Rory slowly. Enjoying every moment of her suffering. Raising her closer to her face and sniffing her silk like black hair. "Ah… the smell of death is so intoxicating…" she chuckled. "Struggle as you wish… it just makes my meal more enjoyable," she noted sadistically as she raised Rory's neck closer to her mouth. Rory felt as slowly but steadily the petite vampire under her start to crush her throat. She started to inhale hastily as her lungs gained lesser and lesser oxygen.

Then… a voice came from amongst the woods. "Let go Rory in that instant!" roared the stocky brunette who stepped out from the shadows. In her hands, she held her automatic assault rifle firmly. Pointing at Shalltear's direction.

Shalltear glanced at her. Then looked around. Using her night vision, she immediately spotted Itami and Tomita who's as well pointed at their guns at her. Shalltear smiled in an evil way. More play toy for her. Her master is really generous tonight.

She threw away Rory who immediately crashed in the nearby woods greatly injuring her. And knocking her unconscious for the time. Despite Rory's accelerated regeneration. Even she needed to heal her broken body and her crushed throat.

Seemingly she started to advance towards the JSDF officers in the scene with a steady space. When… "Godmother Shalltear… that's enough." Shalltear immediately stopped recognizing the voice. The owner of the voice stepped out from the shadows. It was Beelzebub Ooal Gown. The first heir of Ainz. His two horns that protruded from the two sides of his temple and his slit golden eyes made him almost entirely like his mother male version. Only his messy Son Goku like hair was different and the fact… he was certainly male.

The true vampire did not hate him. He was a good child. More importantly her lord and ruler child. He only despised the fact he was the son of that bitch. Even after 200 years. The traces of rivalry remained between her and Albedo.

He was followed by Momon and the smashed Raidyn who almost threw up from the countless liter of booze that she consumed. Shalltear froze… recognizing the man under the illusion, she immediately wanted to kneel. But knowing that would most likely spoil her husband plan she withholds this urge.

Beelzebub squinted his eyes. "Godmother… what are you doing here?" asked Beelzebub suspiciously again.

In the exact moment the awakened Imperial Princess, Touka as well as Lelei arrived on the scene. Shalltear humped her face. "It is clear as the daylight Beelzebub… Ainz-sama sent me to keep away the flies from your back." she turned her head away.

"Flies?" asked Beelzebub raising one of his brows. Shalltear nodded. "Yes… the whole forest was full of foreign armed forces. But don't worry… Zero-san and I already took care of them."

"Foreign agents?!" gasped the three JSDF officer in the scene. Piña just doesn't know what happening and just looked left and right. Shalltear nodded and an another figure stepped out from the woods. Holding up his white gloved hand several uniforms wearing man followed him. In his other hand, he held a stuffed black handbag "We found these insects amongst the woods." his tone was cold and emotionless. And despite his handsome childlike face, it was completely motionless. Like it was just an artificial face.

"Kuribayashi and Komakado was right after all… the foreign agents actually followed us…" cursed Itami.

"That's all of them?" asked the first lieutenant. Zero bowed his head. "Most likely… we captured every one of them that we found amongst the woods as well in the three microbuses that waited near the road not far from the resort," answered Zero. His tone was so cold. Itami started to shiver.

"What do we do with them my prince?" asked Zero with a tilted head. "You are asking me?!" asked back Beelzebub. The automaton NPC nodded in answer. "Yes… after all… your father gave you full authorization at the time of the expedition. It is your task to decide their fate."

The young heir turned away his head and muttered under his breath angrily. "Father… you and your constant tests…"

"Their fate is in your hand, my Prince. Choose wisely." Asked Zero with his most respectful tone.

Beelzebub ran through his options. "What do they want?" asked back the first heir.

Zero bowed his head. "According to the interrogation. They wanted to invite you, Knight Bozes and the Imperial Princess in their country by force. The country where they came from is the Russian Federation, the People's Republic of China and the United States of America."

Beelzebub nodded uneasily. "I see…"

"Damn them!" cursed the stocky woman. "I knew they would try something like this… but to try this open? It surprised me."

Piña looked around like a child who lost her parents in the crowd. "Those are nations in your world Sir Itami?"

Itami sighed tiredly and nodded. Then started to scratch the back of his head nervously. "Yes… you can consider them the three most powerful country in our world."

Piña started to shiver hearing this. If this is true. They are in big trouble. "My Prince… do you wish us to annihilate them from this world?" asked Zero. His tone was somber.

Beelzebub sighed and started to massage his nose temple. He knows very well. If he jokingly said yes his father vassals might follow his orders and simply kill every single individual. Even the children's in the said countries without mercy. And that would cause a huge diplomatic mess. Not just here but back home as well. However strong you are. You just can't get away massacring a whole nation. It will have consequences.

Piña, Tomita, Kuribayashi, and Itami waited for the Prince's decision tensely. The agents from the three said country shook inside waiting for the ruling of the demon/undead prince.

Beelzebub looked at Zero after signing. "Just wipe their memories from the events of this night then drop them out somewhere. We don't want a diplomatic accident."

The emotionless machine bowed slightly. "As you wish." his face was cold, emotionless. His every movement was calculated. "I bid you, farewell future ruler." Beelzebub nodded. "But before that…" Zero turned to the Imperial Princess. Strolled close to her. Then reached under his butler vest and handed her an envelope. Piña accepted it. Then inspected it for a moment. "What is this?" she asked.

Zero nod his head. "This is an invitation from the Sorcerer King himself. His Majesty would like to invite you and the few people you chose to represent your Empire to his country. Just to see his infinite generosity. The Supreme Beings treat you as a guest in their goodly realm. The invitation will come with an all-around tour in the capital. As well the opportunity to negotiate about your immediate surrender, as well the handover of the soldiers who we captured. "

The dark red haired princess gulped nervously as a few sweat drop rolled down from her forehead.

"Thank you… We gladly accept his majesty generous invitation." then Zero dropped the bag that he held in his other hand. "You may need these… from now… we retreat from your realm. Be aware… the three countries still have agents in the city." he warned Itami.

Itami nodded uneasily. "By the way… how did you get through the gate?"

Zero looked at Tomita. "You lack the proper security… your own safety methods are heavily outdated…"

Kuribayashi inspected the bag. Her eyes widened seeing its content. "First Lieutenant! Look!" Itami walked closer and checked the bag. His eyes suddenly grow a few size bigger. The bag was full of the looted weapons and ammo of the agents from the three countries. All weapons were unmarked.

Zero bowed. "Use it well… you will find a three microbus near the forest. In the bag… you will find their key. " Zero turned around and prepared to leave. Just before that. The princess called after him. "When our meeting will conclude?" she yelled after Zero.

Zero glanced back. "Just write the time when you want to meet the king. And Ainz-sama will send for you wherever you are." Piña nodded nervously. Then looked at the envelope for a moment. "They are really capable of that?" she mumbled under her nose.

Zero and Shalltear bowed once more before the disguised Supreme Beings. Then disappeared like the morning fog. Piña wanted to ask Zero how will his lord know about her intention to come to his realm by just writing on a paper.

But Lelei pointed at the paper with her staff. Overtaking her. "Paper… emit high amount of magic…"

Piña suddenly looked at her. Then the envelope in her hand. Then bowed her head. "Right… of course," she mumbled.

Tomita and Touka, of course, ran beside the injured Rory to make sure she is all right. But it seemed she is just doing fine.

Itami looked around suspiciously. "Guys… I think it will be the best if we grab our stuff and leave the resort." then turned to Beelzebub. "By the way… who was that two guy? And how that petite girl managed to handle Rory so roughly?" he pointed the already recovered Rory who massaged her throat and breathed slowly.

Beelzebub sighed. "The Butler uniform wearing man was the head of our information gathering network. Zero Rei. The creation of my aunt. The petite vampire was my godmother. Shalltear Bloodfallen. Please forgive their interruption Sir Itami."

"What!?" Kuribayashi pointed at Beelzebub accusingly. "You never said you have such dangerous family."

Beelzebub scratched his face with an innocent expression. Like it was completely neutral to have such monstrous relatives. "Well, I thought it goes without saying."

Kuribayashi frowned. The other members of the little group just sweat dropped. "Whatever…" sighed Itami. "It is best to get ready and leave. By the way…"

He turned to the heir of the Sorcerous Kingdom. "Did those two really considered attacking the three strongest countries on Earth without hesitation if you gave them the command?" Itami pointed in the way where the two people disappeared.

Beelzebub sighed uncomfortably. "Most likely… after all… they said… father give me a free hand with this expedition. They probably just go into the said countries and organize bloodbath. Killing every single person without batting an eye."

The cold ran down everyone's spine hearing this. "Your relatives are scary…" noted the first lieutenant.

Beelzebub breathed heavily once more. "I know… it is hard to deal with them time to time…"

Then Itami as well everyone else turned around and headed towards the mansion where they resided. In the exception of Raidyn and Momon.

Beelzebub turned to them. "Do you not come?" he asked them raising his black eye brow.

"One Moment… we just survey the area once more," answered Momon.

"It is unnecessary… Zero-san is very zealous when it came to his work. There is no chance someone gets out of his sight. So, you can just simply come with us."

A smile curled on Momon's face as he chuckled. "Don't be so sure my Prince… even the best shield has its weakness."

 _"Except Touch Me's. He is a glitch bastard._ " Momonga chuckled to himself. Thinking back his friend method to trick the system. By combining several of his abilities to create the absolute impenetrable defense. Using that he managed to win the World Championship and his famous white World Champion class armor.

Beelzebub closed his eyes and shook his head. "Whatever…" he turned around and headed towards the resort. "Just make it quick."

Momon nodded. His companion was on the verge of throwing up, so she does not say any silly things just now. After he had felt Beelzebub left his immediate area, he raised his hand. "[Perfect Warrior: Disable]"

Now how he disabled the spell that changed his class to its warrior equivalent. He could freely sanction his magic. "[Greater Time Stop]"

The time seemingly ceased to move. Then Momonga turned towards the nearby bushes. "Mare… you can bring our guest now."

Amongst the bushes, a slim dark elf man stepped out. From his delicate features at first glance, most of the people would think he was a woman with a flat chest. Wearing a mini skirt that exposed his tight. Aside from this, he wears a blue dragon scale leather full body suit, covered by a white and gold vest embroidered with the sigil of Ainz Ooal Gown and a forest green-leaf cloak.

It cannot be helped. Despite all of these years. Most of the time. Mostly when he was in the presence of the Supreme Beings, he still wore the clothes that his creator Bukabukachagama bestowed him. But time to time he allowed himself to wear more manly clothes.

His golden hair almost covered his heterochromatic blue and green eyes. Before him stood a short girl with a modest bust. Wearing a crimson kimono adorned with various flame and flower symbols. On the top of her head two distinguishingly recognizable wolf ears settled. The ears was almost as long as rabbit ears. Her eyes were the mix between of yellow and red. Behind her back nine sturdy, white fox tail sprouted. She has a long silky black hair. Reaching entirely to her ankles.

"Let go of me!" she yelled at Mare as he grabbed her wrist with a yaw crushing strength behind her back. Despite his thin frame, Mare was one of the strongest guardians in Nazarick.

The girl in Mare's grasp struggled a bit. But it was without avail. She looked angrily at Mare who curled up a little bit seeing the angry women glare. It made him remember so much at Albedo's crazy expression. Even after all this time. Pieces of his innocent, subservient self-remained.

Esdeath collecting herself pointed at the girl accusingly. "YOU!"

The kitsune girl looked at Esdeath elf form. Inspecting her. Then she realized. Her eyes widened.

"YOU!" the two women glared at each other with daggering eyes. If you could kill with your glare. They most likely killed each other long ago.

Momonga looked amongst the two of them. Sparing a glance for each woman in the scene. Turning his head hastily between them. "Do you two know each other?" he asked hastily.

Esdeath glared at the women and nodded her head. "Yes… that little brat dared to call crap the Dark Soul series!"

The girl frowned as an answer. "Because it is bullshit… that game is just overrated. As well the comic. It is crap…"

"How dare…." Esdeath heterochromatic eyes started to twitch. "The Dark Soul games have one of the deepest lore! How dare you insult it?"

The girl looked away frowning. "Yes… if you want to play with a bunch of backstabbing trolls... it is great … aside from that. The game story is lame. Going around and around… this just makes no sense."

"For god sake! Just because you are too simple minded understanding something beyond you. That thing is no crap. And if the trolls bother you. You can do only one thing…" she pointed at the Kitsune.

"What?" She raised one of her brows with an annoyed expression. "Be an idiot like you?" she asked back. Mocking the Transcended Nephalem before her.

Hearing this Mare tightened his grip around the girl's wrist. Who feel this turned back to the dark elf behind her. "Ouch! Hey!"

Esdeath pointed at her. "Git Gud!"

The kitsune frowned. "Of course, a noob saying this…"

The Supreme Being head almost started to steam. "Who do you call noob!? You potato!"

The girl started to smirk seeing she reached her goal. "Your momma' so fat I need two pokeflutes to wake up her ass."

Esdeath eyes twitched. Then calmed herself down. "You want to play this… fine… let's play the game." she breathed heavily. Ainz looked at the two women with a dumbfounded expression. "If you were an anime. Your manga version would be way better!"

The kitsune backed in horror. "You will get back this… just watch!"

She prepared herself then rained down her grave insults. "You are so stupid; you thought the contra code was a vampire weekend song."

"You are so bad at magic, your creatures don't get summoning sickness, they get summoning 'terminal illness" retorted the Transcended Nephalem.

"What are the stats on that kimono? +10 to ugly?"

Mare and Momonga just watched the two fighting side with a dumbfounded expression. Not sure about what to do with them.

"You're weaker than a party of all white mages."

The kitsune girl backed. "Huuu! Take it back in an instant!" she wanted to raise her hand and shook it menacingly, but Mare still held a firm grasp on her.

Esdeath smirked victoriously. "Huh! That means I won! You bot!"

Ainz had enough. "That's enough!" he shouted. Using his most menacing tone. Dispelling the illusion and revealing his true skeletal self. Wearing his majestic garb. Intimidating everyone in the area.

The girl almost collapsed feeling the impossible pressure that Ainz despair aura started to emit. Mare as well flinched and bowed his head down in fear. Disabling his aura, Ainz turned back to the girl.

"Yo-You… the deity who visited my realm… here?" the kitsune shuttered in fear.

"Who are you?" Momonga asked.

The girl straightening herself answered. "If your servant can release me I can answer that."

Ainz nodded to Mare signing it is okay to release her. "Thanks!" the girl turned to Mare. "Geez! I did not meet Dark Elves since thousands of years. But despite our previous meeting, your kind became much stronger…" she massaged her wrist painfully.

Momonga bowed his head. "Please forgive the harsh treatment. Please let me introduce myself. I am Ainz Ooal Gown. The ruler of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick." then looked at his partner.

"And my friend beside me. Esdeath Gorgon my comrade in crime." he chuckled.

Esdeath waved lazily. "Nice to meet you."

"Well… care to enlighten us who you are real?" asked Ainz again.

"Oh yes…" The girl bowed. "I am Amaterasu. But the people of Earth also call me Ōhirume-no-much-no-kami. But you can call me Orihime-sama, Amaterasu, or simply Ama-chan. It is nice to meet you respected deity from the other universe. It was so long time since I meet one of my kind." she bowed respectfully.

Ainz thought for a moment. " _Where I heard this name? The Amaterasu name is strangely familiar."_ he mused. Then looked at the girl before himself.

"Sorry… but can you tell me who are you really? I don't really recognize the name Amaterasu."

The girl sighed in a disappointed tone. "Fine…" then looked at Momonga. "I am the goddess of the sun and according to some religion the creator of the universe."

Momonga humming nodded. "I see…" then he heard a popping sound and chewing next to himself. He looked at his side and saw as his friend just opened a pack of chips. Slowly devouring it with a sleepy expression.

"It is really necessary? Right now?"

Esdeath shrugged. "Why? I am hungry…"

Momonga sighed tiredly then turned back to the goddess. "By the way… what do you want? Why do you follow us?" asked Momonga the goddess.

The goddess took a deep breath. "I felt a wave of incomprehensibly powerful energy passing that gate. And it made me curious… I did not know actually it is you..."

"That's it?" asked Momonga. The girl nodded. "That's it. But I am curious… How you are able to step into an another universe without you require to give up a big portion of your power?" she asked honestly.

Momonga looked at her. "Are you saying others are not able to travel between universes without giving up their powers?" asked Momonga with a surprised tone.

The girl nodded. "Yes… I never heard such thing. After all. Our power originates the universe we inhabit. Without the source of power. We are almost like simple mortal beings." She explained.

Momonga nodded. "I see… " Then hummed thoughtfully. "Very interesting…"

The kitsune like girl looked at the Overlord of the Death. "And I also wanted to meet other deities from the other universe. It was so much time since I meet one of my kind. Spending these years alone in Earth was so lonely…" she whispered the last part in a sad tone.

Ainz nodded. "I completely understand. "

"What happened your comrades?" asked Esdeath finishing her meal. Orihime lifted her head suddenly. Then bowed down again with a refreshed sad expression. "They died long time ago…" she mumbled in a bitter tone.

"My condolences…" bowed her head down Esdeath apologizing.

"It is all right… they killed each other in their greed for more power. In their despair to fill father's place. To take his empty throne in the heavens…" she wiped away a drop of tear from her delicate face.

"I think… it is the best for them... before... they became more corrupted than they already were." then she looked at Esdeath dark elf form suspiciously. "Anyhow… who are you to be able to stand in the presence of the god of the death and be still alive."

Ainz looked at his comrade for a moment. "Well, you could say… at home, people consider her a god as well. However, we do not consider ourselves as gods. That would be too much."

Mare nodded. "Ye-Yes… Ainz-sama and Esdeath-sama are way surpassed the gods. They are the last two Supreme Beings."

"Supreme Beings?" the goddess looked questioningly at Mare.

"Yes… our vassals call us with this title. However, we have no idea why… after all. We just simple adventurers who have a little more power than others. That's all."

Momonga looked at his friend. "That was a long time ago…"

"Yeah… I still keep myself an adventurer. Deal with it." rolled her eyes the dark elf women.

Amaterasu squinted her eyes. "I feel a faint amount of godly power emitting from you. But not enough to consider you as an actual god. But I also believe you are hiding something… as well the Shinigami beside you."

"Well… that is because we don't really like to reveal ourselves before supernatural beings or beings with extraordinary perception. Ainz-san as well only released a faint amount of his concealment to make you recognize where you stand. We had enough problem with other deities before who wanted to steal our power."

"I see…" the girl nodded. Then she tilted her head in surprise. "Other deities?"

Ainz nodded. "Hmm… yes… mostly wild and chaos gods… really nasty bunch of strangers if you ask me…"

"Cha-Chaos gods! You mean like in the Warhammer 40k? Of course… if you know the game…" she said with an embarrassed face.

"Yes! Exactly like those bastards. They are really durable when you fight them in their own realm… the worst thing is. You just could not kill them completely without destroying their whole universe and in the process the subconscious of every existing being. Because they created by the people mixed sub conscious and desires. So if you want to get rid of them altogether. You have to completely wipe out the said universe. Or they will come back sooner or later…" explained Esdeath.

"Still… that still not answer my question. What do you represent?" asked the girl in the kimono.

Ainz hummed thoughtfully. "If you were want to categorize her. Then you could consider her the ruler of destruction, insanity, creation, light life, darkness and much more thing. As well, me… the people classify the god of knowledge, death, foresight and much more thing. All of them meaningless title in my eyes… I need only my name after all." he let a dramatic pause. "Ainz Ooal Gown…"

"I think Ainz-sama as well the embodiment of beauty..." shuttered Mare with a full red face.

Ainz nodded. "Thank you, Mare. I appreciate your honesty." Mare turned his head away to suffocate his embarrassment.

"So… what do you want from us?" asked Ainz. "I guess you came here not with the only reason to meet us…"

The girl nodded honestly. "Yes. Now I found new deities. I have two tasks. No… more like requests." the girl showed up two of her finger. "I hope you can help with them."

"And that is?" asked Momonga curiously.

The girl sighed with a disappointed tone. "There is a monster in this universe. An unimaginable monster."

She started her explanation.

"Before father succumbed his wounds and died after his battle with the monster. He managed to seal away most of its power. And entrusted us the task to keep this beast as well every imprisoned evil force which he imprisoned under his crusade in check. In another word. Guard their prison and don't let them escape."

Momonga nodded. "I see… I think there is a problem with the task now as you remained alone. Correct?" he pointed out the obvious.

The girl kitsune nodded. "Yes… you see. I am alone. In old times I have no problem keeping the beast at bay and fight with its arisen avatar every year. However… year after year the thousands of seals that father placed on the beast and the prison became weaker and weaker, and I have more and more difficult to keep the beast and the prisoners at bay. Unfortunately. My servants are not robust enough to withhold it once it breaks loose. And the prisoners of the prison planet is angry… very upset…" noted the girl with a calm tone.

The two Supreme Beings nodded understandingly.

"I discovered the corrupting power of the beast leaking through the seals and slowly but steadily it is affecting the guards that father created to guard the prison.

"That's why you don't keep secure prisoners in one place." frowned Esdeath.

"Fair point…" noted the girl. Then looked at Momonga. "So… you are willing to help me?"

"How bad is the situation? How much time till the seals break down completely?" asked Momonga with curiosity in his tone.

The girl thought for a moment as she looked up to the night sky. "A year or a thousand… I am not sure. I am not that expert with seals as the father was."

Momonga mumbled under his nose for a moment. Then nodded then asked his second question. "What is your second intention? Why you reached out to us?"

The girl looked away with an embarrassed face. Then started to play with two of her index finger. Placing them together and making circular motions before herself.

"Well… after you helped I wanted to ask you to spend a little time together… I am so lonely, and there is no one like me anymore… my interactions with simple living beings are very limited due to the strict rules that father made in the past." she mumbled under her nose. Her face was full red from embarrassment.

"That's all?" Momonga raised his nonexistent brow.

The girl nodded firmly. "That's all…"

Ainz lowered his head and started to fondle his chin thoughtfully. Meanwhile opening a mental link towards his friend. [Message]: "What do you think? Do we help her? Do we entertain her a little bit? She looks sad…." Ainz subtly glanced towards the girl who just continuously kicked a handful of snow with her bare foot.

[Message]: "Well, according to the [Life Essence] and the [Appraise Level] spells that I cast on her. She is around level 90. Maybe she can raise her power level with a few more levels. At least according to the [Appraise Abilities] spell showed as much she has such ability. We had to be careful, but we are way above her when it comes to raw power. If she goes awry. We simply crush her like everyone else who tried to oppose us."

Momonga nodded in himself. [Message]: "Very well then… but I send a [Message] at home to prepare Rubedo if the case wishes. We don't want her to go without a check. Thinking about it. It will be the best if we bring her with us. So, we can keep our eyes on her."

[Message]: "Right… I inform Zero to search beings like her in the globe. If it has a faint chance that she lies to us. We had to be sure… Oh! And don't worry about the helping. I will help her out with this 'monster.' It was since years I had a decent fight."

[Message]: "You just want to get away from the meeting with the World Leaders…" Momonga sweat dropped knowing the obvious.

[Message]: "Well, if you not cheat. You are not trying." she chuckled. "Besides that… you know if I go with you I only cause trouble…"

[Message]: "Fair point… go with her… but be careful… and call reinforcements immediately if that thing manages to corner you. I give you the authorization to even use Rubedo if it all goes down to cover your retreat."

[Message]: "Thank you! Oh! Merciful leader!" chuckled the girl sarcastically in the mental link.

The girl before them impatiently tapped her bare foot on the cold ground. Puffing her cheeks she showed an adorable childlike offended expression as she crossed her arms before her chest. "Baka! Baka! You speak with each other. Don't you? Don't you know how indecent speaking behind someone's back?" she asked accusingly. Momonga and Esdeath looked at each other for a moment with a surprised expression.

"How do you…?" asked the Overlord of Death.

"I can feel your mental communication, but I can't read it. Something is making it impossible. Like when I want to go into a room and a wall popping up saying! EEE! You have no authorization to enter this chat room!"

Momonga sighed. "Please forgive us…. But we had to discuss a few things about you. I hope you understand. We meet too many deities who showed good intentions at first then tried to backstab us…"

The kitsune like girl nodded. "Fair point. I completely understand your reason. But as a goddess…" she placed her hand at her heart pleadingly. "I swear on my name as well on my every deceased sister and brothers' name. I am not lying to you. My intentions are clear."

Momonga nods his head. "We will see… until that…" Momonga turned to Esdeath. "Please help her out with that beast. Will you?"

Esdeath shot a mock salute to Ainz. "Oki-Doki! Boss!"

Amaterasu backed in surprise. "Wa-Wait! You seriously want to send her?!" she pointed at Esdeath. "She will surely die! You said you would help!"

Momonga raised his skeletal hand before his mouth and chuckled evilly. "Don't worry…" he waved away the girl's concern. "She is more than capable of handling herself in a fight. It will be no problem."

The girl looked worried for a moment. Then huffed. "Fine! But if the beast gets loose and devours this universe because of her… Expect it may find its way to your universe. Then your people will suffer because of your own carelessness."

Mare could barely hold himself back. To speak with the Supreme Beings with such disrespectful tone. If not Ainz orders he would crush the girl's spine a long time ago.

Ainz nodded. "I take the risk… but don't worry…" he looked at his friend who just took a resting posting and inspected her nails. "She is stronger than she seems."

Amaterasu sighed tiredly and shook her head. "I had a bad feeling about this. But fine… I trust you." then turned to Esdeath.

Ainz dispelled the time lock to let the girl use her powers. Knowable, under time lock. Most of the powers cannot normally be used.

"Are you ready? The way to the place where father sealed the evils is far away. Even with my transportation method, it takes several days to arrive."

Esdeath nodded. "Yes… I am ready."

The girl stretched her hand towards Esdeath. "Take my hand."

Esdeath took the girl's hand, and suddenly a transparent orange bubble surrounded them. Esdeath looked around in the bubble. Then whistled. "Neat… very unusual transportation method…" then looked at Ainz beside them. "Take care Ainz-san. Don't do anything that I would not do," she smirked at her companion.

Momonga chuckled. "Take care Esdeath-san." he waved and the bubble shoot towards the skies. Being remained with Mare. Ainz turned to him. "Mare… did you prepared our replacement?"

Mare nodded timidly. "O-Of course…" from the woods. The perfect copy of Raidyn and Momon stepped out. Their appearance, aura and even their power level were equal that the two adventurers represent."

Momonga bowed his head. He knows his creation was talented. But he would never dare to dream his creation manage to create such perfect copies with his newly developed ability.

"That will do…"

He pointed at the two copy. "You two… Did you get the mission? Are you?" he asked.

The two copy nodded. Signing they have every information and the personality embedded into their very essence. "Good… now go. Substitute us…" Ainz pointed in the direction of the resort. The two shape shifter nodded and headed towards the resort.

"Now then… let 'return Nazarick and prepare for the meeting." said Ainz and with a simple wave, he opened a black oval [Gate] that led to time, space and even dimensions.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Well, that now... the meeting with the UN will come in a few days. I just had to make the last smoothing in that chapter.**

Until **that... take care! Safe winds! :)**


	13. An undead king and his toys

**Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There**

 **by oblivon2991**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.**

 **I don't own the _Overlord_ (** **オーバーロード** ** _Ōbārōdo_** **?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **Please review it. I know I will make mistakes that I intend to correct and will try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

* * *

Sadly, some people in this world abandoned reason and allowed their emotion to rule them. For instance, crazed killers running amok. There were also those murderers who hated monks so much that they even hated their cassocks as well. There were those who would even turn their blades on their targets' family members.

They would also turn their emotions on the wrong targets. Sometimes they would go after people who were completely unrelated. In the case where their hatred transferred to the perpetrator's family, the sins of the fathers would be passed on to their sons, as in how debts would be left to them or their relatives to pay, in the barbaric Roman way. However, those were how civilizations from 2000 years ago did things because they were not as spiritually mature as people now.

However, to the victims of the Ginza Incident, Rory, Lelei, and Tuka, as guests from the Special Region, were in a sense the first citizens of an enemy nation they had seen. And of course, there was the third party. The heir of the mysterious Sorcerer Kingdom and his two bodyguards who visited the country of Japan.

They were buried in the huge crowd thronging Ginza, and there was no guarantee that the people here would not transfer their anger onto them. As a result, Itami relaxed the stern look on his face and spoke despondently to Kuribayashi and Tomita.

"Let's forget it for today. We'll spend the night at Risa's place."

The two of them sagging. However, it was only expected that Itami — who ran away from things he did not like — would say something like that. However, Kuribayashi replied:

"But if we wait until tomorrow, we might be ambushed by agents from somewhere, and when the time comes, we'll have to force our way through as well, right?"

The original plan was to protect Piña, Beelzebub and Bozes from the Americans using the crowd Risa gathered. If they ran away now, her efforts would be wasted.

"Ahhh, we run, and they chase us over and over again, they're like debt collectors or something."

Ichinotani nixed the idea of hiding in a military camp. If the government protected them, then when the American President called, they would not be able to escape. Prime Minister Motoi had resigned for that as well. Because their movements were not under government control, they could say, "They ran off, so sorry," and then stick their tongues out at them in their hearts. His Excellency Tarou had laid the situation out to Itami, and he understood.

"Ahh, what a pain…"

Itami squeezed his eyes shut and grabbed his hair; then he sighed deeply before turning to Kuribayashi and Tomita and giving them an order.

If anyone tried to harm the girls, Tomita and Kuribayashi would shoot them. This was not "permission granted"; this was an "order." Tomita and Kuribayashi had volunteered to join the JSDF, and as career soldiers with the rank of sergeants, they had been highly trained. In addition, they were veterans of actual combat. Once they heard the command phrased as on "order," it flipped a switch in their minds which turned them into killing machines. Following that, the two of them inspected the magazines of their looted weapons that the soldiers left who captured by Zero and his forces, and they stuffed more spare magazines into their waist pouches or pants pockets. Of course, they would not open carry their weapons and frighten the people around them. Instead, they tucked their weapons into their coats, but with the safeties off so they could shoot at any time. Surrounded by the huge crowd around them, they got off the bread van and set feet onto Ginza's pavement.

Kuribayashi Shino wore a black leather jumper.

Under that, she wore a stone-washed denim mini-skirt over a pair of stockings. Her feet were encased in a pair of heeled boots. Perhaps the heels were because she had a complex about being short? As her nickname of "titty monster midget" suggested, she was a petite woman, but unlike the long bodies and short limbs of real midgets, her muscled body and slender limbs were proportionately scaled. That was to say; she gave the impression of a woman who had been shrunken down with the exception of her breasts.

The front of the jacket was open, exposing a white sweater.

If she were drawn in a standing pose, one would be able to see her left hand pressing down the left hem of her jumper, while her right hand was thrust into it. If that depiction were in full color, one would be able to see the red lipstick on her lips, and she clearly defined eyebrows, in addition to the serene expression on her face. Naturally, her right hand was gripping a German-made Heckler & Koch MP7. Because of her big natural breasts, even after concealing the SMG's 34cm length inside her coat, the way her bosom pushed the material out allowed people from certain angles people to see what she was carrying inside.

She stood like this in the frigid winter wind, her mind on alert, which made people think that she looked really cool.

Beside her was Tomita. He wore a half-coat of cashmere wool. The tall and masculine Tomita was well-muscled, but not to the point of looking clumsy. His body resembled that of a nimble athlete. His skin was tanned, his face was stern, and his chin was shaven, so he looked fierce at first glance. He watched his surroundings like a hawk.

He had a Belgian-made PDW under his arm, the FN P90.

The last was Itami. At a glance, he looked like a salaryman in his 30s. He wore a wrinkled suit, and a pair of cheap 2000 yen leather shoes (made of synthetic leather), and the grime on them was evident at a glance. He wore a dull long coat, the same kind you might see in Shinjuku bars. If he stood in traffic during the peak hours, he would vanish into the crowds in an instant, and picking him out from everyone else would be very difficult. He had a Makarov handgun under his suit coat.

And so, the three of them shifted into battle mode in an instant. Risa gasped in surprise behind them. Until just now, they had been relaxed, but now there seemed to be a blazing aura around them, and there was a breath of air around them as sharp as a barred katana. This was different from the air of intimidation that the Yakuza or punks had around them; it was more like a carnivore awaiting its prey, which unsettled and discomfited people. However, Itami only stayed like this for a few moments. In an instant, he returned to his usual easygoing self.

"Sorry, Risa. We can't take you along for the rest."

Risa shrugged at Itami, who had stuck his head in from the outside of the van that.

"Can't be helped, right? What should I do about this van?"

"Find a place and abandon it. And don't forget to return me the money I lent you."

"If, if my doujin sells, the income should be enough for that. When are you coming back again?"

"Beats me. Not for the time being, at least. I'll let you know when I can make it."

Just as Itami was about to turn away, Risa called out to him, and he froze.

"S-sempai, even if you say you'll come back, sometimes you don't. So, would you let me wait for you here?"

"If you have to say this sort of thing, why did you even leave me in the first place?"

"Because, because I felt bad about marrying you as a meal ticket. I felt that I was no good as a human being."

Itami fell silent for a moment before replying, "Do as you like." This time he was actually gone.

"And so, Prime Minister Motoi's sudden hospital visit and the announcement that he was going to resign took the world by surprise."

The room had a giant image of Prime Minister Motoi as its background, and famous people the world over were commenting on it.

A bearded university professor said unhappily, "That was far too irresponsible."

A female author replied in his defense, "The Prime Minister's job is taxing; it's only natural that he might end up having health problems as a result."

"The opposition party's been hounding him about his cabinet's dirty laundry for days now, but now that he actually resigned, they don't have anything to say."

The man with a nameplate saying "Former Governor," who was now a political commentator, briefed the Diet on the situation.

"Nah, the opposition won't be discouraged. Once the next Prime Minister takes charge, they'll just pull for the dissolution of the House of Representatives and then re-elect everyone."

"I think the topic of discussion now is who will be the next Prime Minister. Nagata-chou of the incumbent party is already moving fast."

After reporting the commentators' remarks, the presenter went on to the next topic, which was the candidates to be the next Prime Minister.

"The incumbents have nominated three candidates, Morita-shi, Kanou-shi, and Aramaki-shi."

The huge pictures of the three men appeared on the display.

"Morita-shi has a strong support base and is viewed as the No.1 candidate. Kanou-shi is popular with the people, but he does not have much support within the party. It is not known whether the next party leader will be decided through internal agreement or through an election. Stay tuned, gentle viewers!"

After the political topic had been concluded, the presenter's face seemed to change as he moved on.

"The Ginza Incident"

It was followed by commercials.

After about four 60-second commercials (about washing liquid, car insurance, and super-thin, super-fragrant diapers), the next segment featured the people who had been summoned before the National Diet.

What the viewers saw was Tuka, the Elf with the flowing golden hair, standing on a red carpet and bathed in the light of countless flashbulbs, radiating an ethereal beauty. She looked like a model for shampoo and conditioner.

Then there was Lelei, with her silver hair and calm eyes.

After her, there was Rory, in her black Goth Loli outfit, with her sharp tongue and playful expression.

After her, Momon with his gentle, yet sharp features. Clothed in a tight black suit. He was followed by the white haired dark elf Raidyn with an always playful smirk on her face underneath her hood.

"The five guests from the Special Region were warmly welcomed by the people. As someone who was formerly believed to only exist in people's imaginations, Tuka Luna Marceau and Raidyn was the two the most popular among them in the circles of men. In another hand, the women eyed the muscled Momon imposing form. Occasionally drooling eyeing his visible muscles underneath his suit.

A commentator said, "They are very beautiful, aren't they? Don't you think they had stirred the otaku imagination? Since they were only thought to exist in fantasy until now, anyone would want to meet a real live elf."

"I watched the Diet live telecast too; it really surprised me. That girl's called Lelei-san, right? In just a few months, she's mastered Japanese to this extent. And I thought Tuka and Raidyn-san's ears were some sort of prop too," a young female entertainment lawyer said.

"Speaking of their ages, what's up with that? No, I know it's embarrassing to ask a lady's age. Maybe the years in the Special Region are very short?" a female author asked. She seemed quite concerned about that issue.

"According to reports from the Ministry of Defense, a year in the Special Region is roughly 389.3 days long, and every day is shorter than ours, so it all equals out in the end. We don't have any report how long is a year in the Sorcerous Kingdom."

"But Rory Mercury-san said she was over 900 years old. Yet she looks like a middle-schooler."

The obsessed female author went on about it.

"Also, Tuka-san is supposed to be 160 years old, doesn't she look too young?"

The truly obsessed female author continued. "As well Momon and Raidyn. Momon did not look more than thirty. Raidyn in the other hand. Looks like a seventeen years old child. Despite the fact that even she doesn't know her real age…"

A book once wrote that a properly educated woman would not be jealous of anything. For instance, they would not be overly sensitive about looks and wealth. However, when a 50-year old woman saw another woman who was far older than her, yet looked like she was in her teens, it would be difficult not to have mixed feelings about her.

"They already said at the Diet that the four of them are from long-lived species."

"How about their men? They look young, but they're over a hundred years old."

"In truth, it does seem kind of unreal," the bearded professor said.

"I won't say they used makeup or cosmetic surgery to look young. I'd thought of it before, but given the faces they showed to the audience, I don't think anyone would mind if they were over a hundred or over 500 years old," the young entertainment lawyer replied.

"The girls who raised such a stir are now here today to offer flowers to the Ginza Incident memorial plaque, and after that, they will return to the Special Region. A truly staggering number of fans have come to Ginza today to catch a glimpse of them."

The presenter changed scenes, showing a close-up of people thronging the streets until they spilled out onto the roads.

Traffic was completely paralyzed, with massive jams everywhere. The police were struggling to control the crowds, trying to herd them with police whistles. Then, the presenter's face appeared on the screen.

"What you're seeing now is Ginza at one in the afternoon. Fans from all over the country have gathered in force. We'll go over to our interviewer who's on the ground right now. Nanami-san~"

The image shifted from the studio to a live telecast.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Live telecast:**

Because this was a nation-wide broadcast, Kuribayashi Nanami was frantically practicing her lines and ignoring her surroundings. She had written the word "man" on her palm, and trying her best to make a good smile. Behind her, one could see people thronging the memorial plaque.

"Kuribayashi-san~

After that, without any prearrangement at all, the crowd automatically parted, opening a clear path that led to the altar where the flowers would be offered, under the plaque. Along this path walked the black Goth girl, the long-haired elf, the silver-haired girl, an imposing looking suited man and a dark elf with snow white hair. All carrying bouquets of flowers, followed by a woman with a head of vibrant red hair, a handsome looking demon individual with golden eyes and two horns protruding from the two side of his temple. Clothed in royal disguise. And another woman with golden drill hair.

Behind them were a Japanese male and female who looked like their bodyguards. There were ten of them in total.

"Is the sound working, Kuribayashi-san!"

In truth, Itami was present too, but his sheer lack of presence meant that he was eclipsed by the three girls, the two adventurers and Beelzebub who were the stars of this show.

In that sense, one could say that he was a failure as the main character. Many individuals shouted towards Beelzebub to raise his interest. They carried flags and posters with the various writings and drawings from him. Such as… 'we love you Beelzebub-sama!', 'Take us with you! My Lord!' and similar things.

But Beelzebub just smiled and waved to his fans who gathered here just to see him.

"Kuribayashi-san~."

After she realized someone was calling out to her, Kuribayashi hurriedly put on her earpiece.

"Ah, this, this is life from Ginza."

"Right now, what's going on in this image?"

"Ah, yes. We're on the scene right now. Currently, the five individuals are approaching the flower altar, while the crowd is cheering and waving to them. The fans have filled up the roads and sidewalks and jammed up traffic for blocks around, but they're especially polite to the four girls and the man. Nobody arranged it, but it seems the crowd has parted for them."

A youth suddenly dashed out of the wall of people. Before Tomita could body-check him, Rory raised her halberd and thumped it down into the ground, creating a ringing sound like a shaku-jo. Coupled with her bewitching smile, the youth fell flat on his butt, and then he scrambled back into the crowd.

"We can only see six people in that image, are there anymore?"

"Yes, there are ten in total."

"Are the other four from the Special Region as well?"

"I don't think so; they look like… like… nee-san?!"

"Hah? Kuribayashi-san?"

"Sor-sorry. I don't know why, but my big sister is there."

"Is that Kuribayashi-san's big sister?"

"Yes, my big sister works in the JSDF, she should be in the Special Region, I never heard anything about her coming back. Nee-san, what are you doing?!"

"Hmm, it's Nanami-chan, what are _you_ doing here?"

The older Kuribayashi sister replied nonchalantly to her little sister from the road. That said, she was still watching her surroundings at maximum alertness. They had to work extra hard because they were not professional SPs.

"I'm doing a TV broadcast."

"No way, you mean it's in the air?"

"Well, it's just a webcast-"

"Yaho~ Mom, are you well?" In this instant, the camera turned to her.

Because of this, everyone in the nation saw a glimpse of her carrying an H&K MP7 with her right hand in the middle of Ginza. Assuming she was still thinking straight, the only reason why she would expose herself like that was that 70% of her attention was being spent on looking out for danger. Under Kuribayashi, Tomita's and Itami's oversight, Rory and the other people from the other side of the Gate offered their flowers. As they did this, over a hundred flashbulbs went off. After it was done, Rory looked around and quietly said, "Someone should ring a bell for the spirits of the dead." Then she raised her halberd and loudly asked, "Won't someone ring a bell for me?"

And as though in answer to her request, the Ginza Wako Clock Tower began ringing. The way Rory went "Mm, thank you," then smiled and closed her eyes brought a somber air to the place.

The camera paused to film the elder Kuribayashi and the three Special Region guests kneeling before the memorial plaque. The creatures who substitutes Momon and Raidyn bowed their head in respect. After the bells had finished ringing, they rose and turned their backs to the plaque, in order to face the crowd. The cameraman quickly shifted to capture their heads, while the boom operator recorded the Kuribayashi sisters' exchange.

"Then, can we interview them?"

The younger Kuribayashi was speaking normally in front of a national audience. But the producer clenched his fist and smiled, "Well done" from his production room. Originally, his opinion of her was so low it could not have gone any lower, so she could only go up from there. His opinion of her now was reflected in the fact that she managed to get an exclusive close-up with the people who were the talk of the nation.

"No way, no way. After they offer their flowers, we're returning to the Special Region ASAP."

"Why not? Not even for a while?"

"We were attacked yesterday, you see."

"Attacked? By who?"

"Americans, I think, or maybe the Chinese or Russians. The train we were on got stopped for some reason, the hotel we were supposed to stay in was burned down by arson, and a whole bunch of things happened, so that's why today we—"

She was pissed off about the whole thing, and toward the end, her words were starting to jumble together. Saying all that was pretty much the same as exposing the whole affair. Besides, anyone who read the papers or watching TV would find that what she said matched up with recent occurrences.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the crowd, a shady looking man approached an another man.

"Yo, Graham." the shady looking individual greeted his fellow.

Before the unhappy Graham stood a Japanese man.

It was Komakado, from the Intelligence Branch. Once, he had seemed like a grim and imposing man, and with his crutch that grim darkness surrounding him only deepened, as though he was radiating an air of discomfort.

"What's up, Komakado? There's nothing for you to do here."

"It's true; we've been ordered not to interfere with your work. However, there are Russian and Chinese agents out there. We can't ignore them, so we locked onto them."

"I see…"

As Graham thanked Komakado, he sighed in relief. If this kept up, Japan would be helping them suppress the agents from the Russians and the Chinese. However, he still not gets information from his agents from the last night mission. And that makes him worry. He suspected. They most likely failed and killed in action. After all, they did not report a long time and the guest is here before his very nose... He calculated this option and planned accordingly.

The CIA's emergency plan was to create a panic and cut the TV broadcast, then take advantage of the confusion to have their teams abduct the guests. It was a difficult plan to execute.

"Speaking of which, Graham, how do you CIA people tell Russian and Chinese agents apart? Could you teach me? I'd like to know how." asked sarcastically Komakado.

"What are you saying?"

"Oh, I'm just curious if CIA agents have a way to instantly tell them apart. Russians and Chinese look the same to me…"

As he listened to Komakado, say that Graham worriedly went for his cell phone.

He tried calling all his emplaced subordinates, but there was no response.

"You son of a-!" he cursed quietly.

"Like I said, I can't tell the Russians from the Chinese. Sorry about that."

Komakado smiled as he faded into the crowd, and Graham knew the operation had failed.

Komakado withdrew his mobile phone and dialed a number from his contact list.

Several seconds later, Komakado spoke.

"Yo, Itami. That was a pretty slick move you pulled."

"God damn!"

Darryl, the President of the United States, angrily kicked over the wastepaper basket in his private plane. Currently, he traveled to a secured meeting point where the leaders of the UN will meet this so called Sorcerer King. The meeting halted one and half day due to the Japanese Prime Minister sudden resign from his position.

After all. The bureaucrats needed time to sort out things.

The president had a telephone and display in front of him which currently showed the live telecast from Tokyo's Ginza district. No CIA agent team, however skilled, could snatch the guests now.

The fatal blow was the mention that

"We were attacked by the Americans, Russians and Chinese," which had been heard by the entire nation. On top of that, the CIA personnel in charge of inciting a panic and disrupting the TV broadcast had been captured by the Japanese, who apparently could not differentiate between the Russians and Chinese.

The command team was intact, so they could try and force the issue, but that would end up being broadcast throughout the nation as well.

Once word of that got out, any hostiles would instantly become a villain. Be they American, Chinese or Russian, anyone who tried to use force now would end up scoring a goal against their own country. He had not expected the Japanese government to be bold and vicious enough to actually try something like this. Without any direct action on their part, they had sealed off the Americans' ability to act, and they had even exposed the illegal activities of the Americans, Russians, and Chinese, which would only lead to censure and difficulty for them.

For instance, the White House could say to the Japanese government "Don't say such meaningless nonsense" concerning that servicewoman, as could the Kremlin, or Zhongnanhai. The Japanese would probably release an official statement along the lines of "The Japanese government knows nothing about any so-called illegal activities conducted by the Americans (or Russians, or Chinese) and end the matter there.

If an accusation like that were made on national television, the Japanese government would have to respond with "Nobody would believe the words of a mere JSDF trooper." Even if they tried to press the issue, the Japanese government would reply "She babbled that nonsense while she was drunk and on vacation, right? And her gun was just a toy, the proof is that Japan did not supply her with such a weapon," and then they would cut off communications.

However, one would not even need to ask to know who the citizens that watched the broadcast would side with. After all, it was a simple conversation between two sisters, which was why it felt realistic to the audience. Darryl thought he saw a phantom Motoi lecturing him from inside the transmitted image.

 _"_ _If you try and do anything to our guests, you had best prepare yourselves."_

"Shit, shit! Bloody Motoi! That son of a bitch!"

He trampled on the remains of the wastepaper basket and scattered it even further across the in his luxurious private plane red carpet.

President Sheganov of the Russian Federation toasted his screen inside his apartment near the meeting ground with the glass of vodka he was holding. "Not bad, Japanese. Not bad." Within the depths of Zhongnanhai, Chairman Dong Dechou clicked his tongue and then ordered his man on the scene to withdraw.

And so, Itami and his companions managed to safely… well, not quite, they had accumulated a fair bit of mental and emotional fatigue, but they did manage to reach the Ginza side of the Gate.

Before passing through the Gate, they had to submit to an inspection by the sentries, much like an airport. If they were moving a vehicle through, everything in the cargo compartment would have to be opened up, and anything hand-carried would also be inspected. After that, the security personnel would take their fingerprints, palm prints, perform a retina scan and measure their pulse rate among other tests. Only after all these tests were completed could they enter the concrete dome which contained the Gate.

But then...

"Did you buy all of these in Tokyo?

"Is something wrong?"

As Itami responded in a playful way, the commander of the sentry post sighed deeply.

While checking the girls' luggage, they found Rory's black Goth clothes along with her punk-style (with spikes and chains) clothes and underwear. Apparently, Rory was not interested in normal clothes, but she seemed to like metallic things. After that were a bunch of daily-use items and things like Lelei's laptop, Tuka's compound bow, Raidyn pile of comics and the Deadpool statue. All of which piled up like a miniature mountain. The sentry commander could only close his mouth.

"We have to check all of these, you know."

However, inspecting feminine-use items would pose all sorts of problems.

The female soldiers would handle delicate items like underwear and so on, but if they had to inspect each and every sundry item, they would never get things done. The commander was thinking about whether to just briefly go over the things. Meanwhile, more female personnel conducted body searches of Lelei, Tuka, Rory, Piña, Momon, Raidyn, Beelzebub, Bozes, and Kuribayashi.

And then, with a "What's this?" they withdrew a pistol that had been very well concealed upon Piña and Bozes' persons.

"Oya."

Tomita said.

"Well done."

He was impressed by the way Kuribayashi had not flinched at all. He smoothly followed up by saying "Oh, it's for self-protection. We let them carry it just in case". Then, with a loud thump, a heavy backpack was deposited in front of the commander.

"What's this?

The contents of the backpack, when placed on the inspection table, turned out to be a veritable mountain of looted weapons.

"Well, we couldn't just leave them lying around, could we? We picked them up, but do we need to turn them over to you?"

In truth, the JSDF did not have any procedures for handling looted weapons.

If he tried to follow procedure and impound these weapons, it would create a lot of problems related to the handling and seizure of them. Besides, there was no way unmarked weapons used by illegal nationals and seized by common civilians could be entered into a report.

"So what will you do?"

Because of that, the mere existence of these looted weapons was a pain in the ass. Naturally, a man who was part of an organization would probably not want to subject himself to that sort of bother. After the sentry commander had heard Itami's story about how he got those weapons, he turned aside while saying, "I saw nothing" and "I heard nothing".

"These guns are your loot. So their responsibility falls to you. In any case, I'll record these weapons on a black sheet. Our part in this is now settled. How about that?"

"Yeah! Free loot!" shouted the impersonator of Raidyn.

Recording them on a black sheet meant that the files would only be revealed if a problem surfaced in the future. Otherwise, those records would not exist on any official documentation. Under certain conditions, these black sheets might be shredded by orders from the brass.

And so, the looted weapons and ammunition ended up going into the stores of 3rd Recon.

Lelei, Rory, and Tuka were seated in the back of Tomita's HMV. They were headed back to the refugee camp at the foot of Arnus Hill. Momon, Raidyn, and Beelzebub headed back to Italica to make the paperwork.

Since they had brought back a lot of souvenirs with them, Itami was helping to sort them out.

"Japan was a fun place," Rory said.

"It was exhilarating. I hope to be able to visit again," Lelei said.

"Shopping was fun," Tuka smiled.

Momon just hummed and nodded. Raidyn was in awe reading her comic.

The five of them bade their farewells to Itami before they went their separate ways.

The sky was getting dark since the sun was setting.

Tuka returned to the room she had been given at the prefab housing, and opened the door with a bright, "I'm home!"

"The other side of the Gate was awesome, and we brought back so much stuff," she said as she put her things on the table in the darkened room. But she tilted her head because there was no response.

"Hmm? Not there?"

After searching briefly in the room, she sighed and said, "Really, Dad, where have you gone?"

"I look away for just a moment, and this is what happens."

Tuka sorted out the things she bought as she muttered to herself.

Elsewhere, Piña and Bozes were in the room assigned to their quarters. The two of them were enveloped in a grim atmosphere, and they sat silently on their beds.

An intermediary for the Empire and Japan. She now realized just how heavy a burden it truly was.

If this war continued, the Empire would undoubtedly lose. The difference in civilization, technology, and warfare was far too great to overcome. She had seen it with her own eyes and felt it with her own body. She held the envelope what Zero gave her. And just looked at it without even blinking with a blank expression.

"Your Highness..."

Bozes called out to her, in an attempt to clear the air.

"Mm. Tomorrow we return to the Capital," Piña answered.

She would immediately begin the work for the peace talks, in her role as mediator as well searching suitable people to accept the Sorcerer Kingdom generous invitation.

She did not know what form those talks would take. If things went wrong, they would end in the Empire's defeat. But if she let the war carry on, the death toll would be around the same as well. She needed allies. And maybe… just maybe… if she played her cards right. She may find this ally in the Sorcerous Kingdom.

Piña converted her resolve into words.

"I shall end this war."

* * *

 **Scene Change: United Nations meeting point:**

The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization tasked to promote international cooperation and to create and maintain international order. A replacement for the ineffective League of Nations, the organization, was established on 24 October 1945 after World War II in order to prevent another such conflict.

At its founding, the UN had 51 member states; there are now 193. The headquarters of the UN is in Manhattan, New York City, and experiences extraterritoriality. Further main offices are situated in Geneva, Nairobi, and Vienna.

The organization is financed by assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states. Its objectives include maintaining international peace and security, promoting human rights, fostering social and economic development, protecting the environment, and providing humanitarian aid in cases of famine, natural disaster, and armed conflict. The UN is the largest, most familiar, most internationally represented and most powerful intergovernmental organization in the world.

But all of this does not matter now.

Because of today… today was a big day in the history of the Earth. Today the representatives of UN will finally meet a new civilization. The moment when two culture will clash will be historical.

People of Earth always wondered if there are other civilizations, other living beings aside from their own little crucible of existence. And now... they got their answer. Today. The meeting between the Sorcerous Kingdom and the nations of UN will conclude. Writing this historical event in the history books forever. With golden letters or letters of the smeared blood of the victims of war. No one knows yet... only time will tell...

The leaders of the UN already arrived in the city where the meeting will conclude. The said city was Geneva. More strictly... the said city positioned in Switzerland. It was the second most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland.

The leaders chose this town due to the said country constant neutral politics in all war. And of course… it's geographical position. Being in the middle of Europe. It would be very hard for an another country to try to conclude a terror attack or snatch the leaders of the UN from the meeting.

The leaders started to arrive one by one with their luxurious limousines before the white building of the United Nations Office at Geneva. For this occasion. The green park before the building has been completely trimmed by the numerous gardeners of the said building. Two rows of flags symbolized the countries of the UN. Showing their willingness to work together for the greater cause.

A freshly rolled red carpet led entirely to the entrance of the building. The media were already present and flashed their cameras as the various chairman's from the different nations elegantly walked towards the door. Showing their best smile. Occasionally waving towards the cameras.

Two rows of Swiss Guards with their epithet uniforms and halberd stood guard on the two sides of the red carpet. Almost covering every hole before the hungry media persons. Much more can be seen guarding the entrance to the park. In the case the reporters trying to broke into the estate.

As well, several prepared military units stationed not far from the building. The security was very tight. Almost like they guarding a military asset.

They leaders surrounded by their bodyguards. Always vigilant to throw themselves before the bullets if it's necessary. The leaders of the UN did not like the idea. But in the end, they allowed the participation of the religious leaders as well. Of course, their meeting with the representative of the Sorcerous Kingdom will conclude in a separate room. And it will happen a few days later after this meeting. As it is written in the laws. Separating the church and the government completely.

After two hours. Every attendant arrived and took their respective seats. They only waited for one more participant. The Sorcerer King himself.

It was half hour since the leaders seated and the people started to become restless. "Where is that bastard?" Mumbled the American president Darryl who is looking at his expensive Rolex watch at the moment.

Suddenly the doors opened. Every chairman looked in the direction of the doors. And the cameras flared up once more. The Shinigami arrived... Clothed in a majestic red garb with jeweled buttons that shone in the various colors of the rainbow. His crimson, royal garb covered with different golden markings. In his hand carrying a golden, jeweled staff.

The staff was supreme in quality. It takes traits from the Greek god Hermes' caduceus. It is entwined by seven serpents and in each of the squirming serpents' mouths hold a jewel of a different color. Its grip has a transparent quality like crystal and emits a bluish white light. When touched, it spews a dark red aura. Sometimes, the faces of humans in agony would appear and crumble away dance on its surface. Such of an effect from the staff is so vivid that it felt as though one could hear their voices of pain.

You may think this was the staff of Ainz Ooal Gown. The guild weapon of supreme quality. The guild weapon of the guild Ainz Ooal Gown... But no... it was just an experimental copy of the staff what Ainz created to use outside of the guild. Bringing the guild weapon outside of the guild most secure part would be suicide. Knowable. The destruction of the guild, guild weapon signifies the dissolution of the guild. Ainz, of course, did not know what kind of consequence would bring the destruction of the weapon in the New World. But he did not want to risk the possibility losing the guild what he and his friends worked so hard.

On his side, women with the face of a true angel walked. Wrapped in blue nun clothes. That despite its baggy design. Completely failed to hide her godly bodily proportions that her creator bestowed her. Looking at the bald skeletal appearance of Ainz. Everyone started to shiver and tremble feeling his godly negative aura. But after seeing who is escorting him. Many of the men representatives loosened their tights feeling the sudden increase of temperature looking at her body as they started to sweat. Most women just glared at with jealousy in their eyes.

Two white feathered angelic wings sprouted from her back. Above her head, a golden angelic halo floated. Showing her Angelic heritage. Her almost luminous, seductive cyan blue eyes calmed everyone who looked at her. Like they were under some kind of charm effect. Her smile was angelic, charming, calming everyone who looked at her face. Just like the angelic radiation that left her body.

The king and his attaché followed by two maid like individuals. One of them was a beauty with an intelligent look. Wearing glasses and a wide blue necklace. She wears her hair tied into a low-cropped bun at the back of her head. She was Yuri Alpha. The Vice Captain of the 'Pleiades Six Stars.' In the battle maid squad created by Yamaiko.

The other was a girl in short stature. Wearing clothing similar to the traditional Japanese style. Her eyes are cute, but they never twinkle or blink. She has brown hair with twin chignon. She never exposes bare skin except for her face. She was Entoma Vasilissa Zeta. The part of the Pleiades. Her creator was Genjiro.

The people gasped in the room seeing Ainz's bald, shining skull. Seeing the dreadful crimson light glowing with eerie luminance in his dark orbits. As well seeing the beautiful Angel who escorted him. Many men eyed the beautiful maids and the angel who gracefully followed the king. Smirking imagining the girls and the Angel who escorted Ainz in dirty positions.

Every person who the Angel smiled felt a sudden calm, dazzling feeling overcome them. The lights twinkled as Ainz reached the man who waited for him at the end of the room. It was an Asian looking man wearing spectacles and a black suit. He bowed slightly. "We welcome you, your majesty. I am the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Ban Ki-moon."

Ainz nodded, and the two of them shook hands. "It is an honor to meet you."

The man nodded. His features were sharp and wrinkled. Showing his years of experience in his seat. Still… Ainz felt he trembling slightly in his presence. He understood completely. Most people who never meet him and many of those who know him a long time. React his appearance this way. He looked like an Overlord after all. He designed his avatar appearance such way back in YGGDRASIL. For roleplay reasons of course.

The man turned to the angel like an individual. "And you my lady?"

The women smiled. Soothing calm in the man's heart. "I am Auriel. Auriel Michalis. I represent my creator in Ainz-sama's side." she said with a bright smile. Her sweet voice and tone mirrored her race nature. It was warm and beautiful. Ban shook hands with her as well as he showed them their seats on the podium.

"Please take a seat on the podium, and we can start the session." Ainz nodded and headed towards his seat.

Preparing to take his seat Auriel willing to take a seat as well. After all, she was the representative of her master. She represented her at this meeting. And she hoped. With her diplomatic skills, it will be not hard. But before they seated. Ainz stopped before his position and started his speech. The speech that he practiced many hours last day in the solitude of his room. He took an imaginary deep breath and started.

"I welcome you… leaders of the United Nations. People of Earth." he looked through the crowd and the watching eyes of the cameras. "We came from a distant land. But be assured... My nation does not seek conflict. Neither have any baleful intentions towards the people of Earth or any living being.." he concluded his speech. Then looked around. "We only seek understanding and peaceful coexistence. As in the past."

The people nodded, and Ainz and his attaché took a seat.

Ban nodded and turned to his colleagues. "Let's start the meeting." Ainz nodded as well. "Let's start."

Ban turned to the King. "Your majesty. Meeting with your nation on the other side was an unexpected consequence of the Empire's sudden invasion. We would like to know… is your government intentions are peaceful, or you seek war."

Ainz hummed as he nodded his head. "I assure you Ban-dono… my intentions are peaceful. As I said before. We as well as you seek the understanding of each other."

Ban bow his head. "I see… that's reassuring your majesty… do you mind if I ask you… how big is your nation?"

"I rule over every land, water, and the skies in my domain." the UN gasped. Ban gulped. "How big territory is that your majesty?"

Ainz looked at him. "Five continents at total not counting the lesser islands. In more than 184 000 000 square kilometer land mass."

The Chinese chairman gulped. "That's more than the Earth combined dry land…"

"Your majesty… according to our reports. You nations inhabited by several other races than human. Is the reports are true, or it is only a fabrication…" Ban asked.

Ainz glanced towards him. "Yes… the rumors are true… my nations are very colorful when it comes to the variety of races."

"How colorful exactly?" asked President Sheganov, the Russian president. Leaning forward hiding his mouth behind his folded hands.

Ainz looked at him. "Colorful enough…" he answered quietly. "Currently around 365 registered race inhabit our planet. But new races always come to be as various races crossbreed between each other."

The Russian president nodded. "I see… indeed very colorful. I must imagine how hard it is when it comes to the administration of those individuals."

Ainz sighed as the red lights in his eyes started to dull. "Time to time it is hard… but fortunately. The parliament with the representatives can solve the problems between each other."

"So your Majesty Kingdom is a Constitutional monarchy…" asked the United Kingdom representative.

Ainz glanced at him then bowed his head. "You could say that. However… I have the authority to veto any law that is necessary or may affect negatively the kingdom. Also, I personally sign and make the most important decisions. Unlike many other Constitutional monarchies. I have unlimited veto power. But I only practice it when it absolutely necessary and before I do it. I discuss the case with technical experts if it's necessary…"

"If you allow me, your majesty… just how long it took to conquer such big land mass and build up such an advanced civilization?"

Ainz hummed fondling his sharp chin. "Around two hundred years…" every representative gasped in the room.

The Greek representative jumped up. "Impossible!" he clenched his fist. "There is no way you could conquer and build up such civilization under two hundred years. Please, your majesty, take this seriously!"

Ainz glared at the man. Auriel gritted her teeth and wanted to smite the man before her with all of her angelic might. "Are you saying I am lying? Representative?"

The Greek man seemingly shrank before Ainz's piercing gaze. He sat down and looked at his lap. "N-No… your majesty… I.. just find it impossible such thing…" The sight was quite comical. It was like a teacher scolding a bad student.

Ainz bowed his head. "I see…" he hummed. "I would find it impossible for myself. But fortunately… I have the help of my faithful vassals, my friend and of course of our otherworldly power."

The representatives looked at each other with fright. "W-What do you mean your majesty?" asked one of the Prime Minister.

"We… I, my friend and my vassals are not from that world. We found it… uncivilized. Full of corruption and malice. We took up the mantle and made it civilized."

"T-Then…" the representative gulped. "Where is your majesty from?"

Ainz bowed his head. "That place is no longer exist… let it be that and go forward…" the agents from various countries nodded uneasily.

Then suddenly a voice spoke. "Your majesty. If you may… according to the reports. Your forces clashed with the Japanese JSDF troops in the Special Region. It was an incident, or it was a deliberate move on your part?" the one who spoke was Darryl. The president of the USA.

Ainz looked at the man. Seeing the name table before his seat, he immediately know who he is dealing with. "Answering your question… Mr. President. It was merely an accident. My forces... led by my firstborn born son. Simply head towards the city to make our first official contact with the locals. And under the moment of surprise. Our forces clashed." replied Ainz.

Morita, the newly named Japanese Prime Minister, showed a cold face. But deep inside gritted his teeth. _"How could those American bastards get information about the clash?!"_

Darryl bowed his head. "I see… interestingly… your forces. Even if it was only an honor guard. Managed to defeat and disarm the freshly arrived veteran JSDF forces. How is that possible, Your Majesty?"

Ainz looked in Darryl's eyes, and the two crimson light flared in his eye sockets. The shiver ran through Darryl's spine as he gazed the abyss behind the dimming lights. But he collected himself gulping deeply. "The point is? Mr. President?" asked Ainz.

"Yes…" Darryl nodded uneasily still searching his courage to speak. "The point is… don't you think the Japanese government took this threat too lightly? Don't you believe that the JSDF is unfit to handle this situation alone? They need further UN support from various nations to strengthen their position on the other side. But at least they need to share the resources behind the structure. So, the whole world can benefit from this new land full of untapped potential and resources. You are a ruler too. You know what I am speaking about your majesty. I am sure your kingdom, the people on the other side as well our world would greatly profit if we divide that world between us and give some democracy and advancement those downtrodden people." Darryl did not hesitate. He gave a piece of his mind to the king as he hid his face behind his folded palms.

Various UN representative started to whisper amongst each other and nodded in agreement.

Ainz hummed. "Hmm… according to my reports. The soldiers of the JSDF did everything that was in their power. If you want my opinion. Sending further UN forces in the area. Furthermore, more foreign forces just increase the commotion between the people of the other side. And in the current political situation. It may cause a revolt against both parties as well destabilizing the current ruling body of the other side may cause unnecessary deaths amongst the people of the Special Region. Moreover… depleting a foreign garden world resources before the citizens inhabiting it could flourish is just completely unethical if you ask me Mr. President…" retorted Ainz calmly.

"So. You say we can't handle the situation? So you say it is unethical to repossess the resources those people take from us?" asked President Sheganov with a raised brow.

"I never said such thing." retorted Ainz calmly. "I just said. It would be most unwise sending further forces in the area. I as well just station the bare minimum troops in the area. Making sure to send enough humanitarian support to the victims of this war and diplomatic support to help ease the tension between the Empire and my nation. After all... Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die." Ainz quoted. The crowd silenced suddenly.

Ainz looked around. "I think everybody imply what I am speaking about..."

The French representative nodded. "Hm… according to the reports. Your army completely decimated the opposing army in such degree the ground is still littered with the corpses of the opposition. I don't know how you call it your Majesty. But we call such act as genocide. We got aerial records from the battlefield. Tell me. Do you consider an invasion against Earth? Tell me. Do you have the technology to invade us from space? Please answer my question, your Majesty. You must understand. We don't like dealing with the unknown. After the report, your forces used highly advanced energy weapons. We have doubts about your credibility…"

Auriel clicked her tongue with a grimace on her face. "Vermin… treacherous vermin…" she shook barely able to withhold her anger. Despite her peaceful, angelic nature. She could not stand when someone is accusing her masters.

Ainz looked at her and just shook his head. Signing. Do not bother with the man. The Arch Seraph NPC nodded and breathed out the air. Trying to calm herself down.

Ainz turned back to the questioner. "As you. We as well protected ourselves from the attacking forces. But no… maybe we have the technology to invade you. Maybe not… That for sure we do not intend to invade your world without a good reason… "

"Do we take that a declaration? Your Majesty?" asked the United Kingdom representative.

Ainz nodded. "Take it as a promise. My nation is basically peaceful. But we do not tolerate aggressive act towards us. We do not tolerate when someone dares to treat our people and the integrity of our nation. And we answer with force if it's necessary. As we did before many times..."

"Do we take that a threat your majesty?" asked Darryl smirking behind his hands.

Ainz looked at the American president. "No... president Darryl… as I said… take that as a promise." Ainz tone was so cold it makes the UN leaders cringe. "Please excuse me for saying this. But after traveling around in your world. I had to realize… Your world just doesn't worth the effort to conquer it." A little competition broke out after the leaders heard what just Ainz said.

"What do you mean by that your majesty?" asked the UN representative.

Ainz looked around. "I just say… if you continue like this and not care about your environment and your fellow humans. Your planet will become an almost uninhabitable piece of radioactive rock floating in the vacuum of the space. Approximately around one hundred years..."

"That's outrageous!" hit the table before himself the Russian president. Ainz glared at him. "What do you think who you are to say such thing!?"

The lights in Ainz's eyes started to dim in a dangerous intensity. "I am Ainz Ooal Gown. The Sorcerer King… and I saw many civilizations die who headed the same direction as your civilization! Don't make me turn my wrath upon your world. Your people may not enjoy it…."

Sheganov gritted his teeth. "We will see who will laugh last when our bombs reach the other side!"

Ban had enough. He had to speak before hell goes loose. "Please! Gentlemen! That's enough. We are not here to declare war!"

"Fair enough." nodded the Russian representative. Many elderly people in the room looked at each other in their surprise and fear. Ainz declaration was truly frightening.

The United Kingdom representative continued. "Still, your nation method to take care the Saderan Empire armies are worrisome. It may cause contrary between Earth and your nation your majesty."

Ainz turned to the representative. "Mr. John Bull… I ask you… what better tool to avoid further bloodshed than intimidation? To avoid further causalities?" asked Ainz seriously. Jhon looked at Momonga questioningly behind his spectacles.

"Show of force," answered Ainz simply. "Not only in your history the show of force and intimidation led to end major wars. But in the case of much other civilization. And I refer to the time when America threw two atomic bombs to Nagasaki and Hiroshima to end World War II. I not only speak about that as I said. But according to too many other civilizations under the history of mankind and many other aliens species..."

The representatives gulped feeling the chill that surrounded Ainz. Just looking at his skeletal appearance filled them with dread.

"Your forces responsible for more death than our current forces. We all in the same boat. We all want peace between our nations. We all want to avoid further bloodshed and clashes between each other." announced Ainz.

Chairman Dong Dechou from the Chinese government cleaned his glasses with a piece of cloth. "That means you are willing to share the wondrous technologies that your nation possess? Your majesty? According to the reports. Your nation possesses methods that would greatly improve the life of the people on this side as well in the Special Region. Even more. Do your nation willing to accept foreign refugees in their rank?"

Ainz leaned forward. Hiding his skeletal face behind his folded skeletal fingers. "What would I gain if I give you our technology?"

Dong finished the cleaning of his eyeglass. "We can offer you many things your majesty... we can surely bake out some kind of agreement..."

Ainz shook his head. "Even so... I do not give you technology. You are not ready to use it. About the refugee question. That depends on the future relationship between our nations."

"What do you mean we are not ready to use the technology, your majesty? Did you experienced something disturbing under your travel in our world?" asked the representative of Hungary with a disturbed face.

"What about the magic your majesty? According to the JSDF reports your forces used magic in high degree amongst their ranks. Do you intend to share the magical knowledge the betterment of this world?" questioned Morita greedily. However, his always calm, sleepy expression remained on his face. If Ainz does not have numerous years of political experience. He may think the man is completely collected or just simply slept less than he used to last night.

The room suddenly filled with roars as they heard the word magic. "Impossible!" "Magic does not exist!" "Ridiculous!" shouted many chairmen.

Ainz raised his hand and cast his magic. "[Widen Magic: Perfect Silence]!"

The room suddenly became silent as everyone lost their voice. The Overlord sighed and bowed his head. "Better… I don't like noisy people… especially fools who don't know what are they speaking about…" he looked towards the agents of various countries. "Now… shall we continue?"

Everyone nodded in unison. The fear and awe were radiated from their faces and eyes. With a flinch of his wrist, Ainz dispelled his magic.

The people gasped realizing they regained the control over their vocal chords. Ban turned to Ainz. "T-That… was… magic?" Ainz nodded. "Yes… pretty basic… but still magic…" then turned back to his accuser. "Answering your question. Even if I want to share magical knowledge with your people… I just simply could not without involving serious rituals to make you able to cast even the basic incantations. Your people simply do not possess the gift of magic in such degree its use would be effective… not speaking about I saw disturbing things on your planet. Gifting you magic would make it worse… much worse… you may destroy each other after taking your hand on such power. It is disturbing to even think about it…"

The Secretary-General of the United Nations looked at Ainz with a surprised expression. "What do you say, your majesty? If you saw anything irregularity. Just let us know, and I will explain it the best of my ability…"

Ainz hummed. Then nodded. "Yes… you could say that… I experienced a few disturbing things under my travels in this world. And it makes my heart ache. Under thousands of years. Not much changed in your world… your people using the same mentality as in old times."

"Can you explain it, your majesty? Maybe we could give you an explanation. Maybe you misinterpreted something..." asked Darryl with a smug expression that was hidden by his hands.

Ainz hummed. "Hmm... we will see... Still... there are some disturbing things... Amongst them... world hunger, how you treat your fellow humans, racism, and genocide because of meaningless reasons such as nationality, skin color or religion. But the most disgusting aspect that I meet on your planet was slavery. Slavery in your technological level. Absolutely disgusting and outrageous!" noted Momonga hitting the table angrily.

The leaders looked at each other. "Forgive me, your Majesty. But slavery is banned everywhere in this world. We don't know what you are speaking about." said innocently one of the lesser country representatives.

Momonga bowed his head. "Maybe in traditional sense slavery is banned… but what about workers who forced to work amongst horrible circumstances? Amongst the circumstances of so called modern slavery?"

 _"Like Herohero-san..."_ thought back his friend Momonga sorrowfully. His friend who his superiors always mad overwork and it negatively affected his everyday life.

The members of the United Nations who know what Ainz is speaking about gulped. Momonga continued. He looked at his side. "G.O.L.D.I.E… if you may…" A white haired barely ten years old girl appeared beside Ainz. It apparently seemed she is a hologram. "At Once! Ainz-sama!" she saluted, and various charts and graphic appeared beside Ainz.

"Who was that your majesty?" asked the Secretary General. Ainz glanced at him. "She is a fully functioning and conscious A.I. Created by my friend."

The security council every member gasped. Ainz looked through on them. "You can compare her to the Skynet from the movie… Terminator. If you know the film. Without the genocidal tendencies and god complex."

Momonga recognized as many council members started to sweat heavily and loosen their ties. "She scanned through your whole network and found a 'few' disturbing things… mostly in the backyard of the most powerful nations. Being if I reveal those information's would most likely cause governments to fall… I will state only the obvious." Ainz looked down and started his speech.

"The 2015 Global Slavery Index estimates that 45.8 million people are subject to some form of modern slavery in your world today. The countries with the highest estimated prevalence of modern slavery by the proportion of their population are North Korea, Uzbekistan, Cambodia, India, and Qatar. Those countries with the highest absolute numbers of people in modern slavery are India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Uzbekistan. And you want me to share technology with you… don't joke with me… I don't trade with slavers…"

The holographic projection that showed the index and numbers constantly changed besides Ainz. Following perfectly what he just said.

 _"_ _Thanks G.O.L.D.I.E. for the information and the hard work…"_ thanked the artificial intelligence Momonga in his head.

Chairman Dong sighed. "Your majesty… where do you get that information? I assure you… there is no supported slavery inside our borders. That A.I of yours must be faulty…"

G.O.L.D.I.E. eyed the man. _"_ And you are fat and stupid! I mined this stuff from your closed databases! You are the one who is a faulty little man!" she stretched out her tongue to the Chinese man. Making him flinch out of his sudden anger.

Ainz turned to the A.I. "G.O.L.D.I.E... what would your mother say if she saw you like this... be a little more polite..."

The A.I flinched suddenly in fear. Then bowed before Ainz. "I am sorry Ainz-sama!" Then turned to Dong. "I am sorry Dong-san!"

Ainz nodded Then turned back to Dong. "I assure you… G.O.L.D.I.E. is functioning perfectly fine. Anyway…." Ainz continued. "But... The most disturbing thing not this…" he bowed his head down.

"And it is? What it is your majesty?"

"The lack of respect towards others… the lack of equal treatment towards your fellow humans…" explained Ainz.

One of the chairmen snorted. "Your majesty. Please excuse me. But we read the reports. And according to them. You are using undead as the brunt of your forces. You deal with demons to strengthen your forces. Devils those according to our mythology. Used to enslave humans. Then what is your answer your lack of respect towards the deceased? You are accusing us because there is illegal slavery amongst our ranks. But you as well using slaves. Every nation has its faults yours as well… do not be so uppish! Do not think you are better than us. We are living beings after all."

Ainz released a chilling snicker. "I am undead… not a living being… and I have as much respect towards my creation as much they deserve. I have as much respect others as they show me... I don't treat my creations as slaves. They are part of me… the prolongation of my will…" Ainz looked towards the representative who accused him. "Or you treat your limbs as slaves when you use them? You treat your heart as a slave as it working in the 24 hours of the day just to keep your blood circulating without rest until you die?"

The representative remained silent and slumped in his seat. Ainz nodded. "You see… as you use your limbs to spread your influence and make you advance forward... I as well use the undead I created to spread my influence."

"That's outrageous! Treating the deceased in such way is just wrong!" hit his table the Spain representative.

Ainz turned to him. "Holy, unholy. Those only words created by people who don't understand them. You said I am disrespectful. Yet… You disrespect my authority… yet you expect me to accept yours. Where is the equal treatment in that? Tell me…" explained the Overlord of Death in a cool tone.

Ainz leaned closer folding his hands skeletal before himself. The nine divine class ring shone each of his fingers.

"I have only as much respect towards you as you show towards me. As well, in my kingdom… every race is equal. No race receives special treatment because of their heritage. Because of their race. Because of their social status. Everyone subjected the same laws. Everyone has to work and struggle to earn their place. I do not tolerate laziness and corruption in my kingdom. Neither I will endure it in my presence…" answered Ainz intimidatingly.

Darryl smirked. His plan was a success. He managed to push Ainz to the edge by using his fellow UN representatives. He stood up. Tidied his tie and started to speak. He will give the final blow.

"That's a little irrational… don't you think your Majesty? Keeping together various races under the same laws just too dangerous if you ask me. With this, you only endanger your own people… do you keep yourself a responsible ruler? Your majesty? Do you not care about your own citizens? Are you even know what responsibility is?"

Auriel shot up and raised her voice. "How dare a miserable creature as you speak with Ainz-sama with such tone!? He is the leader of the Supreme Beings! Only he and Creator-sama remained with us to show us the way forward! You were not even a thought when he led the Supreme Beings and his kingdom!" the sudden shining golden, divine aura that surrounded her filled the room. Giving a warm feeling of fright every representative as well showing her real powers. The pressure was imaginable and could feel by people and animals from miles from the building. The people breathed heavily as collapsed on the ground in and outside of the building.

"How…" She was stopped by Ainz's raising his skeletal hand. The light substituted and Auriel looked at Ainz questioningly.

Ainz chuckled. He looked to Darryl with an amused expression in his mind. "Irrationality, or the rejection of rationality in ourselves and in others. Yes, I know about it. It is one of the biggest flaws with regard to our own lives or, the broadest explanation of how we mess up our own lives-is insufficient commitment to the good life, which is really a species of irrationality."

The people in the room stared at him with wide eyes as heavy sweat poured down from their form and retook their seats. Ainz continued after a momentary glance around.

"You all want to live a happy, flourishing life-the good life-and there is much you could do to make yourselves more comfortable or more flourishing. Why don't you? Because you think you have got it all figured out, even when you don't. You are chronically dishonest with yourselves, and consequently, you consistently misjudge both what is possible (usually a lot more than what you assume) and what is necessary." (i.e., what must be done if we are to do our best and make ourselves and others happiest).

A few gulps can be heard from the crowd.

"But… Your culture biggest flaw with regard to others-or, the broadest explanation of how you mess up _other people's_ lives-is your shocking willingness to treat others as mere means. From dictators to murderers, bureaucrats, evil bosses, psychopaths, and just selfish and mean characters of all sorts, you far too often treat others as irrational tools, as people who cannot or should not make up their own minds for themselves. You want to bend them to your will instead of encouraging the best in them. A person who treats you as a tool to be wielded does not respect your freedom or your ability to judge things rationally for yourself."

Darryl gritted his teeth feeling his own defeat.

"You might say it's a kind of laziness that comes from pride or lack of humility, but there's more to it than that. Ultimately the problem is that you don't use your heads and you don't respect others to do the same."

Many older representatives nodded in agreement. Many people glared at Ainz like he was the devil himself. The people behind the screens cheered for Ainz and hearing his charismatic speech wanted to immigrate to his country immediately.

"If you embraced your own rationality and that of others, you would act with more integrity and treat others as free agents with the sovereign integrity of their own. You would make yourselves and your families happier, and you would get along much more easily in the wider world." Ainz lets a pause after his long speech.

"Of course, that is how I try to rule my kingdom. And the mentality that I try to spend my eternal unlife and pass to my children as well my vassals. But that is only my opinion… maybe I am wrong… who knows…" he chuckled like an evil Overlord.

Auriel applauded him. "That was a very uplifting speech Ainz-sama!" she chirped with a broad smile on her face.

Ainz glanced at her. "Thank you… Auriel…"

Darryl sat back. Mumbling under his nose, he was ultimately defeated. Ainz looked around. "Any more questions?" No questions came. He nodded. "Good… if you may… I need to return to my country… I need to take care of a few things." He suddenly looked the Angel standing beside him.

"Please Auriel… if you may meet the leaders of the various religions and take care of the diplomatic issues and questions. I have enough of this planet for one day. Maybe Esdeath will arrive in the meantime..."

The Arch Seraphim bowed her head, and the golden halo that is floated above her head followed the custom. "As you wish Ainz-sama… I take care of things."

Then the Overlord turned back to the representatives. Then Ban. "I am sorry this little meeting progressed like this. Please let me allow you to enable you to station an embassy in my kingdom as well invite a few UN representatives as the show of my good intentions towards your world."

Ban bowed his head. "No, I am the one who should apologize for your majesty…" he glanced angrily at his colleagues then looked back at Ainz. "Some of them still a child in the heart. Please forgive their childish nature," he whispered.

Ainz nodded. "Very well… I forgive them... but before that..." he reached in his dimensional storage, and the darkness swallowed up his skeletal hand. Some people eyes almost popped out seeing the incredible sight. Some just gasped.

Pulling out his hand Ainz gave a letter to the Secretary General. "Write in the paper when the representatives want to come to my country to a visit. Or simply ask Auriel. I leave her here as a diplomatic contact." Ban bowed his head. "Thank you, your majesty.

Suddenly they heard a woman shouting amongst the chairs. Ainz and Ban looked where the screeching sound came from.

Many people gathered around the collapsed man. Ainz, Ban, and Auriel hurried to the place as well. "Give us some space," said Ainz with a shooting tone. The people automatically opened before him giving him clear view what happened. A terrified look settled on the people faces.

Besides a suited man an elderly woman kneeled. As she examined the man, she realized. The man died of heatstroke. It was such a sad sight. The man was only thirty-six years old. The youngest amongst the representatives.

"What happened?" asked Ainz considering the situation.

"M-Most likely heart attack." she looked back to the man who seemed clearly dead. "Carsten always has heart problems…" she whispered in a sad tone. Then glared at Ainz. "You…" gritting her teeth spat her accusations. "He died because of you! Because of your trick, he became too excited, and his heart could not bear any more."

"Tanya! That's enough! It was not his majesty fault! The doctor already said to him to try to live less stressful life. Political life is stressful!"

The woman looked away with tears in her eyes. Ainz stepped closer. Kneeling beside Tanya he placed his skeletal hand to her shoulder.

The women looked at him with a surprised expression. "What if I say… I can bring him back… what would you do?"

The women as every one representative looked Ainz like he would be a madman. "That's ridiculous! No one can bring back the dead!" shouted many of them. A little commotion broke out as many people started to speak amongst each other.

Momonga chuckled. "Maybe for you... it is impossible… but for me… death is nothing more than an illness what I can cure…" the people around him looked with a dumbfounded expression. Ainz looked back at the women using his menacing skeletal face. "What do you say? What do you give to bring him back? What do you offer?"

The women looked away. Then Ainz. "Anything! Anything! I give you whatever you wish! I give you everything!" she shouted desperately.

"Tanya!" many people gasped around her.

Ainz chuckled. "So be it…" under his majestic crimson garb he withdraws a rod. The wand in his hand takes on the appearance of a glowing short rod of about thirty centimeters in length. While so, it emitted a sacred aura that appeared out of place in the hand of its user. In a way, it was an incredibly beautiful item which seemed to be made out of ivory, with the front end coated in gold and the handle inscribed with runes. _"I hope these new improved Resurrection Wands works like home_ …" Ainz thought.

The beautiful looking wand emitting holy aura started too shone in an increased rate as Ainz activated the item. "Rise!" he commanded. A few moments later the previously dead man body engulfed with bright divine aura and slowly rose.

He breathed heavily as his soul came back from the other side. "Tanya…" he looked at the woman. Then his surroundings with a stupefied expression. "Wha-What happened…" he asked fearfully.

"You live! You live!" the woman embraced him tightly. Then looked at Ainz. "Thank you! Thank you your majesty…" tears poured down her elderly face. Ainz just nodded. "Not a problem… don't forget… live your life to the fullest. People rarely get a second chance."

Ainz turned around. "I think you can handle the rest Auriel…" asked his attaché the Overlord.

His servant bowed. "Of course, Ainz-sama… I do my best." she bowed deeply.

Ainz nodded, and an oval shaped gate opened before him. The hole in the space was so black. It seemed it sucks out the life from its surrounding. "I leave Yuri and Entoma with you. They will help you with the negotiations if it's necessary." the maids bowed at once. "As you wish Ainz-sama!"

Auriel nodded, and Ainz left the scene. After he's gone. The gate immediately closed behind him.

Crasten looked around panicking. He still did not understand what happened. Less… why some of the representatives fallen to their knees and just why not they able to close their mouth.

"Wha-What happened…" he asked again.

Ban massaged his forehead. "I will tell you later… now…I call a break…" then he turned to Auriel. "If you may... my lady I will show you the rest room. After the break, we can conclude the meeting further... I am sure many of the people here would like to speak you under more relaxed circumstances." Offered Ban politely.

She tilted her head and smiled. "Thank you, Secretary General. That would be good…" her radiating smile caught off guard the elder who backed in his sudden surprise.

Meanwhile, the other chairmen discussed the happenings. Darryl and Sheganov cursed under their nose. Meanwhile, Dong though through the incident of the meeting and tried to come up with a plan to convince the Sorcerer King to let some of his people settle in his country in a separate region. Even more… now his representative remained behind as a diplomatic contact. Now there is the perfect chance to build a good relationship between the two countries.

He heard his mobile. That typical buzzing sound that the phone emits when the owner receives a message or email. Darryl and Sheganov received the same sound and inspected their phone.

All three men eyes widened as they read the message. The text in the message was the next.

"We know…"

Numerous attachment attached to the mail. With a trembling hand, all three of them opened it. The email was full of government secret what the other nations become aware their country most likely will be heavily sanctioned.

With trembling, sweating face the three man looked at the little hologram who spoke a few representative near the podium. Suddenly she looked at Dong. Smiled and waved at him then stick out her tongue mockingly. Dong immediately turned his head away with gritted teeth. "Damn that brat!" he cursed. he thought Ainz and G.O.L.D.I.E. just bluffed about hacking in their closed network. It seemed they did not lie...

This was bad… if it comes to light… His people will lose their trust in the government. In this current situation that may cause a catastrophe. Maybe even civil war. That may mean the fall of the regime.

Darryl the president of the USA gritted his teeth and trembled in fear. "That… Devil…" he cursed under his breath.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Saderan Empire:**

In the main road that led to the Empire's capital. Sadera. Two luxurious looking chariots surrounded with heavy guard headed towards the capital. One of them looked like a cargo chariot transporting a heavy looking chest. Meanwhile the other looked like transport. The cargo chariot seemingly pulled with no mount but moved on its own accord. Like some kind of magic pulled it instead of horses.

The other was pulled by four legendary looking mounts. Dark in fur. The legendary creatures called Bicorns.

Four individual sat inside of the transportation vehicle pulled by legendary looking mounts. They were surrounded by a luxurious looking curtain, sitting in comfortable seats. Two of them was simple maids.

The other two wore elegant dresses. They were the daughters of the Sorcerer King. They were Eleanor and Selene Ooal Gown. The second and the third child of the Sorcerer King. The first from Shalltear and the second from Zesshi Zetsumei.

Currently, the two of them wore elegant diplomat dresses. For the distaste of Selene. She would rather wear her armor. This is why she was restless and tried to arrange her clothes the best way as possible to not feel herself in such uncomfortable position.

"This abomination of clothes is making me go crazy!" she grumbled angrily.

Eleanor chuckled and drank from her tea. "You should get used to it. Godmother Albedo sent us on a diplomatic mission to lay down the basis of the country vassalization. It may take a long time."

"Aren't they already father's vassals?" asked back Selene with an angry tone.

Eleanor closed her eyes gently then opened it. "Almost… we just need to take care a few more things. And they are ours. We just need to hit the angle in their coffin. And their collapse will come…" she chuckled in an evil way... _"A few more steps to ensure brother falling from father's grace…"_ she bit her lower lip in her excitement.

Serene nodded. "Still, it is annoying…"

Eleanor snickered. Finding amusing her sister's visible suffering.

"Not funny!" shouted the younger sister furiously.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Well, that's for now... I hope you enjoyed it! :)**

 **Please understand. I did not want to Ainz to completely frighten the UN, for example, taking away their sun by a Super Tier spell.**

 **That only makes the UN call back the JSDF then destroy the Gate in hope Ainz can't come in their realm without the connection between the two sides.**

 **(Foolish Mortals... Kukukuku. Ainz-sama can travel to your world if he was there before...) This was Demiurge, not me. Blame him!**

 **Anyway...**

 **Ainz is a tactical individual basically. Only using his power when it's absolutely neccesary. After all... only fools reveal the full extent of their power before individuals who can backstab them... (At least that is what I think... -;-)**

 **Anyway... it would be not such fun of story without Ainz and his vassals' political schemes. Doesn't it? :)**

 **I spoke too much already... -;-**

 **Anyway... Until next time! :)**

 **Stay safe! Safe winds! May Ainz skeletal structure be with you! Drink milk!**


	14. Masquerade of many faces

**Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There**

 **by oblivon2991**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.**

 **I don't own the _Overlord_ (** **オーバーロード** ** _Ōbārōdo_** **?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **Please review it. I know I will make mistakes that I intend to correct and will try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

* * *

A woman laid on the bed. Dirty, full of bruises. The long hours of mistreating can be clearly seen on her body. Her long silvery white hair rough and uncared. Her red eyes almost lifeless as she is started the walls before herself. The warrior spirit that was her race own started to fade. Slowly but steadily. Her captor started to snuff out the last light of resistance from her.

Her hair long, silver reaching entirely to her waist. Her two long bunny ears dropped. Uncared. Showing her almost desperate current mod. But her face still beautiful. Under the layers and layers of dirt, she was indeed beautiful.

The warrior queen of the bunny warriors almost gave up. Now the only thing that made her endure the harsh treatment of her captor. Zorzal El Caesar. The first prince of the Empire. Was the thought. One day she can have her revenge and can lay ruin this corrupt Empire that pushed her people to the edge of extinction.

The said prince betrayed her trust. Used her as a toy. Lied to her. Saying if she gives up he will spare her people. All for naught. Zorzal did not keep his word. Her people are long gone. Scattered. Their warrior spirits they are so proud long broken.

Day after day she endured the Prince constant rape, beating, and perverted games. Most of her servants left long ago. Only a handful of them remained faithful to their former queen. And after the assassination attempt committed by her own people. She realized. Her people blame her for the genocide Zorzal composed. Zorzal lied to her. Mislead her in her desperation.

In truth. She had sacrificed herself to protect her country and people. She had endured this terrible abuse for a full three years, but her home was long since destroyed and her people were nearly extinct. What few survivors remained were scattered throughout the land and lived in misery.

Worse, those survivors mistakenly believed that she had betrayed her people, and swore to exact revenge on her. That was cruel, even for a Beastmen. The thought of what Zorzal would do when he became Emperor sent a shiver down her spine.

But also... if Zorzal becomes the next Emperor her chance to control him from the background subtly and in the process lay ruin the Empire marginally increases. She's been feeding Zorzal lines and fostering his ambition, knowing full well he's an idiot incapable of ruling competently or leading an army.

If not his overwhelming numerical superiority her people would easily beat his forces back then. Unfortunately. That did not happen. Thus she forced to endure such harsh treatment.

Day after day she faced the harsh treatment. Using one of her last still faithful servant to gather information and plot in the background.

Despite this, she was forced to live in a cell. With a small window. The light barely lit the room. Her simple hay covered bed was uncomfortable. She trembled every morning being her captors did not give her any kind of blanket to warm herself on the cold nights. Forced her to wear simple, rough prisoner clothes. Protected nothing from the harsh, cold nights of the Empire and the chilly cell she inhabited.

The guards used to chat before her cell. Speaking about various things. Mostly about how they wanted to rape her. Like she was not even there. They did not care her well-being at all. They did not care she is hearing them very well.

It was strange. But just now the guards were strangely silent. The change of the guards used to be a few hours later. She observed as much her three years being captive of a sadist slaver.

She was exhausted after the day long abuse. Slowly her eyes fluttered. The dream catches up with her. In her dream, she was in the same cell. _"Great…"_ she thought _. "Even in my dream, I stuck in this miserable cell."_

Suddenly something strange came to her vision. It was not her usual green, lizard like a servant. No… after looking up a man like being towered above her. Inspecting the former queen of warrior bunnies curiously.

About 1.8m tall, the man towered above her. He had nicely combed black hair. Wearing a British suit with a tie, he is dressed like a gentleman. A strange smiling mask covered his face. Behind his back is a silver tail sprouted, covered with metal plates and six long spikes at the end.

Tyuule suddenly jumped up taking a defensive position. If this is one of Zorzal's sadistic games, she was not amused in the slightest. Moreover in her dream. Bad joke. "Who are you?! Zorzal sent you? Tell him I need some time to prepare." she shouted.

The man in suit titled his head. "Do you speak about the crown prince of the Empire?" he asked. His tone gentle. But strangely mysterious.

Tyuule is knowing not to how to respond adequately to the current situation just nodded.

"I see…" the man nodded. "I assure you. He does not send me. Moreover… I have an offer to you. Simple as that." The man voice was tempting. Now he resembled more to one of Hardy demon than an actual person.

"This is just a dream. Go away." snarled the former queen.

"I assure you. I am not an illusion." answered the man once again.

"Who are you?" squinted her eyes the warrior queen. Her curiosity flared.

"How unbecoming to me…" chuckled the man in a suit. Bowing slightly he placed his hand over his heart. "I am Jaldabaoth. It is a pleasure to meet you Tyuule. The former queen of the warrior bunnies."

How did this man know who she is? Zorzal never really paraded her around. Such thing only a few senators and Zorzal's father know her current state. Zorzal want to play a game again like last time? She barely survived when he tried something similar. She was not ready to the next round of torturous games that man had in his mind.

She shook her head. No… this is her dream. It is natural her own mind know who she is. If this nightmare wants to play. Let's play. Looking back filled with determination she asked.

"I ask you again… What do you want? Answer me!" she shouted.

The demon crossed his hands behind his back. "KUkukukuku… Be easy queen Tyuule. I assure you. My intentions are clear. My employer simply has a business offer for you. Simply as that…"

"What business offer?" asked Tyuule? "What I will gain from it?" she felt the man before she was dangerous. Very dangerous. It was like the man before herself was a giant. And she is just a simple insect. Her bunny senses screamed to get away from him as soon as possible. But she swallowed the screaming voices in her head. The least she can do is to play the game. If Zorzal wants to play. If this nightmare wants to play. Let's play. Nothing remained to lose.

Zorzal was an idiot anyway. There is no way he can outwit her.

"What's the offer?"

"Simply as that. We want you to work for us. In exchange. Your people will flourish once again. You can regain the rightful place amongst them. You will be queen once again." the demon words were tempting. Offering the forbidden fruit using his seductive tone.

Tyuule gritted her teeth and turned her head away. "I traded my freedom for false hope once. Never again!" she spat.

Jaldabaoth leaned forward. "Are you sure? 'Queen?' Maybe you never gain the chance to redeem yourself again."

Thinking about it. She felt maybe this so called Jaldabaoth was right. She wanted to reject his offer. Still, she was desperate. If this man offers a way out and redemption in the eyes of her people in a faster way she planned. She had to take it. Still, it is only a dream. But if the man before her is some kind of dream eating demon sent by Hardy. She needs to be careful.

Jaldabaoth nodded. "I see… How pitiful… Seeing the mighty warrior queen descend in such deeds. Does not matter." a sadistic smile curled on the demons face under the mask. "We have plenty of more options. But if you are still interested saving your people." he grabbed a simple looking vial with a card clipped on its side under his suit. "Drop a call. The vial is a gift from my employer. You can consider it the sign of his goodwill."

"What is in the vial?" asked Tyuule suspiciously. Glaring at the man before herself.

"Kukukuku…." the demon laughed mysteriously. Then disappeared without answering the former Queen's question. After searching her strange visitor for moments.

Tyuule looked at the small bottle placed on her small counter. "What…" she wanted to ask one more thing. But she found herself in her room once again. Her eyes popped open, looking around. Sitting up she sweated. Her mouth dry. Like she just woke up from a long nightmare. She shook her head. Bad joke of a dream.

The invader disappeared without a trace. Like in her dream. Looking at the little counter near her bed. The same small bottle settled she saw in her dream. She started to hear the guards chatting once more.

"Hey, Brat. How would you stuff that animal bitch?"

"Raw and rough." answered the second guard.

"Hahahaha!" Tyuule heard the sadistic guards tasteless jokes many times. She already gets used to it. She was not amused.

"Then it was all true…" she mumbled. Looking at herself. Holding the small vial with a card stuck on its side.

The decision, decision. What now? If she accepts she might trade her non-existent freedom once again. She might descend deeper than she is in her current situation.

She was sure. The man appeared before her was not Zorzal's underlying. He spoke in a much more sophisticated tone than the brutes that idiot occasionally surrounds himself. There was only two option. The demon either sent by Hardy. Or a third party unknown even to her information sources.

She remembered the aura; she felt when she saw him in her dream. And it just made her felt colder. Like she was in the presence of the devil itself.

Zorzal would never work with beings has he considered lower life forms such Beastmen and treated even ogres and orcs as cannon fodder. Even his own kind time to time. Tyulle was actually disgusted by that man. No… she always found him disgusting.

Inspecting the small card on the side of the vial she could not read the strange symbols. She only found familiar the four letter in the middle of it.

Every symbol engraved with pure gold into the card. Emitting a faint light. Only the four symbol in the middle of the black card colored black. So black it literally suppressed the card already black coloration. Outlined with a sinister red, fog like a malicious aura.

'E.A.S.Y.' These characters were engraved in the middle of the small business card. Tyuule did not know what these symbols meant. She only knew. They were familiar to her.

One thing sure. She will call her servant and give this vial to him to test it out. He was especially good for such things as alchemy after all.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Near Fortress Gown: Settlement Dreamscope:**

After the Empire's humiliating defeat near Dalnus Hill. The Sorcerous Kingdom tireless workforces and agricultural experts quickly reorganized themselves and built a majestic fortress. So big and widespread no one saw such structure in this world ever before.

Layers and layers of study enchanted stone walls. Thick, reinforced adamantine gates. On the walls constantly patrolling Death Knights, Nephalem guards, Demons and undead varied in size and type. Magic casters and simple soldiers wearing enchanted armor. Magic fueled steampunk styled cannons inhabited the walls. Providing long range artillery support if it's neccesary.

The magical cannons were mostly still prototype state. But they were deployable. This new scenario was the perfect test environment for their first production test.

Under the walls, hidden traps waited for anyone who dared to besiege the great fortress. In the air, the constantly patrolling Gryphon Knight units of the kingdom watched vigilantly. And anyone who dared to come closer in the airspace hunted down immediately.

Unfortunately, the knight only could prove their worth to their commander under the daily patrols and exercise spars. Magni Ironbeard was the said commander of the kingdom famous Gryphon Knight unit. Or as many of his past foes and the people of the Kingdom know him. 'Ol'Shatterhand.' Due his strength was legendary in the kingdom. According to the stories, he was even able to wrestle with an adult dragon naked and come back barely scratched. If it is true or not no knows except the Sorcerer King and his faithful companion. Who could wrestle with those mighty creatures and come back alive? Ruse or not aside those two mighty being no one knows.

But according to the tales. Magni broke poor dragon spine and threw him down from the side of the mountain bare handed. But I prattled enough from the Mighty Magni Ironbeard past achievements. Afraid be a not dear reader. You can listen to the stories about him long enough. Now... let's proceed.

Amongst the clouds floating. Black armored angel like beings waited the fools dared to harbor the airspace of the great fortress. Aside from fly capable demons, undead and the few higher level beings. Only they were able to remain intact amongst such harsh conditions. The height that bordered the unforgiving void of the space. The height where no living being could remain alive without life sustaining equipment and proper preparation. The pressure, the cosmic radiation, the lack of oxygen and the unforgiving icy grip of the space between the worlds made it impossible.

Since the intrusion of the JSDF jets. The creatures just waited. Watched. Only a few strange birds flew away in their immediate vicinity.

Not as it mattered. They were just summoned beings. Such meaningless things as time did not matter them. The only motive they existed was to fulfill their creator's orders. Nothing else.

In the fortress, buildings varied in size and purpose towered. Military units did their daily exercise. Spent their leave the best way possible. Some of them slept. Some of them retreated one of the inn positioned in the fort. Some of them visited the freshly built church. They spent their free time with many other things.

The traffic was constant between the two sides. Traders, adventurers and every other kind of people passed the gate every minute. Of course, only after a strict security check a person may pass to the other side. Because of this, the officers managed to catch several spies from the Empire. Sent by Emperor Molt himself.

You don't have to guess what happened to them. Life goes on, and the fortress and its surroundings seemed to flourish nicely.

Thanks to the tireless undead workforce of the Kingdom. The forces of the Sorcerous Kingdom cleaned the battlefield for a few days. Hoarding the corpses of the fallen Empire soldiers into one pile. Looting their property. Stacking them on each other to use the deceased for dark purposes. In the Sorcerous Kingdom, nothing is lost. Just repurposed.

The Elder Liches quickly used their unholy powers and resurrected the adequate amount of the fallen soldiers. Just to use them to bolster their workforces. The resurrected zombies were not fast, strong or smart in any way. But using them for labor work significantly accelerated the process of building and restoration. The process further accelerated if we calculate their undead body unlimited stamina in the equation.

It was especially true those green brutish creatures resembled trolls and ogres of Gown Prime. As the people officially named their home planet after became aware of their place in the universe. The planet where the Sorcerous Kingdom positioned.

The fallen soldier's armor and weapon sent to the forges. The appointed smiths made use of the newly acquired metal the best way. True. The metal that used to create the armor and the weapons of this world soldiers was inferior compared to the enchanted metals used by the Sorcerous Kingdom. Still, they had their own uses.

From the instruments of war. Many new items have been created. Fueling the Sorcerous Kingdom unstoppable, continuously expanding war industry.

Several druidic magic caster can be seen on the field. Using their nature based magic to help the blood stained ground recover and accelerate the growth of the freshly planted forage. Preparing for the worse if suddenly the portal under the protective dome disappears. Preparing the ground to ease the strain weighted of the Kingdom with this new campaign.

Magical researchers strolled around the new land. Using their strange looking devices to know more about this world new magic.

Scouts sent out in the last few weeks. Assess the landscape and look for new resources. After all, it was only natural to evaluate the lands you seek to conquer. As you may think. Miles after miles they only found the scorched ground and ruined villages. Wells and water sources poisoned.

Seeing this most of the scouts just chuckled. A few of them frowned disapprovingly. How could a ruler do this to their own people?

Such outdated strategy was completely useless against the Sorcerous Kingdom tireless forces. Forces mostly composed of creatures did not need any nutrition and can march tirelessly. Even without them. With druidic nature based magic, the scorched ground can be healed. The poisonous water can be purified.

If the Emperor of this world tried to starve their flesh and blood forces to die in the way towards the capital. It was without avail. Completely infective and just stupid against the Sorcerer King's might. He is just digging his own grave. But seemingly Molt did not realize it yet. In time... maybe.

With teleportation magic, their magic caster can transport goods without any difficulty. Not speaking about every soldier of the Sorcerous King carried at least one week worth of food and drink in their newly developed bottomless bag. Allowing them to carry five hundred kilograms worth of goods without straining themselves.

Not as they wanted to push forward. In the last few weeks, they got the order from the higher ups to reinforce their position. Seek villages and allies who are willing to subdue themselves the rules of the Sorcerous Kingdom and offer protection in exchange of vassalage.

The first agents Demiurge sent out already passed the offer to the nearby kingdoms. Passing a very generous offer compared to their state after the crushing defeat.

'Abandon the Empire and join under the banner of the Sorcerous Kingdom. In exchange, we protect you from every possible threat. You can have a piece of the cake after the defeat of the Empire.' That was the rough message Demiurge sent to the nearby nations.

Italica, the closest major trader city, was under their complete control as well. Serving as the middle ground if it comes to negotiation. Severing it from the Empire meant a big setback for the governing power of the lands. The Empire will surely not recover for years losing one of its major trader towns under its domain. The city where many trade routes meet each other.

Demiurge's plan of complete subjugation progressed better than he expected. He only needs a few more nails. And the Empire will join under the banner of Ainz Ooal Gown without resistance. He even had planned against the JSDF if they try to interfere with his or according to him. Ainz plans.

The power of people not to be underestimated. The Prince of Darkness knows that. Without people a king is nothing. Ainz himself consoled this himself to Demiurge. And he took his ruler advice at his heart. By providing humanitarian support. The people soon will realize. It is better with them than against them.

Soon the people will raise their voice and will act against the tyrant Emperor. And then… Demiurge will give them a better alternative. A brighter future under the rule of the Sorcerer King. Ainz Ooal Gown. The leader of the Supreme Beings.

As you may think. The people of the Special Region quickly became aware the newly appeared powers. Their strange devices, magic. And how they treated other races and their own people.

Two new thriving community came to life with the appearance of the refugees of the Empire. Near the borders of the newly appeared Fortress Gown and the military base of JSDF grown out from the top of Hill Arnus.

Thanks to Emperor Molt's Scorched Earth tactic. Numerous people lost their homes and loved ones. The number of bandits grows day by day. Out of desperation and despair the scattered soldiers of the Empire, those participated in the battles of Arnus and Dalnus Hill joined their ranks. Leaving their duties behind. Deserting their Empire in the process.

Deserting and cursing the fool Emperor who sent them in such hopeless battle. The desperate common folk who did not have any relatives out of desperation forced to seek refuge under the wings of the newly appeared invaders. Either seeking out the men in green who built their defenses on the top of Hill Arnus.

Or seek the aid of the mighty Sorcerous King himself.

First. The simple peasants did not really want to get even close to the mighty fortress. Guarded by dreadful creatures varied in size and shape. Carried the stench of death. Wearing the spiked armor of terror. Carrying a jagged sword and large tower shield almost covering their body. Emitting terror and the promise of oblivion.

But as their desperation grows and grows. They were forced to come closer and closer. Settle down in the newly established camp near the fortress.

As time passed. More and more people arrived. Slowly filling the area near Fortress Gown. Establishing a new thriving community under the weeks. Traders, magical researchers from the magical city of Rondel came. Seeking the miracles of the Sorcerous King himself.

In the newly established community, the Sorcerous Kingdom Death Guards composed from Death Knights and the black armored living guard force regularly patrolled the streets. Making sure the peace is reign and no criminal activity or mobs establish in the new community.

Amongst the crowd, several robed figures walked through the people. "Did you saw that master? What kind of creatures they are? What kind of magic fueling them?" Asked one of the pupils of the magic researcher sage.

"I don't know that boy. But we are here to find it out. Aren't we?" smirking the elderly man answered. Bering the face of an old man with many years of experience behind his back.

As the magical Researchers walked through the streets. They marveled the miracles that the traders from the Sorcerous Kingdom offered. Then stopping before a shop, they looked up. The next text was inscribed in the table. 'Gidion Magical Goods.' Wrote by both the language used in the Sorcerous Kingdom and the Saderan Empire.

Entering the store the little magical bell rang. Emitting a ringing sound. Startling the mages of Rondel for a moment. The magical researchers marveled. Looking around on the shelves weirder and weirder looking magical items either settled or floated under the protection of some kind of magically enchanted glass dome. Emitting high amount of magical energy. On the shelves rows and rows of books. The pupils of the sage only saw so many books when they visited Rondel main library under one of the lessons of their master.

Two golems watched over the goods. Vigilantly protecting them from possible thieving attempts. The researchers scattered and started to browse the goods curiously. Not even sparing a glance to the half asleep shopkeeper.

"Good man. What is this? What is that strange ocular purpose?" pointed the Sage at the strange ocular under the glass after watching it intensively almost a full minute. Trying to figure out its purpose.

The man half asleep near the stall looked up. Looking towards where the old man pointed. The grizzled immediately stood up. Arranged his clothes and removed the item from the podium with a toothy smile in his face. "This is a Gale Force Reading Glass XIII. Good sir!" he answered smiling. Removing the glass dome from the item and showing it to the sage. The previous sleepy expression completely disappeared from his face.

"Hmmm…" the elderly sage cupped his graying beard. "What its purpose?"

"Oh! It is easy. You can read any kind of text with it with multiplied speed. Let me show you." The shopkeeper put on the glasses then get a book from his counter. Opened it and under a moment the book started to page itself. Filling the reader brain with new information. The trader closed the book. Removed the glasses and offered it to the customer.

"Care to try?" he asked. The sage just nodded. His apprentices watched the whole scene with great expectation. Like a child, the elderly mage grabbed after the item.

After putting up the glasses, the sage opened the book. And his eyes widened. As the book started to page itself, he felt the newly acquired information filled his mind. Under a minute he gained a whole book worth of new information. Taking down the glasses his eyes shined. "I buy it! How much?!"

"Ten standard Sorcerous Kingdom Gold coin or fifteen Suwani."

"What! Fifteen suwani?! I give you maximum five!" bartered the old man. Showing five of his fingers. Reinforcing the bartered price.

The manager expression turned gloomy and shook his head. "Sorry. I have fixed prices. But hey! I like you. I give it to you for fourteen Suwani." he pointed at the sage playfully.

"I give seven." bartered the grizzling sage.

"Twelve." answered the shopkeeper.

"Seven and a half."

Gidion the shopkeeper sighed. "Old man! You can't find better quality magical items anywhere near than mine! And this exact piece enchanted by Esdeath-sama herself. One of the last living Supreme Beings. A being who surpassed the gods. I will not give lower than twelve. Please understand. I just can't. That would be treachery against the lady herself. Usually items she enchants used to begin in 100 platinum. Worth around one thousand gold coins."

"O-One thousand!?" gasped the four apprentices who followed the old man.

The manager nodded. "You see... I could only get my hand on this because she often throws away developments she considers a failure. And because one of my contacts has ways to obtain such things." pointed out the man.

"Eight." Smirked the sage mischievously.

"Ma-Master! That's your yearly research budget! How can we go back to Rondel without money!? How will you continue your research without any kind of funds?!" shouted one of the appearance. Scolding the old man like parent his/her child. "What will the Council of the Elders say?" asked the other.

"I don't care! Don't you see how much we can learn from such magnificent item!?" shouted the sage like a zealot. Shaking the glass in his hand. "Hey! Easy. That's expensive." the shopkeeper carefully took out the ocular from the sage's hand. The old man now looked like a disappointed child. Being lost his new toy. His brown eyes lost its previous shine of excitement.

Seeing his disappointed expression the trader sighed. "Fine. I usually never do such thing. But you know I still have a few piece from the older version of this exact product. It is a lot slower than this exact one. And it may cause you a slight headache. After all. It is not the work of a Supreme Being."

The sage sighed disappointedly. "Fine… how much it cost?"

"Two suwani."

"I give you one and a half. And I want the money back guarantee."

"One. Seventy-Five. And you can choose one item from the discontinued products." he pointed towards the pile of discounted items.

The sage, however, was disappointed. Smirked and sealed a deal with a firm handshake. "Then it is a deal. Please wait a moment until I roll up the storage for the item. It may take a while. Until that. Please feel free to browse my other goods. And no sticky hands. The golems are watching." He pointed towards the two towering metal golems whose immediately daggered their sight towards the little group. Their body is sturdy and hard. Constructed from some kind of unknown metal colored brownish red. Inscribed with strange runes.

Gidion, the shopkeeper, retreated in the backroom to mine the item.

Meanwhile outside of the store.

The traders of both sides offered their wares on the streets. Giving a chance to everyone to exchange goods. In a newly established Inn, the patrons were busy. Serving drinks the continuously flowing crowd.

Among them sat a hooded figure. Densely clothed in his or her cloak. No one can distinguish his/her real bodily proportions. Near him/her a sturdy Bastardsword. Heavily bandaged. Still. The holy weapon golden light time to time peeked out under the bandages.

The said person peeked under the hood. Ogled the beautiful patrons and ladies in the bar.

"Hmm… They look good." the person's voice belonged to a woman. More precisely an elf. She had fair skin, and a few golden locks peeked out under the dark hood. Before her cheap beer settled on the table.

Her name was Granham. The Apostle of Flare. The God of the Sun and light. You may ask what the Apostle of the sun God exactly does not far from the enemy's stronghold?

Well, the explanation is quite simple. Or speaking in an exact way it could be not more complicated.

Being her god was the so called leader of the Pantheon of the gods in this realm. The choice fell on her to pass the invitation and a message towards the gods of the other side.

The other reason why the pantheon chose her to carry the message was the next.

Aside from Rory Mercury. The Apostle of Emroy. She was the closest person to the place. Being Rory is busy dealing with the JSDF and observing their operation. She was already occupied. And after the accident in the world of JSDF. Emroy did not want to risk a confrontation between them and Ainz. After Rory explained to him what happened her even the God of Darkness and Insanity considered his steps more carefully.

Rory bloodthirst might overwhelm her or she could be even killed if she encounters again with that strangely compelling vampire god. As Rory described Shalltear to Emroy.

Moreover. The gods did not want gamble sending Hardy's apostle. Giselle. Knowing Hardy chaotic nature, there is a possibility she might turn these new gods against the Pantheon. Lying about it was their idea to open the gate and disturb their peace. Lying to cause chaos and war. The war that may destabilize and destroy all three realms. A war that leaves nothing intact. The war of the Gods. Doing this only satisfy her constant boredom and curiosity finding out who is stronger.

Thus… The choice fell on her. Granham.

Hardy trustworthiness really dropped after the opening the second gate in the Hill of Dalnus. After the appearance of the gods of the other side. The gods of Sadera spared her less and less trust. Thus, slowly locking her into the silent treatment.

Even going that far to send a message to their priests to not speak with the priests of Hardy for the time being.

About why she was alone in such dangerous territory. The fact why the gods decided to send only one messenger was the next. About what Rory told Emroy there was a high chance these new gods might capture the apostles. Considering the Apostles united appearance as a declaration of war. A war that they want to end quickly as possible.

Apostles such as Granham considered walking killing machines in the Saderan Empire and everywhere else. The fighting capabilities of theirs worth an actual army. Almost every time under the history when an Apostle chose a side in a war. The other side simply used to put down the weapon and surrendered. Fearing the wrath of the said god and the great losses that comes with fighting a demi god in close combat.

Of course, it was only true when an another Apostle not helped the other side. If both sides had one. The two Apostle fought with each other until one side was unable to continue.

After long consideration. The gods decided against sending all twelve apostles. Eleven if we exclude Giselle of Hardy.

Their combined fighting capabilities worth more than eleven fully equipped army. But even then they could not fight against a god who could materialize itself and its powers in this side. Not speaking about the gods of the pantheon sensed further similar god tier beings appeared from that damn portal. Lesser in strength than that white haired goddess. But strong enough to be a fair opponent to the astral beings. Naturally, it was a rough estimation. Estimated by Ral the Goddes of Learning.

And after Rory told the tale what happened when she stood in Ainz's presence in her daily praise right after they arrived back through the structure. Even her own God backed for a moment in his heavenly throne. As she explained. She thought Ainz was Emroy's creator.

Now... this little piece of information scared the gods of the world of Sadera. And please excuse me for the rough words come next. Scroll down if you can't stand the words.

Emroy and his fellow God's exact expression can be described with the sentence. 'Scared Shittless.' With big 'S.' Rory still reeked from Ainz's scent of power. Only by standing in his presence she managed to collect as much.

If it continues, they will be no other choice just to act personally. Using their divine power to push out these foreign gods from their realm and seal the gate in the process. Hoping. They will not come back. Of course, it was only the last option. Gods battling with each other can be very disastrous not only towards the immaterial but the physical world as well.

Now, despite what a simple mortal being thinks. Creating apostles were actually a hard task. Very hard. Even for the gods themselves. It took a considerable amount of planning and the sacrifice of the portion of their power.

To create one apostle. They need the perfect candidate that can bear the gift of the appointed gods. Condition the said person. Watching it for years after the process of selection. Not speaking about the gods actually tore a piece out from their astral bodies then implement it into the selected candidate to create an infant god in the image of a demigod.

In the time that little piece is weaving itself into the very soul of the chosen one. Changing it. Transforming it into an entirely another being. Mortal. Yet not mortal. A demi god. Under the thousand year growing process this little piece gathers strength. Completely changing the apostle's body. Preparing it to their ascension.

This is how the gods multiplied. Being them neither had a physical body. Nor was able to do it in the fun way as mere mortals did. The apostles could bear children of course. But being their very soul carried the divine seed of their patrons. The children they bore will never be anything more than a mortal. Even their impressive regenerative capabilities and their ability to survive even in beheaded and buried state came from this divine core.

Flare himself explained her this once.

Granham sighed. She doesn't want to be here. Those creatures whose patrolled the streets really gave her Goosebumps and just the stench they emitted almost made her vomit. The creatures' souls barely recognizable, reeking from corruption and darkness. Malice towards every living being.

Strangely, seemingly these skeletal creatures did not hurt these simple people with simple souls. Varied between weak, coward and heroic. Shining like the sun itself. Or corrupted beyond saving.

No. These malicious skeletal creatures contradicted their very dark nature. Seemingly helping the ones around them. Treating them like they are caring about their well-being.

Just after she arrived. She saw as one of that dark, bulky armored skeleton helped moving goods to an old man. Who like it was completely natural. Simply thanked it with a broad smile. She did not feel any kind of fear from the old man. No… the only feeling she felt from him was calmness and gratitude overflowing towards the creature and its creator.

After the task finished. The creature retreated to search new task. She walked to the old man and asked him how he does not fear that undead creature. He simply answered.

'Why should I fear? That death knight only helped me. Doing his work like everyone else. Protecting us from the harmful effects like bandits. Help whenever we need it. All thanks to the watching eyes of the Supreme Beings.'

Naturally, Granham asked what a Death Knight is. In answer, the old man pointed at the bulky undead who helped him just a moment ago. The demi goddess was completely flabbergasted. She never saw such case as the undead help living beings. Not speaking about show compassion towards them. 'They are the soldiers of his majesty. Ainz Ooal Gown. His Majesty created them by himself just to help and protect us. Simple people.' the old man continued smiling.

Looking around she also saw a red robe wearing being. The being was also an undead with two evilly dimming red light in his orbits. The Elder Lich with its guards actually walked around and ordered the simple skeletal looking workers and zombies to do their appointed tasks. After receiving the task, the workers immediately jumped and started to work.

Without even releasing a whine. They growled and started to work. The whole scene disturbed Granham in such margin she needed to sit down and have a good drink. The whole thing was absurd and unnatural. Disturbed the demi goddess greatly. These creatures should be the enemy of all living being. Not helping them. This makes no sense.

She also saw black armored creatures. With white hood and double colored energy wings. Patrolling the streets and looking out for the denizens of the constantly growing community near Fortress Gown. Their faces covered by the darkness of the hood. She only saw their white dimming fog like eyes gazing around the area.

What made her really question the creature's nature was the emitted energy she constantly felt radiating from them. The hooded creatures emitted darkness like Hardy most vile demon. As well light. Bright and blinding like Flare himself. It was a life form should not even exist. Both emitting dark and light. Chaotic demonic and divine energies.

Several minutes passed since she is looking down at her drink. Thinking all of this what she saw during her stay here. It is time to move on. She sent here by purpose. She needs to fulfill the task appointed by the pantheon.

Shaking her head, she stood up. Left a few Denari on the table. Then left. Fortunately, this inn accepted both Imperial and the Kingdom gold based currency.

Walking out from the Inn she headed towards the nearby office. Set up directly to give information the newly arrived citizens. It would be suicide approach the reinforced fortress guarded thousands and thousands of soldiers and those strange creatures emitting death and destruction. She was not fooled to think she can survive such encounter. Even when she was a demigoddess. She still had a mortal body. Also, Flare warned her not to underestimate those creatures guarding the place. They can give her hard time. And who knows how many of them in that fortress clouded even before the gods all seeing eyes. Not speaking about maybe one of those heavenly beings reside in the area. Her uninvited intrusion may cause war.

Walking through the freshly built buildings. A few children ran past her. With a big toothy grin on their faces, the kids played with each other. Not even caring about the horrors of the world. Seemingly already accepted their new life.

Granham always liked how the children could adopt such situation. It is because of their young mind or their careless attitude uncorrupted by the world? She did not know. She just liked children better than most adults she meets under her travels.

Looking before herself she walked through the houses. It only took a few minutes of walk to reach the settlement information center. That was the center of the newly built community. It was not hard to find at all. The information center built to be pretty flashy and despite some European countries. Many tables showed a way towards it. Inscribed both with the Sorcerous Kingdom common and Saderan common that resembled Latin.

Granham eyes twitched when she reached the building. People after people like a snake stood before the building. In multiple rows one after another. The Sorcerous Kingdom's peacekeeper forces made sure the order is set. Every peasant came either to receive information about their new life. Request shelter. Or every other kind of thing that was neccesary to settle in the new community.

She did not want to reveal herself in the middle of a most likely enemy territory. The people of this world most likely kneel before her and start to pray if they even glance at her. But not these newcomers. No... They worshipped different gods. They most likely see her as an intruder then she had to either flee or fight. Risking a war.

In her situation. The only thing that she could do is to wait until her time comes.

The process was slow as expected and it took several hours her to be served. The creature who welcomed her was one of the red robed creatures with a skeletal face she saw previous on the streets.

"Welcome. I am Drak'mnar. How can I help you?" Despite his skeletal appearance he chirped joyfully. Like he is enjoying his work. It was quite an absurd sight. Seeing a creature like the one sitting before the demi-goddess in such good mood.

Granham gulped. It will be the best her to be straightforward. After all. She waited long enough to pass her burden. It's now or never situation. Her identity will be revealed anyway. "I need to pass a message to your gods. I need to meet them."

The two of them sat in a neatly arranged office. The office was silent. Only an unnatural howling sound can be heard. Like the one when the winds are howling, and there is no other source of a noise. Granham did not know where it came from. After all, they sat in a closed office. There is no way aside magic the wind could howl in such closed place.

The guards of Drak'mnar not even moved an inch. Being multiple administrators worked in this administrative building. They received clients in various different rooms. The Sorcerer King appreciated the security of personal life. Thus. He ordered every client should be received in separate chambers. The basic information distributed in leaflet can be found near the entrance of the building translated both the Sorcerous Kingdom common and Saderan. The people came here if they had further questions or if they had an administrative business.

For several seconds. The demi goddess and the Elder Lich just stared each other. Completely out of words.

The Undead tilted his head. "You mean his Majesty Ainz-sama?" it asked breaking the silence.

Granham just nodded. "Yes… I have an urgent message to your gods," she repeated.

"May I ask you who are? My lady? Do you have an appointment with the Supreme Beings?" asked the robed Elder Lich.

She bowed her head. "I am Granham. Apostle of Flare. The God of Sun and Light. The pantheon of God's chosen me to pass an invitation to these so called Supreme Beings." she explained.

The Elder Lich pondered for a moment. Then answered. "I am sorry. But the Supreme Beings are usually very busy. But if what you said is true. Maybe I can arrange a meeting with Demiurge-sama."

Granham sighted in a disappointed tone and massaged her forehead. "May I ask who this Demiurge you speak about is?"

Drak'mnar nodded. "Of course. He is the appointed commander of Fortress Gown. As well one of the Floor Guardian of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick. The realm of gods. One of the Ainz-sama most trusted Lieutenant."

Considering her situation, this was the best option. If she manages to pass a message to this Demiurge at least. The chance of success will be marginally increased. "He will be fine. When I can meet him?"

Drak'mnar pondered for a moment. "If everything goes as it supposes. I say several more days, and he can receive you. Or weeks. Who knows? Months. If you are unlucky. He usually very busy dealing with his numerous tasks."

Granham backed suddenly. Her eyes stretched to limit hearing the simple word. 'weeks' and 'months.' "W-Weeks!? Mo-Months! Are you joking!" she almost jumped out from her seat and started to strangle the skeletal creature in her anger.

Drak'mnar nodded. "Well… If you are really a demi-goddess as you say. You have time. Your gods being so called immortal being as well have time. In contracts. The Supreme Beings does not have time to pranksters like you who just came here and announce themselves as demigoddesses without showing any kind of evidence or official paper." Drak'mnar scolded Granham.

Granham gritted her teeth. Since her ascension, no one speaks with her in such tone. Leaning forward Drak'mnar folded his skeletal hands before himself. "So… why are you here? Another spy of the Empire? Hmm? You know it is new. Emperor Molt never sent Elves as spies before. It seems he starts to grow desperate."

Drak'mnar turned towards the guards behind him. Raising his arm, he ordered the guards behind him. "Guards, thro…"

"Wait!" shouted Granham. The Elder Lich stopped. "You can inspect my weapon you confiscated when I entered the building. That will be enough evidence who I am."

Drak'mnar waved his hand, and one of the nearby guards stepped beside him. "Inspect this so called weapon. Then report." the soldier nodded and went out for the arms.

Drak'mnar leaned forward. Starring the already agitated demi goddess. Folding his skeletal hands before himself. "We will see… Untill that. You remain here."

* * *

 **Scene Change: Garden Party**

The name for this sort of thing would be a "garden party" or "garden festival." The word conjured up impressions of large tents and roasting meat. It was located on the outskirts of the Empire, and many guests were invited to enjoy it together.

The garden was so vast that it contained parts of the forest that seemed to stretch to the horizon, as well as small hills, miniature forests, and even a little stream that led to a pool, in addition to enough grassland for a 36-hole golf course.

A large white canopy was spread over one corner of this garden. Below that, master chefs were barbecuing fish and beast meat over a massive fire. They made heavy use of those spices that were rare in the Empire, and the smell alone was enough to make people drool.

Some of the young girls in maid outfits could not help themselves and tried some, for which they were scolded once the old maids found out.

A short distance away, a group of musicians was playing a piece. It was not enough for people to consider it noise, but their music livened up the scene.

The pies filled with soup gave off a delicious herbal scent. Beside them were heaps of fruits stacked up from various countries.

After the guests filled their bellies, they would move on to the desserts.

These were frozen treats nobody had ever eaten before. The people here were happy enough just to have crushed ice drizzled with honey and fruit juice. However, the dish making its debut was called "ice cream," which was made with milk.

They tried the ice cream — which was packaged in small cups — out of curiosity, but then people started gathering because of the delicious taste.

"If you eat too much cold stuff, you'll have a stomachache," the patrician ladies chided their children from where they were sunbathing. However, it was not very convincing given they had cups of ice cream in their hands as well. Therefore, the kids just chorused "Kay~" before running off and pestering the maid in charge of ice cream for more.

The maid did not have enough ice cream for the children who wanted third and fourth helpings. In the end, the children began showing their bad attitudes and saying, "You're so pretty!"

However, when the maid calmly replied, "I'll tell your mothers," the kids dropped the act. Instead, they pressed their hands together and begged, "Pleeeeeease~." Brats would be brats no matter where they were.

It was not just the food that was ready.

When evening came, an archery range had been set up.

A middle-aged patrician man pressed his belly against his daughter's back as he taught her how to aim. However, this strange pose only served to make her miss completely, which in turn embarrassed him and drew laughter.

There were many others enjoying ball games and frisbee games. The kids ran around playing tag, and their mothers looked on as they enjoyed themselves.

Carp and goldfish swam in the small pool, while the ones who enjoyed fishing cast their lines. It was probably a form of entertainment to turn their catches into their meals.

However, the most terrifying and once impressive sight was the defeated Flame Dragon's head in a big, luxurious looking cart. Guarded by several Death Knights and Nephalem Guards. Preserved with preservation magic to not start to rot and radiate underworldly scent. Also to keep it a good shape. Presentable to the masses.

The Senators and the servants invited and served in this huge garden party ogled with their mouth and eyes wide. Watching and chatting amongst each other how heroic accomplishment is defeating such horrific creature. Blighted the lands since centuries. The legendary creature is dead. Eliminated not by the soldiers of Empire but outside forces. The two legendary heroes. Momon and Raydin and the forces of JSDF.

A few curious children and braver Senator occasionally approached the creatures guarded the cart. Most adults backed away after a few moment with a horrified face. But being the children did not have a developed sense of danger. They even risked to poking them with a stick. That the creatures answered with a low growl. The kids sometimes even teased those who backed away without poking either the Death Knights or Nephalem Guards.

For the sorrow of the appointed maids whose received the 'grateful' task to look after the children.

As Piña watched this, she took a fruit out of a basket and chewed on it. However, her stomach churned in her nervousness. She knows without nutriment she will pass out.

"Sugawara-dono, inviting the families as a whole like this was more fun than I thought it would be. I like this feeling as well. Perhaps future events for the knight band can be like this too… So bad Sir Creon can't participate it due to his duties."

Sugawara nodded and looked around. "Yes, I would like to speak with him about how the restoration of the city progresses. Unfortunately, he was very busy. We could not even greet each other."

Pina only nodded.

"But at least appointed diplomat could make his respect for this little party." the bureaucrat glanced towards the Sorcerous Kingdom appointed diplomat who just chatted a few nobles not far from them. He arrived not long ago. But as he set his feet in the party. Many Senator and lady invaded his personal space and started a forced chat with him.

His name was Drakon Beleth. A handsome looking demon wearing suit similar Sugawara. His hair was short, black and pointed upward. Finely arranged. His slit eyes blood red. Sugawara heard about the Sorcerer King ruled over hundreds of races. But he would never imagine even demons bow before the Sorcerer King. And it disturbed him greatly. Back in his childhood his mother often told him tales about Onis. The demons of Japan. The ones who brought unfortunate events and kidnapped the children who did not eat either their vegetables or behave badly. Of course, growing up he knows it was just a lie to make him act decently. But seeing a demon in real life. He was not too sure anymore.

Of course, he saw Beelzebub and even meet him. But unlike the diplomat chatting not far from them. He had two very visible horns. He was easily distinguishable.

It also disturbed him Drakon was not exactly the creature he saw in his childhood books. Aside from his demonic tail, eyes and long ears. He looked completely human. If that's the case. Who knows if Earth has demons or not hiding their true identity. Sugawara was not racist of course. He just shook from the sudden realization. Shaking his head, he collected his bearings. He was a party after all. The party of snakes. One misstep and the people here will swallow here alive.

"Is that so? Thank you for your praise. But the merit not only ours. The Sorcerous Kingdom as well contributed the creation of this little garden party. If I heard it right." explained Sugawara. Praising the other nation contribution will show his nation in a more generous light.

After all, politics was the game of masks. Who can create better one and collect more supporters win usually wins the game?

"However, having the head maid here helped a lot. I didn't think of hiring musicians either." he turned towards the musicians playing their melodic sonatas.

"No, that was House Formal's idea. After all, the treaty stipulated full cooperation, so future events like this will not be a problem. Italica is doing well, and they say that the finances of House Formal are on the upturn. The House was quite clear about that being the result of trade with Japan and the Sorcerous Kingdom. I heard since the occupation. The trade flourished, and the security is a lot better than before."

"However, it seems they've only sent over Human maids…" looked around Sugawara.

In order to reach an agreement with House Formal, he had visited them in the past, and there he had met people of various races, like the Cat People and the Warrior Bunnies. They were signs that this world was a different one, but yet the head maid had only brought along human maids to the Capital. It seemed wrong, somehow.

"Well, the Capital…"

Piña's answer was not very clear, but she got the meaning across to Sugawara.

After attending parties hosted by various powerful patricians, and after visiting several patrician households, he realized that they only had Human maids. It would seem only House Formal was an exception. The other families accepted it, even as they disliked it, probably because the previous Count Formal was an open-minded man.

Piña and Sugawara headed for the garden, where everyone was, in order to see if anyone was feeling bored and if there were any problems to solve.

Sometimes, they greeted guests or were greeted by guests in turn.

At times, he spotted an interesting character, and then he would ask "Who's that?" to learn about that person's name and family. That job required a good memory.

Piña's eye went to a Japanese man giving the master chefs tips on how to use spices. Then be scolded by the butler outfit wearing man who corrected him the adequate amount narrowed to mol level.

"Sugawara-dono, who is that two men?"

"Ahh, he's one of Itami's men, called Furuta. He used to be a chef at a first-rate restaurant before he enlisted. But the other one… Sorry I have no idea." scratching his head with a red face. Sugawara pondered and tried to recall who is the butler uniform wearing man near Furuta. He was not one of the butlers sent by Countess Formal that's for sure. His outfit did not match the other butlers and seemed made from a lot better and expensive material.

He scolded Furuta and the master chef how they waste perfectly good parts of the ingredients and how ineffective they were. His eyes seemed artificial. Dimming in a slight, blue light. Strangely he wore a white chef hat and an apron above his butler clothes. The inscription on the apron was the next. 'Came from the future. To make your meal.'

Just at the moment, he is ordering around the various cooks like a true master chef.

On his face a completely bored uninterested expression. He did not even look. But his hand moved like lightning. Preparing the food for the guests. Only stopping for a moment to flash away and stop the cooks too (according to him) ruin the food. As he expressed himself. 'Poisoning' them with these ingredients of trash.

"Miserable meat bags! You overcooked the potato again! Getaway from my kitchen! What are you?!"

"We are idiot sandwich chef!" the cooks shouted in unison. Even the Empire Master Chef ordered to cook for this party shouted with the simple cooks. His knees are trembling. He is barely able to hold himself feeling the killing intent emitted from the young man. Furuta was completely terrified seeing Zero scolding the Empire's best chefs like they were children never cooked before. He made him remember Gordon Ramsey. Just a several levels are scarier and stricter.

"Geez! Zero-san! Can't you be a little patient? They are trying… They are just simple humans." pleaded to Zero's fellow cook. Hearing this Zero shot him a glaring expression. Then throwing a carrot towards his direction that flew away not far from his face. Embedding itself deeply in the nearby tree. Furuta's face paled feeling the wind of the carrot raced away from a few millimeters near his face.

"You are as bad! Look what you have done! Now you ruined the meat! Miserable meat bag! Keep attention your station or get away my sight!"

Back with Sugawara and the princess. "I see, is that why they make such delicious food?"

One could not make such sublime flavors by randomly tossing in spices. His name is Fu-Ru-Ta, Piña thought as she made a mental note of him. But she still pondered who might be the mysterious cook near Fu-Ru-Ta. The man named Fu-Ru-Ta called him Ze-ro. Yes, that could be his name. He seemed a perfectionist, tolerate no mistake. Maybe he is a soldier like Itami. His face seemed strangely familiar to the Princess.

Then her eyes widened recognizing the man scolding the kitchen staff. It was the same man who she saw sketched on the wanted posters all around in the Capital. The same who left that rude reminder to her father. Almost killing him in the process.

If he actually works for the Sorcerous Kingdom. She is in a big trouble. But why he is here? She was sure Zero was not here only for cooking. She was sure Ainz Ooal Gown have further plans with his servant presence here.

After all, Beelzebub spoke about his father cunning nature. Plan layered in further plans. He explained to her. If he praised his father this much. That must be true. Just thinking about this made her head ache and worry about what the undead king planned with her Empire.

Suddenly, the black haired demon diplomat stepped to Piña and Sugawara. "Your majesty. Please forgive me my rude behavior not introducing sooner." Drakon bowed slightly. "I am Drakon Beleth. The appointed diplomatic attaché in Italica. I am sorry. As I arrived at the party a few noble immediately charged at me. And I could only free myself now. I hope you understand."

Piña nodded understanding and prepared her best smile she could muster. "It is not a problem. It is a pleasure to meet you Sir Drakon."

Sugawara offered his hand. "Kōji Sugawara. It is good to see a fellow bureaucrat." he smiled.

Drakon smiled back. "Indeed. Our kind is slowly dying." The two men were silent for a moment. Then laughed in unison.

A man wearing a strange white toga like cloth stepped closer to them. "Your Highness, it's been a while."

"Ohh, Tuen-dono. Are you well?"

"Yes, my family is doing well too."

The introductions that Sugawara had requested at the beginning were taking place.

"Sugawara-dono, Drakon-dono, this is the third son of House Mare. His elder brother's name is on the list of prisoners to be sent back."

And so, Piña introduced Sugawara and Drakon to several members of the nobility.

All of the important guests here were already familiar with Sugawara, less familiar with Drakon. Some had even brought their relatives along, for instance, their wives and children. To them, Sugawara and Drakon were not a messenger of fearsome enemy nations, but a bringer of wondrous gifts from another land.

Halfway through the introductions, a daring young girl ran over and grabbed Sugawara's arm, pressing her budding breasts into it in a teasing manner.

"Sugawara-sama, I saw my cousins' beautiful jewelry, and I'm jealous. Could you help me?"

This was quite rude, after all, and so she was promptly scolded by her parents. Pleadingly looking at Drakon's handsome face.

The girl who clung to Sugawara was roughly 11 or 12, so she probably was not acting for greater benefits. It was kind of unsettling, but he did not shake her off. However, it would be difficult to be a diplomat without knowing how to handle situations like these. But there was a good way of dealing with young children.

As she watched the mother scolding her daughter, she whispered, "She's from the Tueri family, and a relative of Marquis Caesar." explained the Imperial princess.

Marquis Caesar was the leader of the Imperial Senate and by extension, all of the Imperial politics. To the Japanese government and for the Sorcerous Kingdom, that meant that they needed channels to him at any cost. Naturally, Sugawara immediately responded appropriately.

First, he stood before the girl's parents, who were angry about her rudeness, with a genial expression and asked them to kindly not scold her anymore. Then, he remembered her name — Sherry — and promised to give her a pearl necklace. This way, they would form a bond, and in future, he could ask them to introduce him to other people.

This was what the diplomats' superior had meant when they said, "Gifts are our ammunition." Personal benefits could not be allowed to conflict with the well-being of a country, and sometimes people were attacked by the mass media on it. However, for the sake of diplomatic efforts, they could not afford to be stingy. Being too miserly might lead to relations breaking down.

What happened was that Sugawara adorned Sherry with a necklace from a velvet box, and she promptly ran off like an innocent child to show it off to her cousins.

Of course, after receiving a gift like this, one needed to repay it in a fitting way. That was the way they did things in the Empire. Soon enough, the repayment took place — they helped to connect him to Marquis Caesar.

As an aside, because of this arrangement, the almost 30-year-old Sugawara was beginning to warm up to the 11-year-old Sherry. Her calculative parents noticed this and began enthusiastically pushing them together, and the way things were developing began to worry him.

Piña smiled bitterly to the panicking Sugawara and the overjoyed Sherry, and then let her eyes wander around her surroundings.

For now, it was impossible to fully monitor the activities of all the guests.

As a host, she could not simply play around. To be precise, as a host, one could not enjoy oneself at the expense of one's guests. Still, it was better this time round. She did not have to introduce ladies to gentlemen and vice versa.

Events like this created a chance for young men and women to mingle. Although it was only natural for young patricians to flirt with each other, doing so out of the blue was very rude. There needed to be proper introductions first, and much of the time, the host would arrange for those.

Piña was the leader of a knight order which contained many young men and women. If she had to arrange for all of them to meet each other, she would be too busy to so much as taking a drink.

And this party was attended by the relatives of many patrician families, as well as their children who had not made their social debut.

In front of her parents' eyes, they could not do anything overboard. And if they were to spend time on introductions, they would not have any time to enjoy themselves.

Because of that, most of the guests decided to enjoy themselves as families. They split into two groups of males and females and had fun by themselves.

The ladies had obtained beautiful clothes courtesy of someone related to Sugawara, and they competed to outdo each other with displays of their brilliantly colored dresses and jewelry.

Since the materials and fabric were equivalent, then the only way they could compete was through the design and stitching of their dresses, which sparked their respective jealousies and competitiveness. In addition, the minute differences in quality of the accessories and decorations on their clothes ate at their hearts, which was why they wanted to maintain good ties with Sugawara and his fellow diplomats, who had not yet entered the scene.

Drakon as well competed on the stage of presents. He brought himself mountains of gifts. Provided by the Sorcerer King's generosity. Enchanted weapons. Armors, automatically fitting themselves to the wearer impenetrable to every known weapon of the Empire. Pieces of jewelry, clothes. And many more items of wonder never saw before. Even some kind of red colored panacea healing every kind of illness.

Both men surrounded layers and layers of people. Competing for their goodwill. Competing to build a good relationship with their nation. Many noble even offering their daughters hands to the two men.

There were also some ladies clustered around Sergeants Kuribayashi and Kurokawa.

Kuribayashi was very apparent in her women's JGSDF uniform. However, similar to how Piña and her subordinate knights dressed, the guests could quickly accept her status as a female soldier.

The few Sorcerous Kingdom soldier in the scene watched vigilantly. Creon ordered them strictly to mingle as less as possible and concentrate on the task. The Captain of Beelzebub Honor Guard was strict and took his duties seriously.

But being a man who hated such flashy parties he rarely showed his face in such events. He often sent his representative.

While she chatted with them, Kuribayashi chose Sergeant Tomita as a demonstrator to teach the ladies self-defense techniques.

"Grab his arm, bend it inward, just like this."

As she explained, the tiny Kuribayashi brought the tall Tomita to the ground by way of a kokyu-nage. Her audience applauded her swift and crisp movements. In addition, some of them were charmed by Tomita, who looked strong and fierce but remained calm and reserved.

On another side, Kurokawa was displaying the ways that Japanese used makeup, and basking in the admiring gazes of the audience. As a nursing student, she had studied makeup therapy, and it was a happy coincidence that it could be put to use here.

Makeup therapy was used to help with the depression suffered by people suffering from chronic illnesses. Maintaining a happy mood had a positive effect on their treatment.

"If you apply too much eyeshadow, it'll be too dark. Therefore you need to apply it evenly. Also, you need to half-close your eyes to finish it smoothly. You also need to be careful with the lines of your eyebrows. A small change can produce a big effect."

Kurokawa picked several ladies to demonstrate her skills on, and her hands wrought a great change on them. Though they did not quite look ten years younger, it brought out the cuteness that they should have had at their age, or perhaps she just made them prettier, and the women gasped in awe.

"Itami and Beelzebub truly has a host of talented people under their command!" Piña said in praise. Looking around searching a certain first heir. Under their time in Japan, the two of them built a quite good relationship. Beelzebub was handsome, clever and in total a good chatting partner able to chat about politics and much more similar fastidious themes comfortably. And she strangely felt some kind of warm feeling in her stomach just being close to him.

Her cheek rose just thinking of him. Shaking her head, she urged herself to wave away these thoughts. She is the Princess of the Empire and the tenth in the line of succession. She should not have such unclean thoughts. Yet, they were there.

Sugawara agreed that he was a lucky man. 3rd Recon had only arrived a few days ago, and now that there were more recon teams who could effectively use the Special Region's language, it was much more convenient for their activities. 1st Recon, which had been called back to Arnus, was not quite suited for this sort of work.

"The people from before were too rude, and lacking in humor."

"As expected, it was because of their commander. No, if Itami-san were to become a regular soldier, we would be in trouble. He's a very special case."

"I understand."

Although Piña did not know Japanese people like Sugawara did, she could understand his meaning after seeing his serious, dignified appearance. In contrast, Itami was a… lazy? Easygoing? Or maybe a liberated being? In the end, what saved them was his nature.

No matter the circumstances, a normal man would be filled with resentment after being beaten up by a group of people. However, Itami knew that Piña owed him a debt she could not possibly repay, but yet he had not taken advantage of it. That was a very rare case.

It would be simple enough for Itami to get back at them; simply not allowing them to speak to Risa would be revenge enough.

To Piña, who thirsted for "art," cutting her off from her supplies would break her spirit. In order to avoid this, she had to grow a culture of "artists" in the country, and the first step in that was the language classes. Right now, she had to stay on Itami's good side no matter what.

True. She still treasured the medallion she received as a gift from Beelzebub. The medallion that made her able to understand every spoken and written language at once. Still, if she lost that medallion, she will be stuck. There will be no more art. And without art, her mind will break. Thus, she needed to learn Japanese.

Piña was prepared to make every sacrifice possible to keep her art.

According to Beelzebub the medallion around her delicate neck worth quite a fortune. According to his explanation. Back in the Sorcerous Kingdom the least you can get for such medallion (if she is willing to sell It.) a lesser country sized, fertile land. With several villages and a huge mansion. If you are lucky, you can even hire a bigger private military from the price you get for it.

Being the said item made and enchanted by his aunt herself. A living deity as Beelzebub explained it to her. Meant this is a holy artifact only the selected few can bear. And she is wearing it in her neck. Just thinking about wearing such holy artifact on her neck making her look around suspiciously.

Of course, she made further preparations.

She had already picked out an appropriate girl from the knight band and sent her to Arnus for language classes. Although she was still dormant, on her command, she would take action.

Although it might be sad for the "lucky" girl, Piña had already thrown all restraint out of the window. She would use any means, no matter how subtle or high-handed.

After reaffirming her resolve, Piña nodded to herself, and then asked Sugawara, "Then, where is Itami-dono?" She had to make sure he was happy.

"He's over there."

Sugawara pointed to the main square, and specifically at an area that was walled off by sandbags and forbidden to the children.

The guests there was their main objective… In other words, they were Senators and the young men who would become new Senators. The JSDF had set up a shooting range here for them to experience the feeling of firing guns. In addition, they would also understand the terror of the guns that Japan possessed. That was the main objective of organizing this garden party.

In order to ensure bullets would not go astray, they set up targets in front of a big pile of sandbags. The targets in question were cheap pots of fired clay, bought in vast quantities.

Behind them were berms of dirt. This was what Itami and the others were setting up beforehand.

The Senators were lined up at the firing line, and under the supervision of 3rd Recon's troopers, they opened fire on the targets 50 meters away, to their hearts' content.

The twenty or so Senators took turns firing.

Cicero stood at one of the firing positions. He followed directions, and firmly held his rifle, took aim, and then pulled the trigger. The loud report of the firing and the kick in his shoulders made his eyes water.

Piña wanted to ask, "So how does a gun feel, Lord Cicero?" but she did not. If anyone had asked her that question, she would have thought they were trying to intimidate her. Therefore, she kept quiet. After all, they had experienced and had enough time to think about it.

The first shot made him jump.

The second shot awed him with its power.

The third shot let him feel that power with his body.

By the fourth shot, he wanted to own the gun he had in his hands.

And then, after ten rounds, he realized what it meant to fight an army that was fully outfitted with these weapons.

Next, they demonstrated the Minimi (a light machine gun). After they saw a line of pots shatter in an instant, they understood why the invading army they had sent beyond the Gate had been defeated. They also knew why the Coalition Army that attacked Arnus had been wiped out.

After that, there was a question.

"How do you make these things?"

Of course, they could not teach the Senators how to make them. Then again, even if they told them, they might not be able to understand it.

What the Senators could understand was that these weapons called guns were a collection of countless intricate parts. They were the product of technology more advanced than the ones which had produced the gifts which Sugawara had given.

And after that, the question was, "How can we buy these?"

But they could not give them the answer they desired. They could not. How could anyone be so stupid as to sell weapons to their enemies in the middle of a war? The Senators knew that too.

In fact, if they had agreed to sell them, the Senators would have suspected some sort of scam or trick. Then why had they asked? It was because guns possessed a power which could not be ignored.

In order to prevent their theft, each gun was secured by two chains, and each one had a person supervising them.

The kind instructors, who explained how to load, how to aim and how to pull the trigger, did not allow their vigilance to slacken in the slightest.

Then a voice from behind suggested, "How about buying them all off?"... But judging from the way they spoke and their actions, it would be impossible. In the end, they had to end it with, "...As if."

Cicero returned his rifle to the soldier in front of him and left the firing range after thanking his instructor for his time.

After that, they began demonstrating, even more, things that frightened the Senators.

"Ah~ we're beginning the 81mm mortar demonstration, please come this way."

Itami led the Senators to a new firing range.

Some distance away, there was a cylindrical object standing slanted on two legs. The cylinder looked like a tube made of metal. This tube pointed out to the grassland in the distance.

As the audience started to crowd in, Itami shouted, "It's very dangerous, please stay back!" and the Senators had no choice but to stop.

With an order from a commander, the three-man mortar crew began their tasks.

One of them fitted the sighting unit and began aligning it with the horizon and a red and white aiming post.

Another person loaded the mortar round with its fuse and its propellant charge.

After that, the person standing behind him took the round in both hands, and slid half of it into the mortar barrel, but did not let go.

"Half-load complete!"

The commander folded his fingers as he counted down, "Five! Four! Three! Two!"

"Fire!" "One!" the two voices rang out together.

The man holding the mortar round let go and immediately ducked his head down to avoid injury.

After that, the round slid down the barrel as it was pulled down by gravity.

The tail end of the round was loaded with a propellant charge. The distance it flew could be adjusted by changing the amount of propellant. Once the charge hit the firing pin at the barrel's base, it triggered a small explosion. The shockwave produced by the detonating propellant launched the round from the tube.

First, a tongue of flame spouted from the mortar's mouth, and then the round flew out. This was the strange thing; there was almost no gap between the round and the barrel, yet the flames and shock wave emerged first.

After seeing this, the audience was frightened by the bang which was far louder than those of the guns. And then...

"Impact~ now!"

After that, a huge plume of black smoke bloomed from the target, followed a second later by the gut-churning sound of an explosion. In order to amplify the visual effect, they had fitted the round with a long-delay fuse so that it would explode on the ground. This would create a spray of dust and sand like in the movies.

And then the mortar continued firing.

The rounds dug huge chunks out of the earth, and the sounds of the explosions roared like thunder. They fired over ten shots in the end.

The Senators who saw this also imagined their cavalry and heavy infantry being blown to smithereens. In addition, they also envisioned their fortresses and castra engulfed in these explosions.

"Sorry to trouble you, but… what is the maximum range of these weapons?"

Itami did some mental calculations and replied, "Hmm, from the measurements of this place, I'd say three leagues or so (1 league = 1.6km)." This was a conservative answer; there was no need to describe their weapons to their enemies accurately.

"Did you say, three leagues?"

In the Special Region, even the battlefields were not that large.

"Ah, I have another question. How many of these weapons do you have?"

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you the exact details. You can assume that every man has one."

"E-everyone?!"

The Senators each reached the same conclusion. No, in truth, they had already known this. They just did not want to admit it to themselves.

If we fight them, we will lose.

They had experienced it firsthand. The Empire's soldiers, the Empire's weapons, the Empire's tactics, none of them could hope to defeat Japan.

Who was the idiot that suggested declaring war on a foe like this? The Senators looked at each other with hateful eyes, but all they saw was the pained expressions on each other's' faces. Everyone had the same thing on their minds.

Advancing the next was the Sorcerous Kingdom demonstration. First the armor test. Several soldiers set up the standard grayish enchanted armor. The armor that a simple soldier in the Sorcerous Kingdom wore.

First, they asked the best archers in amongst the Senators. Several of them volunteered. The range was quite close. Straining the strings, the senators released the arrows. Aiming first at the chest piece and next to the joints of the armor. Rounds after rounds no one amongst them even scratched the surface of the armor.

Then asked the soldiers of the JSDF to fire on the armor with their appointed gun. Itami however hardly. But for the constant pleas and pressure from the nearby Senators agreed and the nearby JSDF instructors lined up in the firing range. Fired their guns. What comes next surprised everyone.

The bullets so easily destroyed the simple clay targets before. Simply repelled by the armor enchantment. Leaving less than a scratch after each bullet. Like a force field surrounding the enchanted armor, it repelled easily the incoming bullets.

After several rounds of magazines and constant fire later, only a slight dent can be seen on the armor.

It was all a race after all. Who is more flashy will gain more supporters needed to get control over the situation. Drakon smiled smugly under his perfect mask of calmness. Everything is going as proceeded. It seems his Kingdom gained a momentum. But the show is far from over.

The next test was the standard close ranged side weapon of the Sorcerous Kingdom army. A light sword. First, the weapon looked like a simple, plain, enchanted handle without a blade a few symbols engraved on its side. But by gripping it firmly and concentrating. Triggered its activation. The simple looking handle shoots out a blade constructed from pure light. Immediately after the instructor grabbed its end firmly.

The demonstrator demonstrated. The blade of light cut through everything it came contact with. Even the hardest metal melted and evaporated from merely touching the light saber like a sword. Itami and the members of the third recon team just blinked. " the First Lieutenant… is that a real light saber?" pointed the direction of the instructor Kurata with a flabbergasted expression.

Itami just nodded dumbfounded and gulped nervously.

Cicero was already impressed and feared the weapons and technology of JSDF. But this was something new. Maybe, something more dangerous.

The Senators tried the blade as well under the watching eyes of the instructor. And the magical weapon worked in their hands as well. There was no mistake. They worked.

The blade even went through the enchanted armors previously the bullets of JSDF was only able to slightly scratch and dent in a few places.

The next station was the long ranged weapon test. Normally most of the Sorcerous Kingdom forces still used enchanted bows and crossbows. But the industry slowly started to equip the Special Forces with magic stone fueled steampunk looking guns.

The fact why they did not equip all forces with it because the production method to produce such weapons in series was still under beta test. Thus, only the Special Forces carried such expensive weapons and the selected few soldiers who deserved the right to use it.

But Drakon just can't let the JSDF shine. He was a demon and a diplomat. His goal was to intimidate these Senators and the JSDF. Showing them, it is better with the Sorcerous Kingdom than against it.

The magic fueled steampunk looking guns fired. Burning through layers and layers of armor placed in the far.

Under the supervision of the instructor. Not only had the senators tried the weapon. But a few JSDF soldiers gathered their courage and fired with it.

The steampunk like magical weapons projectiles cut through everything in their way. Even going that far to set up armored targets on the other side of the hill and sniping them. The point where the magical energy projectiles touched the targets simply disappeared.

Grabbing the weapon Kuribayashi measured it. The weapon felt unnaturally light. Lighter and her type 64 rifle. "How much it's firing range?" she asked the instructor looking in the weapon crosshair. Measuring it. Testing it like a professional.

"In the hands of a good sniper. Three kilometers." the senators gasped. The instructor continued. "But being the bullet not physical but magical energy, it will not stop until it collides with something. Of course with the adequate targeting enchantments, the projectile can be configured to correct the angle of incidence under the flight. Even to seek the target if its move with high speed."

Kuribayashi looked with wide eyes at the instructor. "You are not serious! Right?"

The instructor smirked. "I am completely serious Miss Kuribayashi."

"How many times can we shoot with it?" removing the magazine positioned in a chamber in the middle of the weapon she asked.

"Around five thousand projectile per magazine if the weapon set to automatic firing. In sniping mode five hundred. However, this is an older model. Released to the public." explained the beastman instructor proudly.

Her eyes widened.

"Try it. I am sure you will be satisfied with the weapon." urged her the instructor.

Kuribayashi nodded. Took firing position and fired. First, she missed being the weapon did not have recoil. It was not surprising. The weapons mostly used magical energy as ammunition, not physical projectiles. Of course, the steampunk looking magic rifle can be loaded with magazines that contained physical projectiles. In that case, the magical weapon chamber enchanted the projectiles with magic. Giving them magical proportions. Such as homing, armor and barrier penetration, various elemental and other effects. User chooses.

Pulling the trigger she released shoot after shoot; she fired faster and faster. Missing the target less and less time. Acclimatizing herself the recoilless weapon. Then as the instructor showed activated the bayonet on the weapon. A blade constructed from pure energy appeared in its end. Cutting to pieces the target.

Kuribayashi, of course, tried this function as well. And she was like a berserk. Massacracing every poor marionette between her and the other end of the fastly constructed training field. No one can stop her madness. Maybe even Emroy became helpless against the madness of the stocky woman one day. She stopped and breathed finishing her sonette of death. Gulping deeply she raised the weapon. Measured it once more. Then nodded with a serious, calm expression. She pondered for a moment.

What happened next made Itami and a few members of JSDF freak out. "First Lieutenant! I love it! I want it!" like a mother her child. She hugged the magic fueled weapon to her sizable assets. Like a flash turning towards the First Lieutenant and his unit.

She turned towards the instructor. "Can I have it? Can I have it? Please!?" she pleaded showed her most adorable expression. The instructor just chuckled. "I am sure we can arrange something Miss Kuribayashi."  
What came next really made Itami eyes ogle out of their sockets. A floating steampunk looking cannon floated behind a gunner. Several more soldier surrounded the weapon. Heavily guarding it against anyone who might dare to approach it.

"What is that?" pointed at the cannon Cicero. The instructor turned towards him smiling. "This is a standard Trinity Cannon. It works almost like the Mortal like the JSDF soldiers so generously showed us. Just have a little bit more kick…" the instructor showed a slight motion. Emphasizing the 'little' part of his previous sentence with his clawed hand. Slowly turning back the scene he nodded to the operator standing behind the floating cannon.

The operator nodded back. Looking the magical interface of the cannon he set the range. The targets were already set in the far. The undead beings appointed directly to this task were busy. Setting newer and never targets.

"Range one kilometer. Charge level sixty percent." announced the lookout holding a binocular before his eyes. The operator set the data in the cannon interface. Aimed towards the target. "Fire!" he fired, and hell got to lose.

The targets not only evaporated by the ray of blue colored light released from the steampunk looking magical cannon. But left a sizable crater. Slightly dwarfing the holes left by the JSDF mortals. After several more similar strikes, they changed position.

Pointing towards the skies, they changed the setting with a quick motion. Just switching a switch. Changing it into the mortal mod. "Continuous fire! Ready!" shouted the operator.

"Range one and a half kilometers! Charge level seventy-five percent!" shouted the lookout as an answer. The operator fired in the air. Like the mortal the soldiers of JSDF used. The magical shells flew high in the air. Releasing a big, deafening roar. Then drawing an angle started to fall back towards the ground.

But there was a difference. The cannon/mortar hybrid fired only once. Then when the projectile reached its peak. It split itself. Aiming the different targets arranged randomly on the ground. Seeking out their targets the magical shells hit them precisely. Annihilating everything in the near vicinity. Leaving a sizable crater in their wake.

"Ho-How much you have these weapons?" "What kind of madness is this!?" "We are doomed!" "This is a bad joke! Is this really happening?" shouted multiple senators at once. Roaring in unison. Molding the information leaving their mouth into a corrupted data of chaos in the process. Some of them even asked it is possible to buy a few of them. The instructor remained calm. "Our whole army outfitted with such weapons. Sorry, I can't spare more detail," he answered simply as ordered. Leaving the Senators and the soldiers of JSDF stumble in the darkness for the time being.

"But of course the development is continuous. Day by day our researchers further refine our technology. Who knows? Maybe tomorrow these cannons and the weapons you saw before yourselves will be scrapped and repurposed." explained the monstrous man.

After that, they saw Piña, Drakon, and Sugawara watching them.

The Senators understood.

They knew why Piña had so enthusiastically volunteered to be a mediator between the three sides. Indeed, it was for the sake of the captives… But she knew before all of them had discovered now, that if the Empire continued fighting, it would be defeated. No, not defeated. Destroyed. Either by Japan or burned to the ground by the Sorcerous Kingdom.

Now she understands. The gods of Japan and the Sorcerous Kingdom did not even need to move a single finger. Their military might more than enough to burn everything to ash.

They were surrounded by women and children who knew nothing of the terrifying enemy they faced. And there were many other patricians other than them. None of them were on their guard. They lived in leisure. Before this day, Piña thought she might have been one of them.

After exchanging looks, Marquis Ducie and Lord Cicero stepped out of the group.

Cicero forced out his question.

"Sugawara-dono. Beleth-dono. May I ask why the Sorcerous Kingdom and Japan want peace? It's clear that as long as they fight, they will be victorious."

"Peace is exactly what my country wants." answered Sugawara.

"We are not against peace Cicero-dono. His Majesty adores his peaceful home nature after all." Continued Beleth with a charming smile. "The offense came from your side. We just acted adequately. But his Majesty always adored peace in the past. So… I don't see why our people can't live and grow together beside each other." Beleth expression suddenly became sharper. Almost threatening. "Of course it is all up to Ainz-sama." he chuckled softly. Drinking a sip of his sweet drink.

Marquis Ducie replied in a voice that matched his distinguished station.

"Peace… I see. What a pleasant-sounding word. But this word has many meanings. The peace attained through victory is sweet, but the peace of being defeated and cast aside is bitter. Both are peace all the same, but this old one is aware that they have completely different meanings. Until this day, this old one has only tasted the peace of victory."

"But your Excellency, there is still some time before the armies of Japan, and the Sorcerous Kingdom come for us."

After hearing Cicero's words, the Marquis nodded.

"You are correct. Peace talks are essential. However, we must verify the conditions of the peace treaty with the Sorcerous Kingdom and Japan."

Both Sugawara and Beleth nodded, and then they coldly stated the basic stipulations:

One: The Empire must admit its guilt in starting the war and hand over the persons responsible for punishment.

Two: The Empire must pay the appropriate damages to Japan and the Sorcerous Kingdom. This amount is 500 million suwanis for Japan. 450 million for the Sorcerous Kingdom.

Three: The Empire must cede the territory around the Gate for 100 leagues around the Gate to Japan and the Sorcerous Kingdom. A demilitarized zone will exist for ten leagues around this border where both sides are not permitted to station military forces.

Four: The Empire must sign trade agreements with Japan and the Sorcerous Kingdom.

Five: The captured citizens of the Sorcerous Kingdom and Japan must be returned immediately. Without any kind of harm. Or the chances of the Capital military occupation will grow day after day.

"Five… five hundred million suwanis?!"

"Fo-four hundred and fifty million?!" shouted an another senator.

"There wouldn't be that much money in the world even if you gathered it all together!"

"Asking to punish the responsible parties, on top of ceding territory, this is asking too much!"

"Mi-military occupation!?"

"Exactly. Do you intend to destroy the Empire?"

After seeing the panicking Senators, Drakon hurriedly clarified the conditions.

"There's no need to pay it all at once. Also, the sum can also be paid with mineral rights." Sugawara nodded. Clarifying what Drakon said.

"Even… even so… Don't you think it's a bit much?"

"It's, it's impossible. We won't be able to convince the other Senators of this."

"How can you say you desire peace when you say this?"

Piña was also trembling when she heard the conditions of the Japanese government and the Sorcerous Kingdom.

To think, the peace proceedings she was presiding over would turn out to be a death sentence. Drakon's words about paying in installments and paying in mineral rights went in one ear and out the others.

Sugawara and Drakon, whose had been pleasant diplomats. The two men were building ties with all three parties, was suddenly turning into gigantic monsters before Piña's eyes. Like the two men planned all of this just to push her into the pit of despair. The pit above she balanced herself since this whole nightmare started.

The strength fled her body, and in the end, she could not even remain to stand and sat down. In a voice filled with despair, Piña asked:

"Drakon-dono. May, may I ask how this is different from an unconditional surrender? Rather than this… Wouldn't it be better just to kill us all and save the time?"

"Indeed, 500 million suwanis was probably too much of a shock," Sugawara said after a brief pause to think.

"That amount is basically one year's worth of our budget, and a little bit extra."

"Maybe…" Drakon pondered for a moment. "But…well, this is what his Majesty wants. I never speak with him. But I heard he is a man of business. He knows his stuff as my colleagues who meet him previously used to say." he smiled. Then his face turned to Grimm. Leaning towards Piña. She whispered in her ear.

"However…" Drakon looked around suspiciously. "If your Empire joins under the Sorcerous Kingdom flag as his majesty vassal state. The Empire can keep its sovereignty. His majesty only requires a few rules to be kept in return. And the yearly contribution as well very generous. Your family remains in power, and in the border of the rules of the Kingdom you will gain free reign." He whispered.

Drakon tone was tempting. Pushing the princess towards the solution. Becoming a vassal seemed the only sensible way out. The last light in the dark, night.

The Senators sat down one by one.

All the gold objects on the continent… Starting from the crowns of their vassal kings, their treasure, their currency… If you gathered them all up and reforged them into suwani, they could not mint anywhere near 500 million of them. And to think, this huge sum was roughly equivalent to a year's expenses for the enemy. How big was this country called Japan? How big is the Sorcerous Kingdom to demand 450 million? Summing up the two. 950 million. There is no way they could pay as much.

Regarding the problem of payment, the Japanese government had already verified the Special Region's economic situation and identified potential problems before drawing up the agreement.

For example, the total of all the gold ever mined throughout the whole of human existence was around 160'000 tons. Granted, this was due to advances in mining methods over the recent two or three centuries.

In the Sorcerous Kingdom, this was around 35000- 40000 tons. Not a solid number. Being Ainz only started to measure after a few years his country has been officially established. And he still expanded his borders. Effective mining technology still under development. Treasure still is hidden from his gaze.

Of course, Nazarick vault stuffed mountain and mountain of gold and items worth inestimable amount of suwani or Japanese yen. The content of Nazarick vault was not to be counted. Ainz would never trade his friends precious legacy for anything.

Despite the usage of magic. The Sorcerous Kingdom could not compete in the long run with the machines of modern industry. True. The country of Ainz had the endless supply of tireless workforce. In the image of undead and other beings. Still, their mining technology settled behind such modern countries as Japan.

Maybe a few hundred or more years and they will catch up with them using the combination of technology and magic. The so called Magitech that was introduced only a few years ago to the masses. Many older adults still refused use items used such technology.

But until they catch up. They will be behind Japan or any modern country of Earth when it comes to industry or robotic mass production.

But neither Sugawara nor the Imperial princess had to know that. Thus Drakon was silent as the grave.

Judging by the technological level of the Special Region, they probably still extracted gold by hand, using pickaxes and shovels. Even with the help of ogres and goblins, given their undeveloped methods, the total amount of gold extracted would be around 10'000 tons.

In addition, even the Empire could not completely administer the whole of the Special Region.

And within all this, the suwani was this world's most valuable currency.

A suwani contained roughly 60 grams of gold and was roughly the size of a Japanese 500 yen coin. It was very thick and heavy. Besides using it in circulation, it was also used as a form of investment, similar to the gold koban coins of Edo-period Japan. As a result, very few were made, and almost none of them appeared on the market.

As for the standard Sorcerous Kingdom gold coin. It were worth around one and a half suwani and called Momonga officially. If we counted the artistic value of the currency. It is worth five times as a standard suwani.

Although in a few places the traders accepted the newly introduced paper money in the Sorcerous Kingdom. It was introduced only a half years ago. Most traders and business still refused to change the heavy and impractical copper, silver, gold and platinum coins that were used in the Sorcerous Kingdom.

It was not surprising. Change needs time. People need time to acclimatize themselves to the changes. And Ainz was sure only a few years and everyone would use the practical paper based currency instead of the heavy metal based one.

One thousand of these gold pieces called suwani would weigh 60 kilos. One million (one thousand-thousand) of them would weigh 60 tons. 950 million of them would require 57'000 tons of gold… that was to say; it was impossible to pay.

Then there was the most commonly circulated gold coin in the Empire, the sink. It was slightly smaller than the suwani, and its gold content was slightly under ten grams. As a trade currency of the Special Region, its value was commonly subject to fluctuations depending on local conditions. Therefore they could not simply equate six sinks = 1 suwani by gold content alone.

Sinks were quite valuable because of their convenience in trade. Therefore, the exchange rate was five sinks to 1 suwani.

If the Empire bought back large amounts of currency to pay off the debt, it would cause hyperinflation and make buying things difficult. This would also affect other currencies.

The average citizen used silver denarii, and a soldier's daily pay was in soltas (a day's pay for a soldier was one solta). If gold currency were gone, then the importance of silver and copper currency would increase as well. This would lead to explosive inflation and eventually a large-scale halt in trade.

If they did pay this huge sum, it would not just be the Empire whose economy was destroyed, but the entire Special Regions. In addition, if they tried to bring so much money back through the Gate, the Americans, Russians, Chinese, French, Italians and other nuclear powers would most likely order a nuclear strike on Japan as well. With the gold market in freefall, the entire world's economy would collapse as well.

Therefore, actually paying 500 million suwanis to Japan was out of the question.

If they actually paid it, it would cause a lot of headaches. Circulating inferior currencies with lower gold content would also be very troublesome. These poor currencies would cause a market crash if they were used in the Empire.

However, Sugawara was not sure his fellow diplomat means it seriously. After all. He did not know the Sorcerous Kingdom current financial state. Maybe 450 million suwani was not that big sum for them.

That being said, they could not actually tell them that the amount was "being decided."

On Japan's side, they were simply following the example of their neighbors after the battle. They had asked for 1.4 times their yearly national budget, so Japan had instead asked for their yearly budget instead.

These funds would be used for compensation paid out to the victims, various other forms of payment such as for loss of income caused by the Ginza Incident, in addition to the cost of the JSDF's ammunition, manpower, fuel, and so on.

Sugawara and Drakon tried his best to explain these details to the Senators (of course, some things could not be said), and in spite of his clumsy command of the language, Sugawara finally managed to make the Senators understand. Fortunately, Drakon helped him out several times. Thus misunderstandings quickly left behind.

The important thing was that the reparations they demanded could be met in ways other than by currency.

They would decide on the punishment of the responsible parties later. Similarly, the details of the trade agreements.

In other words, what Japan wanted was...

They wanted the Empire to apologize and say, "We were wrong, and we're sorry."

And then, they wanted someone to be punished.

The Empire had to pay reparations, as much as they could.

The Sorcerous Kingdom wanted the same. However, Pina suspected in truth they wanted the Empire as a vassal state. She suspected Drakon not only whispered in her ears as teasing. But handed an ultimatum subtly.

'Be our vassals, or we will find you and ruin your economy in the process. If you resist, you will be crushed. Either way, we will take over your lands.' This is what the princess filtered from the diplomat teasing words. And she shook. What to do now? Even if they resist and request the JSDF help against the Sorcerous Kingdom, she was not sure in the victory. Not after she saw today. And that was only the fraction of their true capabilities.

This is what the princess filtered from the diplomat teasing words. And she shook. What to do now? Even if they resist and request the JSDF help against the Sorcerous Kingdom, she was not sure in the victory. Not after she saw today. And that was only the fraction of their true capabilities.

If what Beelzebub told her about his father and his servants is true. Not even the JSDF, the apostles, and the god's unified power can stop the Sorcerous Kingdom. In the current situation, she hoped Beelzebub only teased her about his father and his servant's capabilities. She trusts her fellow royalty good nature will prevent further destruction. To reach her goal, she would be even willing to marry him. Not as it was against her. He was good looking and a good chatting partner. She also felt some kind of warm feeling in his side.

But there is still an another problem. The problem of paying the required sum. Because they could not possibly clear the entire debt in one shot, they would need to pay in installments, and they could pay for valuable goods, or with the rights to underground minerals.

Everything around the two structure belonged to Japan and the Sorcerous Kingdom, and the Imperial Army could not approach it.

And then, trade. Or rather, they could make more money with a trade.

...Those were the details.

These terms were quite reasonable to the loser. In addition, they would not need to become a vassal country and pay tribute in perpetuity.

In the worst case scenario, after being defeated, the whole country would be conquered. Its rulers and nobles would be executed or exiled, and after its land was taken the people would become slaves and there was a chance, there would be rampant looting in the cities and streets.

Therefore, this request for mere currency was incredibly lenient, in a sense.

The Senators who understood this point sighed in relief. Their shoulders were heaving, as though they had just finished a sprint.

"Let, let's discuss this properly..." offered Drakon.

"Y-yes, that's it. Let's sit down and talk about it. Especially the reparations. If we learn about each other's situations, we can find a solution that's satisfactory to all three our sides."

Although it was not exactly what Sugawara was aiming for, it would seem the preparations for talks would go swimmingly. The dates, the participants… All these were settled in a flash.

At this point, Piña collapsed.

Perhaps she had fallen from shock because she would twitch from time to time. Itami picked up a branch and poked her, and then Piña's entire body seized up.

"Ah, Piña-dono. Are you alright?"

Next, he patted Piña's face. Then, Piña suddenly threw open her eyes and grabbed Itami's hand.

"Itami-dono… I… I don't think I can make it anymore. So I must tell you right now. I'm very sorry about what happened back then. Please, please, I pray you will forgive me!"

Back then? ...Ah, what happened back then. When Bozes and the others beat the crap out of me… As Itami recalled that incident, he gently lifted up Piña's upper body.

"Oh, it's fine. Humans don't die so easily."

"No, I can't… I'm not going to make it… please. Please forgive me, please…"

"I got it, I forgive you, and I forgive you, so get a hold of— Waah!"

Piña was hugging Itami tightly.

And then, she muttered "Really? You forgive me… Thank you, thank you so much…" before bursting into tears.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Italica: Sorcerous Kingdom operation HQ:**

A blonde haired man is sitting behind a sturdy table. Draped with an elegant claret blanket. Around him, several flags hung. Emblazoned with the crest of the Sorcerous Kingdom. The guild crest of Ainz Ooal Gown.

It was several days since Beelzebub left behind the captain of his honor guard. The blonde haired high noble Creon Karalis. Under his turquoise blue eyes, dark circles settled. His long, pointed ears that were his people's pride and the sunshine angled downward. Showing his completely exhausted state.

It was since thirty-five hours since he last got a good shut eye. And he was on the verge of collapse. Not because of the physical exhaustion. No. The man was trained. Even able to march days in a row. Even without his enchanted armor that gave him almost limitless stamina.

No… the fact why he was exhausted was the fact he was mentally exhausted. After his 'dear' friend left him to take care of his diplomatic attendances. (Of course, Creon suspected Beelzebub just left to have a good time on the other side of the Gate. Like he usually does when the job stinks to him.) Beelzebub left him with a half ruined city. A city with catastrophic walls, ruined surrounding and houses. Not speaking the numerous dead people and homeless furious common folk.

Beelzebub left him with a half ruined city. A city with catastrophic walls, ruined surrounding and houses. Not speaking the numerous dead people, the homeless furious common folk, and scattered bandits causing the ruckus by continuing their criminalistic lifestyle.

You know… The usual things after a siege. Now every administration, paperwork and with it the responsibility weighted in his shoulders as the highest ranked military person from the Sorcerous Kingdom in the scene. Coordinate his forces. Prepare room for the soon arriving ones. Coordinate and organize the patrol routes.

Every previously mentioned task was fine and manageable to a certain degree with the help of the Elder Liches who helped with the paperwork. Until now he could bear all of this. Even when he scorned it like his friend. Both he and Beelzebub rather practiced in the open their swordsmanship or adventured together in disguise.

But being Beelzebub announced Italica as a neutral city state where the three side can meet, trade and negotiate. With this simple sentence. He just showed him a middle finger. And gave him five times more work. He not only needed to consult with the JSDF experts and Countess Myui Formal forces. But he also needed to oversee the restoration project of the city with the JSDF and the humanitarian work of their forces. Not speaking about the continuously arriving traders and the adventurers passed through the city ordered to report to him through his subordinates. That's meant two more stacks worth of paperwork for his humble self.

Everything runs through under his hand. And he just could not bear it. Just when he wants to have some deserved sleep and fall in his bed. An important message or one of his soldier always storm his room and beat him up from his sleep.

On his desk, several papers stocked towered above his head. Even looking up at them fills the veteran Captain with dreadful feelings. Wearing simple clothes instead of his usual crystal like armor he rested his head on the table. In any moment he will fall asleep. Just a little more.

Closing his eyes, he started to drift into the dreamscape. Just when he reached it. It happened again… One of his troopers stormed his room. "Captain! There is a woman wants to meet you personally.

"Tell her to go away... I am not here..." he mumbled facing the cloth covered his work desk.

The soldier straightened himself. "Sir! With all due of respect. The lady is very agitated and angry. I am scared Captain Creon! She is scarier than my wife. She wants to meet you immediately!"

Looking up. Showing an expression that could be only interpreted with the next sentence. 'Seriously? Now?' in a sarcastically tone. He sighed massaging his temple. On his subordinate's face, a terrified expression settled. It seems the previously mentioned woman really scared him.

"Who is this so called woman? I hope her request is important disturbing my 'work.'"

The soldier nodded uneasily. "According to her she is the envoy of the Dark Elven Council of this world." explained the messenger.

Creon shrugged in a bitter tone. "Great… More bureaucrats… It was enough dealing the elders at home. Now there as well... great..." Mumbled for a moment. Then looking at the still saluting soldier, he continued. "Did you checked her?"

"Yes! Captain! We found nothing suspicious aside her unnaturally strong desire to meet you."

Creon nodded. "Let her in. And bring a big chug of coffee."

"At once!" the soldier galloped away.

The captain shrugged. "Just when I thought I could have good shut eyes…. It happened again…"

A few minutes later a few steps can be heard. Then a gentle knocking on his door. "Come in…" he ordered as he drinks his previously ordered coffee. The door opened. And the previously seen soldier accompanied with dark elven women stepped in the room.

She seemed in her young adult age, equivalent to a human's 20 years of age. She has caramel colored skin, silver hair and an absolute beauty with a mantle and leather bindings.

Creon, however, was a reserved man. Even he needed some control to withhold himself seeing her beauty.

The woman immediately kneeled. Creon and the soldier stood beside her backed for a moment. "Please! My lord! I request your help! My people are in dire need!"

The captain regaining his composure walked near her. "Please stand up and take a seat. Then explain everything calmly." the caramel colored woman looked up to him. Desperation radiated from her eyes. Creon knows this look too much. He saw it in the eyes of numerous war victims under his years of service.

The woman nodded. Then took a seat. Creon did the same. "First. Introduction. I am Creon Karalis. The appointed commander of the forces of the Sorcerous Kingdom in the city of Italica. As well the Captain of First Prince Beelzebub honor guard."

The dark elf bowed her head. Her silk like hair slightly covered her left eye. "I am Yao Haa Dushi. The Emissary of Dushi clan my lord. I came to seek the help of the mighty dragon slayers."

Creon nodded. "I see… in this case. You seek the adventurer group Darkness?"

"Darkness?" asked Yao. Raising one of her brows.

Creon bowed his head and folded his hand before his face. "Yes. According to the report. The two of them with the help of the soldiers of the JSDF and Rory Mercury the ones who fought and slain the Flame Dragon."

Yao's eyes started to shine with joy. "So you know them! Please, my lord, I need their immediate aid! Without help, my clan will surely perish! I beg you! I will do anything! I am even willing to become your slave! Just help us!"

She kneeled down near the seat again.

Creon raised his hand. "Calm down please."

Yao nodded with an embarrassed face and sat down.

Creon sighed. "Unfortunately Raidyn and Momon-dono is out of reach. Appointed by the Sorcerer King to escort his son to the other side of the JSDF gate and did not yet arrived back."

Yao looked down and clenched her fist. "Then… There is no hope… My people will die…" a few drop of tear flow down her face. Rage, desperation, and helplessness circulated in her system.

Creon walked to her and wiped away the tears with his handkerchiefs. "Now-now… A pretty lady like yourself should not stain her face with tears." she looked up. The tears still flowed from her beautiful eyes. Staining her caramel colored skin. "I am sure we can find an adequate solution. As for slavery. In the Sorcerous Kingdom, it is forbidden."

Yao sniffed and wiped away her tears. "Then… Are you willing to lend your strength? I seek the men in green in the city, but they just redirected me here. Saying they did not have the authority to initiate such action. I can't go anywhere else…" she looked down with a sad expression.

"May you show me on the map where did you come from Lady Yao?"

She nodded. Creon took out a map and laid down on his table. Pointing at the map. Creon expression turned bitter. "Ara. Ara. That's not good."

"What?" asked Yao suddenly.

"You see... Unfortunately. That's out of the border of our allowed operation range. If we go there, we might violate the border of the nearby kingdom. Aside from that. Our forces are thin already. Unfortunately, until the reinforcements arrive. I can't spare a single soldier or death knight."

Yao fell on her bottom. "Then it is lost… my clan will die from those horrible creatures."

Creon looking at her sighed. "Ara. Ara. I never said there is no solution. Don't forget lady Yao. The night always the darkest before dawn."

Yao looked up to the man. In her eyes the light of hope relighted. Sitting in his seat, Creon searched in his drawer. Then after he found the paper, he needed he smiled. "What if you hire an adventurer group?" The Captain of the honor guard asked. "They operate like mercenaries. If they trespass the border that does not count as a violation of the nearby kingdom border. There will be no repression."

"Adventurers?" she asked. "You mean those groups in the inn?"

Creon nodded. "Exactly."

"How could a little group compete such creatures of terror threaten my people?" she clenched her fist. Thinking back the numerous lives her clan lost battling with the two Flame Dragons.

"Usually. They can't. Only the best of the best can hunt dragons." Creon leaned forward. Smiling under his folded hands. "You are a lucky lady. Fortunately, I know the best team for such task aside from Darkness. Further luck. They are in the city right now."

Creon wrote a note then handed it to the nearby small winged demon. "Seek out Zeno Cruzerious and hand him this message. Work is waiting for him and his group." the small demon nodded and flew away.

Creon turned back to Yao. "Well then. Lady Yao. Please feel yourself at home. Care to eat or drink something?" he asked pleasantly.

Two hours passed. And Yao was restless. Walking up and down in the appointed meeting room. Soon a man entered the room.

His emerald green eyes are shining like they were cut directly from a gem. Combed, long golden hair. Broad shoulders. Handsome, muscular rectangular face. Befitting of true men. Wearing a golden armor adorned with sun symbols. Yao's heart started to beat faster just looking at the man.

Looking around he searched a person. Carefully approaching Yao, she tensed. She did not expect such fast approach. Showing an embarrassingly distrait smile the man searched the back of his head with his armored hand. "Hey! You are Yao Haa Dushi?"

Yao could not speak. Just not in the man's presence. She just nodded shyly.

The man smirked then offered his hand. "Hey! I am Zeno Cruzerious. The leader of the adamantine adventurer group Sun Breakers. I heard from Creon-dono. You have a nasty dragon problem." chirping happily he explained.

Yao bowed her head. Her face full red. "Ye-Yes…"

"Splen… I mean… khm…" he cleared his throat swallowing the word he wanted to say. His joyful expression replaced by a forced stern one. "I mean. It is horrible. Please tell me everything then we can discuss the conditions of our contract."

He motioned towards the nearby couch. With shaking leg, Yao sat down and pondered. _"It was a really good idea? At least he is handsome."_ she squalled like a teenager girl just looking at his face. She stomped the 300 still she felt like a teenager girl once again.

Meanwhile somewhere in the Space. Between Earth and the forbidden prison zone:

"Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" repeated continuously the caramel skinned dark elf. Her voice was sweet and adorable. The only problem with her was the next. She constantly annoyed the other denizen of the cosmic bubble as hell.

"Grrrrr! Stop that!" shouted the kitsune looking goddess sanding and straining herself heavily to travel fast as possible through space.

"What?" asked the dark elf looking girl innocently. Like she did not even know what she did.

"I said you hundreds of times! It takes several days until we reach the forbidden zone!"

"Why?" she asked dumbfounded meanwhile started to yawn a bag of chips.

Amaterasu eyes widened seeing her fellow just somehow managed to find a bag of chips. "Where the hell did you found that chips!?"

Scratching her head, the dark elf showed a pondering expression. "I don't really know... I found it?" she questioned herself.

Turning away Amaterasu gritted her teeth. "Grrrr! You are impossible! I don't even know such mighty being as Ainz-sama why even appointed such fool task this important…" she muttered under her delicate nose.

"Hey! Impossible is balancing a hundred objects on Ainz-san's bald head meanwhile he is spacing out." pointed out Raidyn. "I managed ninety-eight but then he came back, and all crashed down."

"Stupid brat…" muttered the goddess of the sun. Also called Ōhirume-no-muchi-no-kami.

Looking around Esdeath yawned. "I am bored. Do you want to play a game?"

"I am concentrating. If I stop to play a game with you, we will fall out from time and space."

"You a boring granny… you can't even multitask." Raidyn showed a flat expression. "And you call yourself goddess… geez… You are slow."

"I am not granny!" shouted Amaterasu turning back. Showing a terrifying expression. Black flames are flaring around her. Her momentary loss of concentration caused several cracks appearing on the transporting cosmic bubble.

Turning back she repaired the cracks under a moment. "Look what you did. You almost killed both of us! Stupid annoying brat."

"Achuuu!" Raidyn sneezed.

"Bless you."

"Thanks… someone might mention my little name," she smirked scratching the back of her head. "Happens a lot lately."

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Well, this is for now. I hope you enjoyed it. :)**

 **Sorry for the long wait. Personal life, suddenly appearing relatives and internet provider got in my way. (Blame them XD)**

 **Next time: Dragon hunters! The Sunbreakers vs Giselle. Will our adventurers manage to defeat the dragons? Find out next time!**


	15. Let's the hunt begin, dark star rising!

**Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There**

 **by oblivon2991**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.**

 **I don't own the _Overlord_ (** **オーバーロード** ** _Ōbārōdo_** **?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **Please review it. I know I will make mistakes that I intend to correct and will try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

* * *

Two Flame Dragons had flown to the Schwarz Forest several months ago.

It happened suddenly. That said, despite it being the home of the Dark Elves, they had only taken a few casualties at first because most of them were outside of the village for religious reasons.

However, the Flame Dragons were not satisfied with so few deaths. It flew by again and again to fill their empty stomach, and many of their brethren had been lost one by one.

If this went on, the tribe would be destroyed.

The Dark Elves abandoned the Schwarz Forest, which was now the Flame Dragons' hunting ground. They scattered to the nearby barrens, creeks, and foothills.

Thus the Dark Elves' daily life became one of evading the Flame Dragons' attacks.

They watched the sky day and night and even cowered from passing birds. When the air raid horn sounded, all they could do was hide in their holes like moles and tremble in fear.

However, if they were careless, the Flame Dragon would get them.

It would breathe fire into their holes, dig them out, or just collapse the tunnels on top of them.

The same friends whom they had greeted in the morning would be torn apart, chewed up and swallowed by the two Flame Dragons in the evening. Thus, the only thing they could do is tremble and wait. True, the dragons were slightly smaller than their mother. Their capabilities to swallow and destroy things were none at less.

The elves had to cover their ears and ignore the pitiful cries of their comrades surrounding them and their wails as they awaited the end. They let their friends sacrifice themselves to buy time to escape, and moved to ever more treacherous places or deeper valleys to hide.

But a life spent fleeing was no life at all.

They had to hunt for their food, but the Elves' hunting grounds were also the Flame Dragons'.

When they spotted their prey, the Dragons had their eyes on them. When they brought their quarry down, the Dragons might claim them instead. They tried various other means to feed themselves.

They peeled off tree bark and boiled it, then ate it as they drank muddy water. This was their life.

The resources they had brought from the stricken regions were running thin. Their food stocks were gradually running low. Resolving themselves to die, their young archers prepared themselves and headed to the hunting grounds.

There were casualties every day.

No day went by without the cries of orphaned children, or the sound of voices cursing the two beasts for the loss of their children and relatives.

Of course, there were those who took up bow and sword in anger and challenged the Dragons.

However, they were like eggs thrown at a rock. All their valiant efforts accomplished was adding to the number of corpses in the beasts' lair.

The aid of the spirits, their mithril arrowheads, their strong armor, none of them availed them against the two Flame Dragons.

They thought that magic swords might help, but then they could not even get the tips through the scales. Not even speaking as they approached one, the other either fried them or swallowed them whole. The magic swords merely added to the collection in the two Dragons' lair.

The Dark Elves' hearts were filled with despair and emptiness.

There were those who believed in Hardy and who felt the call of the afterlife and went to it with desperate laughter, like prisoners just before execution. Insanity spread like an incurable disease through the tribe. There were many who lost the will to live and lay down and died.

"This can't go on," someone had said.

"The Flame Dragons must have a weakness. The sword sticking out the side of one of them is proof of that."

There was an adventurer who had taken his revenge one of the Flame Dragon before he died. A stranger from an unknown land. The courageous sacrifice that saved many children and women of the tribe rekindled their courage.

"There must be some way to defeat the Flame Dragons. That heroic stranger even managed to injure one of them before roasted and swallowed whole. We have proof of that!"

At the same time, the tales of the "Men in Green" and the "Sorcerous Kingdom" reached them.

The men in green used a magic staff called the "Rod of Steel" to destroy the previous Flame Dragon's left arm and the so-called adventures From the Sorcerous Kingdom cut off its head with their swords, and saved a human village from extinction. These tales were the last, best hope for the Dark Elves, who faced extinction themselves.

After that, the tribe decided as one to send an envoy.

The one who was sent out would have to bear a heavy burden.

The envoy would need to escape the Flame Dragons' claws, and find the men in green or those adventurers by hearsay alone. The envoy would need an iron will, a sense of duty, and a keen survival instinct.

The envoy would bear the hope of the village.

They would have to beg these new invaders for their aid, by any means necessary. Failure meant the destruction of their tribe, their comrades, their relatives, and friends.

Such a great responsibility could not be borne by any ordinary person. They would need great battle skills and knowledge, as well as the integrity not to give up the mission halfway and run off with the treasures entrusted to them.

They gathered the young people of the tribe and began their selection.

In the end, two names were left. One of them was Yao Haa Ducy.

She was a skilled swordswoman and wise, and she was adept at summoning the spirits.

Her straightforward but earnest attitude was well known throughout the village. They were certain she would not give up her mission halfway.

There were two candidates, both of whom were equal in ability, talent, and personality. However, the female Yao would be more useful. That was because her bewitching beauty would be a powerful weapon in negotiations with the opposite sex. According to the rumors, both the men in green and the forces of the Sorcerous Kingdom were commanded by a male.

However, things were not that simple. The chief looked at Yao's face and sighed. Frankly speaking, her bad luck was a significant point against her.

She fell into traps more often than others while hunting, and when trees were felled, they kept landing on top of her head.

It would rain when she went swimming, and when she went to town to buy things, the shops were invariably closed.

Her lover was NTRed away by a "good friend," and when she was finally about to marry her childhood friend after overcoming various obstacles, he died of natural causes before their wedding day.

After that, during the mourning, a man who had confessed his love to Yao before she was married fell off a cliff while hunting and died. After that, no man dared to go near her.

Also, she had no luck at all during lucky draws, and the only time she won something was when she drew the top prize at a friend's wedding.

Honestly speaking, it was enough to erase all her merits as a woman. However, although her luck was bad, she kept pushing herself to keep carrying on with life in spite of her misfortune.

Everyone agreed on that. The elders could not disqualify her just based on her ill fortune.

At this point, the elders told Yao the reason why they had chosen her. After that, they asked if she was prepared to offer her body as a reward. In truth, those words were not necessary, and they might have been hoping she would refuse.

In truth, Yao was thinking about whether or not to withdraw.

However, she had accepted. Since she had no luck with men, if the other party asked her to be a slave, a lover, a whore or a maid, she would agree. However, Yao would not sell herself cheaply. If the price of her body were the head of the two Flame Dragons, she would proudly pay it.

Still uneasy about the whole matter, the elders chose Yao as their envoy.

Since this concerned the life and death of the entire tribe, a miserly payment would be meaningless. Therefore, they entrusted her with the most valuable treasure of the tribe.

And so Yao began her journey, and after overcoming lousy luck and difficulties, she finally stood before the city of Italica. The city where the rumors led her. The city where according to the rumors, she can find both requested parties.

Seeing the creatures working on the walls and patrolling around the city from the border of the forest. Almost made her back off, turn heel and ran back her tribe. But her will of iron. If she came this far, she will can't turn back. She needs to proceed. She gulped deeply, her train of thoughts were interrupted by a roaring noise.

She sprang up and looked around to see what was going on. She was in a beautiful forest whose canopy let the sunlight in through small gaps.

She had come all this way to the Town of Italica, and after a quick but thorough security check, she even managed to get into the town. Find a good Inn and start to collect the information about her two target factions.

She awed the silver swords those cut through the skies time to time, leaving a deafening roar in their wake. She awed the armored, winged figures and the robed humanoids who patrolled above her. She awed the strange men clothed in green and their peculiar metal batons.

She awed the knights in black, silver, and golden armor who's patrolled the streets. Carrying epic, heavily enchanted weapons. Wearing heavy and light, magically enchanted armors, forged from an unknown alloy. At least, the spirits told her as much.

The scene filled her with dread as she saw the undead walking around numberless. Just to be commanded by either their nearby robed counterparts or a simple living being wearing a strange insignia on their shoulder and chest. An insignia she never saw before, but an insignia that was always present in the city and its surrounding. She almost attacked them if not one of the pleasant resident stopped her and explained her the situation.

She awed the hundreds, no… the thousands of different people from different cultures and races. The races that actually cooperated with each other, mingled, laughed and shared drinks. The thing, that according to their racial incompatibility should not happen as long, as the world is the world. She never before in her life thought such thing is possible. Dwarves, elves of all kind, demihumans, demons, undead. All worked together for a better tomorrow amidst the walls of Italica. Built a better future.

Most of the time her people usually received by a cold demeanor outside of their protective forest. Usually, inside the borders of the human-centric Empire where all non-human counted as a second-class citizen.

But here… everything was like a dream. People from all around of the world treated each other as equals. Even her, she even saw many from her people walking around, mingling with others like it was completely natural. Naturally, the lower class still existed, and she saw one-one thief momentarily trying to snatch a purse. But most of them quickly captured by the nearby patrolling forces of the Sorcerous Kingdom or the men in green.

Walking around in the market she never saw such flourishing marketplace, loaded with all kind of known and unknown wares. Wares unknown before her people or was already known but never saw in such quantity.

Maybe if her mission actually succeeds and these newcomers manage to kill those two Flame Dragons haunting her people so long time. Then… perhaps her people could finally stand on their legs once more by making a deal with the city of Italica.

So she did as she promised to the council. After settling down in an Inn and collecting a little bit of information from the denizens of the city and the two new actions inhabiting it. She headed towards the embassy of the two newly appeared factions.

First, she tried to reason with the men in green. But they redirected her towards the operation HQ of the Sorcerous Kingdom. Saying, they neither have the required forces nor the authority and the permission to send troops into that region without risking the violation of the border of the nearby kingdom.

She pleaded and reasoned for hours. Still, she only managed to wrestle out a promise from the appointed officer. The promise he will send a message to his superiors for permission to take action. Despite the almost instant communication devices of the JSDF, it will take time to the word find its way through the endless maze of the bureaucratic command line. The command line that was the epithet of the modern and every other kind of army it became one with it.

Of course, she also gained new information about the Men in Green. For starters, she had already confirmed that the soldiers who were part the men in green were a part of the army of the country called Japan. She also understood why they could not violate the borders of the Elbe Kingdom. She had learned that defeating Flame Dragons was not impossible, but attempting it with small groups of people was risky. A risk that they rather not take.

If their Chief Commander, called Hazama by the appointed commander, had just refused her out of selfish intentions, that would have made things simpler.

After all, people who sought money could be bribed with the diamond. People who sought fame could be tempted by the fact that they would be celebrated for defeating the Flame Dragon which even heroes from her world could not beat. And if she encountered a lecherous man, she was confident that her body was superior to that of any human woman, and her 300 years of erotic techniques would leave them limp and pliable.

Being she had no other choice. She made peace, thanked the collaboration, accepted the offer in the case if she did not manage to find any additional help and headed towards maybe one of her last hope. The operation HQ of the Sorcerous Kingdom.

Under her way, she saw several armored figures. Wearing different armors and set of expensive robes. Carrying magnificent looking weapons heading into the nearby inns. After signing up their groups in the checkpoints, the checkpoints that can be found scattered through the city and placed mostly near the gates where they entered the metropolis.

It seemed these newcomers take security very seriously. Even when she entered she had to fill several papers and go through some kind of magical monitoring before even could set foot in the city. She was alone, she was lucky. If the council would send more than one person, she and her group would need the double amount of scan and paper to fill that she is already through.

It happened last night, pleading and roaring with the guards for long moments brought its fruit. They immediately ran to tell their captain her request. Right before that, she waited for long hours in the waiting room, even before one of the guards came and asked her what she is waiting for.

She was not hungry; she was not thirsty. The delicious food and drink before her, seemingly endlessly appearing on the table before her satisfied both of her needs. There was even a toilet, of course first she did not know how to use such expedients at first. But after experiencing the benefits having a flush toilet (as the soldiers called and explained her its method of work) instead she had to do her health stuff outside of the wild and using leaves. Compared to that, using that strange device was like a heaven, easier, less messy and most of all, a lot more sterile.

Once she returns home, and the distress averted. She needs to convince the council to install such toilet opportunities near their homes. According to the mage who thoroughly explained to her (according to her, too thoroughly), the toilet magically repurposes the roughage and the trash, by magically transmuting into something else. Something useful.

She was not a mage, of course, been blessed by the spirits she had some kind of magical abilities, but she was nowhere near even an apprentice mage from the city of Rondel. Such thing, she did not understand the half of it what the mage who waited in the room with her explained, with great enthusiasm and care. And after the first half hours of explanation. She regretted even to ask. That middle-aged, robed man just speak and speak without stopping. Seemingly not even stopping to breathe. She almost yelled to stop.

And here she is… after with great difficulty managing to force her will to the guard forces of the facility and waiting for long hours. She found her way inside of the room of the Captain of the local forces of the Sorcerous Kingdom. Creon Karalis. And could finally speak with hem.

She almost lost all of her will to live when she heard the same excuse from the Captain. The same excuse she heard from that stocky Colonel of the JE-S-DÉ-F. As he called the men of green. Her hope immediately renewed when he offered her another opportunity. It was only a half solution, but it is better than nothing.

'Hire adventurers.' He said... 'There are specialized groups amongst them who are specialized to hunt dangerous monsters such as dragons.' he said.

Of course, first, she wanted to hire that famous adventurer group called 'Darkness,' praised and recommended by the locals and the adventures in the Inn. The adventurer group 'Darkness.' The adventurer group that according to the rumors managed to utterly defeat the most likely mother of the two Flame Dragons that terrorized her people.

First, she thought she would be lucky. But when the Captain told her, group Darkness out of a critical mission given order by the Sorcerous King himself. She fell into depression. Who could slay such mighty beast than those heroes? There are even existed such groups more than one? The last adventurer walked in their direction killed mercilessly by the dragons, barely able to pierce through one of their hide before swallowed whole.

She accepted the deal, having no other choice with a bitter expression on her face. Currently sitting in the cushioned private meeting room the Captain used for such discussions. She must admit, the sofa she sat was quite comfortable, she never sat on such comfortable furniture. Still, even the thought she had to place the fate of her people of some kind of unknown (most likely drunk) adventurers. Did not helped her mod at all.

The door opened, revealing a handsome man.

His emerald green eyes are shining like they were cut directly from a gem. Combed, long golden hair. Broad shoulders. Handsome, muscular rectangular face. Befitting of true men. Wearing a golden armor adorned with sun symbols. Yao's heart started to beat faster just looking at the man.

Looking around he searched a person. Carefully approaching Yao, she tensed. She did not expect such fast approach. Showing an embarrassingly distrait smile the man rubbed the back of his head with his armored hand. "Hey! You are Yao Haa Dushi?"

Yao could not speak. Just not in the man's presence. She just nodded shyly.

The man smirked then offered his hand. "Hey! I am Zeno Cruzerious. The leader of the adamantine adventurer group Sun Breakers. I heard from Creon-dono. You have a nasty dragon problem." chirping happily he explained.

Yao bowed her head. Her face full red. "Ye-Yes…"

And here we left Yao storyline last time. Let's continue, shall we?

Zeno and Yao sat face to face. The air tensed. And the caramel colored dark elf just played with her fingers shyly. Circling the two index finger of hers before herself. Did not dared to look into the emerald eyes of the muscled elf adventurer. She felt a teenager again like she was not 300 years old, just a fifty years old youngling.

"Something wrong? Lady Yao? I hope I did not hurt any custom of yours in any way…" asked the adventurer, tilting his head innocently.

Yao's face reddens as she turns her head away flustered. "N-no… it's nothing…"

The Sun Knight releases a relieved sigh. "Whew! I am relieved! For a moment I thought I was indecent…" he turned back the woman sitting before him. "So… can you tell me about the assignment you requires our help?"

Yao nodded. Her serious expression moved back her face. "Yes, as I said. Around one and a half months ago two lesser Flame Dragons appeared near our forest."

Zeno nodded with a serious expression. Yao continued. "They started to pillaging, devouring and destroying everything in their way." clenching her fist she looked down.

"We were completely helpless; they killed everyone in their way. Their hide is tougher than the mithril; our spirit blessed arrows bouncing down from the hide of theirs like it is nothing. Their speed is barely traceable, faster than any known animal. No matter where we hide, they sniff us out…" she looked up to her fellow elf. "My clan is dying Lord Zeno… before the appearance of these monsters. My people were a proud race of warriors, the biggest clan in the area. Counting more than hundreds… now… our numbers lessened in such degree we are on the edge of extinction…"

She kneeled before the Sun Knight. "Lord Zeno! I request your help! Lord Creon recommended you and your group! Please help my people!" closing her eyes she kneeled. Facing towards the ground. "If it is needed, I even became your slave in exchange… just… please… save my people!" a few drop of tears ran down her face.

Zeno showed an uneasy expression as he watched the woman underneath him. His mouth moved sideways; his eyes crawled into the corners of his orbits. Thinking about the punishment what his master would inflict upon him if she hears about he accepted such humiliating deal. Even thinking about it made him tremble in fear.

Not speaking about he saw the horrors of slavery under his master's tutelage. No one deserved such fate. Not even the worst of his enemy.

Sighing he stood up. Placing his hand on the shoulder of the silver-haired woman. He smiled. "Don't worry; we will help you. We will discuss the payment later, but…" raise a finger he stated. "No slavery. I despise slavery. Outside of that, it is strictly prohibited in the Sorcerous Kingdom."

Yao's face brightened. Throwing herself shamelessly into the muscled adventurer's neck. "Thank you! Thank you!" she sobbed.

Zeno is knowing not what to do… just sighed and patted her back. Thinking, if she acts like this under the mission. This will be a long one. Not as she despised the fact a beautiful woman hugged him. No, he liked the situation, Yao's hair smelled good, it made him remember his childhood spent under his master's tutelage.

His training was harsh; it was inhuman, brought him many nightmares. But after he remained alone. Only his master showed any kind of kindness and companionship towards his way. If she did not save him, he would be either a slave, a criminal outlaw or lying dead somewhere. She was harsh, true, but she did so to make him strong. Not speaking about she treated him like an equal, sharing him with many, wonderous moments he still treasures till today.

Grabbing her shoulder, he placed her before him. "Let's sign the papers; then I will introduce you to the others."

Yao nodded with tearful eyes. Wiping away the droplets stained her beautiful face.

After further discussing the details about the deal. Zeno nodded. It will be a rough ride. But if his years of experience taught him something. That's he and his group were a bunch of adrenalin junkies throwing themselves into crazier and crazier situations. Even when 'pops' (as any member of his little team called their veteran Beastmen mercenary.) often mentioned, this kind of behavior will be his death.

He hunted dragons before, under the tutelage of his master, and several other times with his group. Of course, they were lesser ones. Still, dragons nonetheless. Hunting a big, and hunting a small should be the same with just bigger scale. Right?

Signing a formal contract that every contractor bound to sign those hire adventurers under the banner of the Sorcerous Kingdom adventurer guild. The deal was sealed.

According to it, if the adventurer group fails, the guild could send someone stronger to deal with the problem, can request help from the military to solve the arisen problem or even willing to pay back the paid sum.

Under discussion, Yao showed the head sized, perfect, uncut diamond to Zeno whose eyes almost popped out from their socket seeing the huge stone. Being an experienced adventurer he saw big stones before, but it was too big even for him. His spirit tempted to accept it, but he refused out of professionalism and out of his patron (Touch Me) saying.

'If the road is harsh, it is only natural to take your sword and help.'

Being Yao's people were in great danger, and in fear, his master would beat him to a bloody pulp if he accidentally refuses the deal and fails to negotiate a reasonable price. He accepted it. However, he only accepted the price what covers his and his group necessary needs and a little bit plus. After all, they have expenses as well.

Currently walking through the dawning streets of Italica. Zeno and the shadowed Yao headed towards the Inn where the little group meeting will be conducted. Zeno only hoped the explosively lively Meguminoi. One of the pillars of his group. (The Scarlet Sweet Demon as many people called her.) Will not tear his head off after hearing he refused that massive stone of pure diamond.

He pondered this for a moment; maybe he should accept that stone. But then… nah… his honor did not allow such unclean things.

As the duo headed towards the meeting point of the Sunbreakers. The meeting point that was a small Inn not too far from the operation HQ of the Sorcerous Kingdom in the town of Italica.

In their way, numerous adventurers and soldiers greeted Zeno joyfully. With a broad smile on their face. It seemed he is quite a known figure despite what Yao first thought. After several streets and stopping a few times when Zeno 'accidentally' met one of his old acquaintance. The two of them finally reached the inn where they will meet the little group.

The bar looked freshly built. Most likely newly tucked up amidst the restoration project of Italica, by the undead workforces of the Sorcerous Kingdom and the JSDF humanitarian forces.

On the signboard the name 'Silver Pavilion' inscribed. It seemed this Inn get its naming sense after the famous luxury restaurant, the Golden Pavilion. Positioned in the Fortress city E-Rantel in the Sorcerous Kingdom. Still open today, despite it is serving it's customers more than two hundred years. Of course, renovated a few times since that time.

The bar they stood before was mediocre at best according to the Sorcerous Kingdom tour guide. But for Yao… she never saw such luxurious inn. Of course, it was nothing compared to the waiting room and the meeting room where she meets Zeno and the Captain. Neither can it be compared to the wonders of Nazarick.

But to the Dark Elf who spent her 300 years amidst the safety of the trees, living mostly in a simple wooden house, rarely visiting the towns and other villages. These new wonders seemed too much to be true. Opening the door, the booming voice of the laughing and chatting people burst into her face.

Dwarves, elves, Beastmen, humans, and all kind of people chatted with each other, even a few of from the soldiers of JSDF. In one of the corners, a brawling match conducted by a judge. The five waitress clothed in the bar's maid uniform agilely avoided the passing by customers and placed the vast chugs and delicious looking, steaming food before the sitting ones.

The interior of the bar seemed a lot bigger and brighter than the bar exterior might first imply. In one of the corners behind a half-open door, Yao even saw the glimpse of a knife throwing game.

As she inspected the interior behind her scarf turban-like headgear that covered the lower part of her face. She and Zeno headed more in-depth in the establishment.

Heading towards one of the corners where five adventurers sat at a table, drinking and eating their heart content. Chatting with each other joyfully.

"Ah... our prestigious leader finally arrived... how joyful!" announced the man wearing outfit resembles typical colored clothes that the bards used to wear in the Middle Ages and in fantasy novels.

Blue eyes, brown hair, neatly trimmed mustache and goat's beard, the typical appearance of a playboy. Accompanied by his Guitarra Latina (Latin Guitar) like an instrument. Fine tuning it in this very moment.

His precious name was Julian Alfred Pankratz or as the ladies know him, Master Dandelion. Amongst many things, being a bard and a famous storyteller at home, gained him quite numerous favors amidst the ranks of women.

"Hey, boss!" The sizable Beastman raised his clawed paw. Two Longhorns are protruding backward from the top of the two side of his head. White fur with black tiger stripes and bright yellow eyes made his appearance even more menacing and dangerous.

The veteran Beastman named Alalog Slapstorm. Thief, tracker, hunter, trapmaster, swashbuckler, under his hundred years of war stained history, he was many things. But never the man who could settle down without something pulling him back into the fray.

The petite mage sitting beside him clothed in a classical witch attire such as a black cloak with gold border, choker, wizard's hat, fingerless gloves. She just enjoyed her sizable meal. Did not even made an effort to recognize the arrival of the leader of the small group.

She was just known by the name Meguminoi, the crimson witch who loved to blow up stuff and was the group glass cannon, also rump card if everything seemed lost.

"Zeno! My man! How are you doing!" blurted the dwarf sitting at the other side of the table, his merry, full greeting accompanied with a light-hearted chuckle. The merry drunken dwarf was quite stocky but also had the muscular build and the long beard and dense eyebrow that was his people's own. Yao almost backed seeing his intense red hair and neatly braided beard.

Being an alchemist, sharpshooter and rune engineer, he was quite famous at home. But even then, even amongst his clan that was full of weird, strange dwarves, people with a bizarre obsession towards everything that explodes and produces weird outcomes, even amongst them he was a weirdo.

Thus, the Regency council back in Fero Berkana. The capital of the Dwarves back to the Sorcerous Kingdom. Made an announcement just because of him, everyone who wants to approach his workshop could only do it at their own risk.

Being it positioned outside of the capital the Regency authorized his workshop to remain. If they just revoke the license just now, they would make a fool of themselves.

People spoke about weird explosions and strange scents when he is home and experimenting with new things. Thus, most of the people avoided the place either way. There was no need to place warning signs, not as he did not do so.

This crazy, red dwarf called Gokhek Merryforge, the engineering and alchemical expert of the little group.

Zeno smiled his friend enthusiasm and nodded to him. "Merryforge! Old bastard! It's good to see you!" he welcomed him with a similar manner.

"Heh! Speaking the one with more than 200 years behind his back..." he chuckled then turned back his ale.

"Z-Zeno-sama..." shuttered the prismatic haired girl with an entirely red face. "It is good to see you..." Blushed the girl as shuttered.

Zeno nodded. "It is good to see you as well again, Medhirth." The girl started to blush even more as she heard her secret love greeting her.

Long prismatic colored hair that reaches to the middle of her back crowned her head, sapphire blue eyes. Sapphire scales were visible in a scattered pattern on her hands that peeked out from her robes. However, anyone who saw her beautifully childish face and sizable assets what settles on her petite frame seemingly did not recognize or let away these small flaws. Instead, they said it further enchanted her beauty.

Two tiny horn is sprouting backward from the back fo her head. She had quite a good figure. Unlike many half dragons, she can't make disappear her draconic heritage entirely.

Playing with her prismatic hair, hiding her blushing face behind one strand. She made an attempt to cover the embarrassed feeling that she felt near the leader of the group.

Zeno turned to the bard. "Master Dandelion! I hope the girls in the town still virgin!" he gave a quick wink to his companion.

"You know me too well Master Zeno! No girl is safe from me!" he chuckled announcing his achievement.

The elf hero turned back to his guest. "Oh, I am sorry... it was several hours since we parted..." he laughed wholeheartedly. "They can be rather sticky..."

"Like fungus..." interjected the little crimson witch sarcastically as she continued her meal. On her face, a completely uninterested, flat expression settles.

"Yeah... short off..." Zeno chuckled at Meguminoi's antics. "You know something girl..." the girl did not react her leader words. Instead...

"You owe me ten candy..." she retorted. "Business first. After candy," shot back Zeno.

The small girl nodded. Then the golden armored elf turned back to the woman behind him. "Let me introduce..." before he could introduce their client it stepped forward. Removed the mantle what covered her face and her head. She opened her mouth and started her introduction.

"I am Yao Haa Dushi, it is a pleasure to meet you all." she bowed her head slightly.

Zeno smiled. "Then… it is our turn. Let me introduce my little group." he stated. "The suspicious looking redhead dwarf is Gokhek Merryforge. Our engineering specialist, alchemist, and sharpshooter. If you have a stomach ache or any illness, don't hesitate to turn to him. He has a good medicine for it. However, if he asks you to try out one of his experimental concoction. Don't do it… you may change color."

Yao looked at the dwarf fearfully.

"Hey! That's only happened once!" retorted the dwarf. Then nodded towards the caramel colored elf, grinning. "Don't listen to him, lady. If you need anything, just say!" he pointed at her with his thick, gloved finger.

Zeno sighed and shook his head, then turned his Beastmen colleague. "The next guy in the line may look menacing, but his heart is gold. Our tracking and guerrilla warfare specialist Alalog Slapstorm." the elder Beastmen nodded to Yao. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

Yao just nodded. She saw demi humans before. Like Bunny Warriors or cat people, even Medusas, and orcs. But this new kind of Beastmen came with the Sorcerous Kingdom looked at least as menacing as the orcs.

Yao was not the woman who judged from first sight. Still, Slapstorm appearance made her feel uneasy, mostly that huge scar running through one of his eyes and his huge canines protruding out from his mouth.

"It is nice to meet you my lady." he bowed his head. "I hope we can get along with each other."

Yao bowed her head. "Yes, I am sure we can get along."

Slapstorm turned to the little scarlet witch who still ate her meal. Did not showing any interest to introduce herself. Suddenly, Slapstorm tugged her shoulder. "What?"

The veteran Beastmen nodded towards Yao. Meguminoi turned towards Yao, showing a bland face. Then looked at Zeno. "Did you two did it?" she asked blandly.

Medhirth face reddened as her eyes widened, knowing what the little witch meant. She turned her head away with a blush, clenching her teeth.

"What?" asked Yao. Then realizing what the sweet tooth magic caster meant, bowing down her head, tried to cover her embarrassment. "I don't know what you mean…" shuttered the dark elf with a red face.

Meguminoi raised her two hands. Forming an 'O' with her left thumb and index finger, then she pushed her right index finger through the hole formed with the help of two of her left fingers. Repeating it multiple times.

"Meguminoi! Stop it! You speak nonsense! Zeno-sama would never do it!" blurted out the half dragons.

Zeno still starched his head. "What are you guys speaking about?"

Medhirth and Yao turned their head away with a full red face. Then said synchronous. ""Nothing…""

Meguminoi just sighed and cut the meat before herself. Continued her disturbed meal. The little mage sometimes really did not understand their leader simplicity, he was a strong, mighty warrior only a few people amongst mortals could rival his power. In battle, a genius, with a strong and usefully innate talent that increased his defense and magic resistance considerably.

Still, when it comes to women, even Meguminoi recognized things their captain was completely unaware of. She was only around fifteen or sixteen; she did not really count, not as it matters, her legend as the most destructive mage will make her name immortal. She was sure of that.

Suddenly a huge hand squished her witch hat on the top of her head. Forcing her into a bowing position, suffocating her face in her juicy meat. "Please forgive her indecency; she is just a child. Her name is Meguminoi. I am sure she is very sorry."

Barked Slapstorm, showing a weird smile with closed eyes. Maybe he wanted to take up the face of an apologetic person. But his scarred, elongated jowl just made the expression weirder than it usually is.

Releasing from the tight grip, Meguminoi shoots the glare to the old Beastmen. With a frown, she cleaned her face with her napkin and tried to fix her pointed hat. "Stupid old fart… ruined my perfect headgear…" she murmured.

Zeno just sighed and shook his head. Then turned to the half dragon. "Let me introduce you our healer and druidic magic caster. Ephade Medhirth. If you need your wounds healed, you are sick, or you need to commune with the forest, don't hesitate to ask her."

Ephade glared at the woman before her. Measuring it like a piece of meat. Then showing a pleasant smile she nodded. "I-It's nice to meet you…" she bowed her head.

Yao did not know how, but she felt a slightly bad feeling amidst her words. As if she wanted to swallow her whole with those sapphire eyes.

"And our last member is…" Zeno wanted to introduce Julian the bard. But the singer stopped the veteran adventurer. "Aaa… let me do the introduction." Standing up, he bowed elegantly. "Duke Julian Alfred Pankratz. Traveler, adventurer, bard, and storyteller, but currently accompanying Zeno-dono to immortalize his heroic deeds. Someone has to write his heroic act for posterity. Or not?" looking up he winked at Zeno. The golden armored elf just rolled his eyes at his friend's antics.

"But beautiful ladies like you can call me Master Dandelion, or simply Dandelion, as the ladies call me amongst themselves." raising Yao's hand gently he smooched a kiss on it.

"Right…" Yao rolled her eyes uneasily.

Zeno cleared his throat. Dandelion looked up to him. Cleared his throat and straightened himself. "Right, right, I can speak later about Zeno's deeds. No time like the present after all." he smiled pleasantly.

Zeno just shook his head hearing his friend's antics and sat down. Yao followed custom.

Looking for his companions. He started his speech. "Ladies and gentleman. We have work to do…" he smiled.

"What kind of work lad?" Asked Merryforge is placing down his tankard, wiping away the bubbling remains of his drink from his beard.

Zeno smiled. Then turned towards Yao. "Miss Yao… if you may."

The caramel skinned elf nodded. "Right…" Closing her eyes, she started her explanation. "Around one and a half months ago. Two Flame Dragons appeared near our home in the Schwarz Forest. Then immediately started a havoc killing hundreds of us. Forcing us to leave our home."

The group nodded. "How tragic…" gasped Medhirth with horror. Covering his mouth. "Please accept my condolences."

Yao bowing her head accepted it. "Thank you… I appreciate it…" turning back the group, she continued. "Despite our best effort. We did not manage even to injure or chase them away. My people out of desperation started to retreat. But even then… the beasts following us. Hunting us, bleeding us slowly… even for this day." clenching her fist and teeth she looked down with a desperate, angry expression.

"My clan is on the verge of extinction because of that two beasts… our food supply is low… my people are starving, dying… you are our last hope." with eager eyes she looked up to Zeno. "The Men in Green and the forces of the Sorcerous Kingdom refused my request, my plead, out of their fear to invade the nearby kingdom. Please…" bowing down her head she pleaded. "Help us…"

"So… it is two dragons…" mused Slapstorm, fondling his whiskers. "How big they are? Resistances? Elements they can use? Size? Kind? Every little piece of information counts." he started to measure his opponent's capabilities, like a true professional.

"Magic? What kind of magic can they use? And which tier? Can they us Wild Magic?" asked the scarlet witch in a flat tone. Looking up from her plate.

"Each of them at least of the size of one and a half barn. They are Flame Dragons. However, not adults yet. But their size close to it. About the hardness of their scales, our mithril hard spirit blessed arrows could not penetrate their hide. Not even injuring them. The only thing could penetrate it, was the sword of a fallen adventurer came and died not long ago."

"Well then… this works needs my special, armor penetrating mixture!" Rubbed his hands together Merryforge with a maniac grin. "You will see firework never before!"

Meguminoi imagined the explosion and a slight smile curled on her face. "Boom…" she quoted quietly.

Yao suddenly turned towards Meguminoi after realizing what she just said about dragons and magic. "Magic? What do you mean? Dragons can't use magic." she stated seriously.

After slurping up a long thread of pasta. The girl looked up to the elf. "You are the one who dumb lady… dragons can use magic. According to the books, the dragons of old can even use the Magic of the Old World. Wild Magic as it called according to the history books."

Yao backed in her seat for a moment. Looking dreadfully at Zeno. "Th-They can!?" looking around searching for confirmation. Every face nodded.

Zeno sighed and nodded. "Yes, where we came from, dragons indeed can use magic. However, the Sorcerous King either tamed or killed the resisting known Dragon Lords long time ago. Nowadays, we could only encounter wild, rogue ones."

Yao looked down trembling. Dragon Lords? Can dragons use magic? The Sorcerous King tamed them? Whatever a Dragon Lord is, it sounds at least as dangerous as the Flame Dragon. And their King actually defeated and tamed them? Who is this powerful magic caster they call their king? Is he a god to capable such impossible feat?

"However, I am not sure about your world," added Zeno sheepishly.

Yao gulped. "Don't say they are also negotiable and intelligent…" shuttered the Dark Elf, hoping at least they are not.

Everyone looked at Medhirth for a moment. The girl hesitated, then shyly started her explanation. "A-Actually… the dragons in the Sorcerous Kingdom are the proud race of noble creatures."

"What!?" Yao's eyes widened. "You cannot be serious!"

"Actually…" the half-dragon started to play with her fingers shyly. "I am a half-dragon too…"

Yao backed for a moment with wide eyes.

"Maybe I can try to speak with them… maybe they will listen to me and explain the whole situation…" offered the Sapphire dragonling.

Yao turned her head away with gritted teeth. "You can try… but I doubt they will listen to you. Those two nothing more than bloodthirsty monsters. The only thing they feel is an endless hunger for the flesh of my kind."

"Hey! It's worth a shoot," noted Zeno.

"How wonderful tale! The Sunbreakers versus the twin dragon of endless hunger… no… I need to find a better title for this epic ballad…" mused Dandelion as he writes down his idea the parchment he fetched from his bag a moment ago.

Zeno nodded two times. Then put a map before the little group. "Let's organize our departure." he looked at the dwarf with a serious expression. "Merryforge? Our gear and the necessary rations packed and ready?" he asked.

The dwarf nodded. Huffing out a big smoke cloud from his freshly lit pipe. "Just bought the necessary tools, ingredients, and magically preserved food. It will be enough at least a few weeks worth of adventure. Hopefully…" he glanced at Meguminoi suspiciously. "If my favorite lab assistant would be so kind and not transfigure all of our food into sweets like last time…"

The crimson witch just nodded. "I promise nothing…"

"Then it's settled. " Zeno turning back at Yao asked. "Lady Yao. If it's adequate for you, we will depart immediately at dawn. Tomorrow."

Yao bowing her head accepted the deal. Then looked at Zeno surprised. "That's only a day away… Zeno-dono… are you sure your group can prepare the adventure under such short time?"

Leaning forward, resting his chin on his fondled together hands, the veteran adventurer showed a confident expression.

"I am sure… you know. We just planned to depart just tomorrow. But being everything settled in the town. We can freely leave. Please meet us at the main gate at that time. I will take care of the necessary paperwork. Until that, we rented a few rooms in the upper level of this establishment. Have some shut eye. I am sure the adventure back to your home will be exhausting."

"But…" she shuttered.

Zeno raised his hand. "No but… according to the map, the way back will be long and exhausting, full of dangers according to the reports of the scouts. You need all of your strength to guide us in these unknown lands. Please rest, we take care everything else."

Yao sighing just nodded. She was indeed tired being barely able to sleep in the last few days. Such thing, she accepted the offer and retreated into the room after chatting and know a little more this little group.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Party: Several days earlier: Imperial Palace:**

The hegemonic nation called the Empire did not have a name.

Names were tools used to differentiate oneself from others. An Emperor was one who ruled all the peoples, all the tribes, who held sway over all his allied kingdoms, a king of kings and Lord of lords. He was matchless in his domain and military might. He was a singular, insuperable existence. By this line of arrogant thinking, the Empire would need no name.

The river that flowed from the glaciers to the sea was called the River Ro. It would take two days to travel on foot from the sea to the Imperial Capital.

Shipping vessels traveled back and forth along the River Ro.

The Imperial Palace was situated on the easternmost side of the five hills of the Imperial Capital, and the hill called Sadela had an expanse of flat ground on one of its slopes. There was a beautiful alabaster building on each of its sides, and all of them were surrounded by a broad stretch of forest. This beautiful green color was the dominant tone throughout the Palace.

The mansion on its southern ward belonged to Zorzal El Caesar, the oldest son of the Emperor, and Piña Co Lada's brother from another mother.

He was pressing a woman down onto a chiffon-veiled bed. He grabbed her neck from behind and pulled it up, enjoying the interplay of pain and pleasure on her face, his grunts and her moans mixing together as he lost himself in his bliss.

"My, my Prince, please, please forgive me…" she moaned, mixing the pleasured moan with pain and disgust.

"Hmph, is that all the queen of the Warrior Bunnies can handle? Hm, I'm sure you can make better sounds than that. Moan for me." bullied the woman under him the man.

As the man looked down on the Bunnygirl whose body was already twitching as she passed out, Zorzal slapped her buttocks with a "Hmph!" and dumped her onto the bed like a used toy.

The white-skinned woman rolled off the bed like a broken doll. The impact returned her to consciousness, and her body shuddered.

Her hair was as white as snow, and two fur-trimmed ears stuck out from the sides of her head. However, her body was covered in bruises, bite marks, and many other signs of violence.

"If you pass out from just that much, you won't be able to satisfy me…" huffed the sadistic prince.

"Please forgive me…" the woman moaned in a trembling, small voice. Her red eyes looked over at him as she climbed off the cold stone floor and back onto the bed.

"Try harder, then. Your people's fate depends on it." Zorzal poured some quality wine for himself to satisfy his thirst. Then licked away the remains from his lips.

"Please show mercy, my Prince, my people…" she pleaded desperately. However, she already knows it is fruitless; she only did so to upkeep her act.

"Enough! I'm going back!"

Zorzal did not even bother to answer her as he turned his muscled body away and ordered his attendants to dress him.

His Warrior Bunny lover sobbed as she rose naked from the bed and wrapped herself in its sheets. Then she limped away, supporting herself against the wall but before she left. She wanted to use the small vial she received from her mysterious visitor, but it was not the time, not yet… thus… she simply left. Neither she knows yet the effect of the mixture. So, she decided against it.

Zorzal clicked his tongue. "I'm getting sick of this toy." He wondered whether to dispose of her or not.

A voice responded to his muttering.

"Your Highness, even if it's for fun, you shouldn't take a couple with a filthy beastwoman like that."

The speaker was Count Marx of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

"What do you mean, I'm an enlightened man. I treat all people the same regardless of species. That Warrior Bunny's body is among the best I've seen." closing his eye he showed a huffish expression. He was straightforward offended hearing the accusation of Count Marx.

"But, if she gets pregnant…" said the conspiring man worriedly. Looking towards the half-open door through the woman left moments ago.

"That's fine too. She's the queen of the Warrior Bunnies. Having my child be their leader is a good thing too."

"But hasn't the kingdom she ruled long been destroyed?" inquired Marx. True, Zorzal knows that still, he found her uses time to time. It would be a shame to dispose of her yet.

"Shh, quiet… Tyuule's ears are very big. She might overhear you."

Marx shook his head.

She had sacrificed herself to protect her country and people. She had endured this terrible abuse for a full three years, but her home was long since destroyed and her people were nearly extinct. What few survivors remained were scattered throughout the land and lived in misery.

Worse, those survivors mistakenly believed that she had betrayed her people, and swore to exact revenge on her. That was cruel, even for a Beastman. The thought of what Zorzal would do when he became Emperor sent a shiver down on Marx's spine.

"Speaking of which, Count Marx. Why did you come here today? Peeping? Or do you want Tyuule despite your age? That's fine too. She might be a bit dirty now, but she's pretty when she's cleaned up." joked Zorzal, showing a mischievous smile towards the elderly Senator.

After Zorzal was dressed, his attendants left the room. Now only Zorzal and Count Marx were left in the room.

"In truth, I have a matter to report." Marx coughing up the youthful first Prince offered.

"What is it? Speak."

"Recently, there have been some unsettling moves among the Senators."

"And by unsettling you mean…?" raising his brow Zorzal inquired. He knows Marx always conspired. It was strange he shared this with him. Too strange, he needs to be careful.

"Yes, my Prince. Meetings in the night, secret trade deals, that sort of thing. At first, there were only a few of them doing this, but their numbers have steadily increased."

"Hmph. Is my brother up to something again? He must be stirring up the Senators. It seems Diabo has finally pulled out all the stops in his bid for the throne." smirking he was overconfident. He thought himself too strong and impressive to think he can possibly lose.

"No, that does not seem to be the case. The ones meeting with the Senators appear to be the people who have unlawfully laid claim to Arnus and Dalnus."

"What, how could that possibly happen?" Zorzal said as he shook his head in disbelief. Clenching his teeth in anger.

"Could they be emissaries? After all, we're at war, having envoys going back and forth is common. Usually, the enemy negotiates with the Empire for peace or surrender. Could it be they can't fight anymore?"

"However, it seems many of the Senators have already been bought off."

"What did you say?" Zorzal snarled with disgust. They are not beaten yet; it was only a temporary setback. Not even close to defeat. Ohhhh… if he could only know what happens next… if he would know who they are messed with… he would long ago fleed from the country with his slaves and wealth.

"Until now, everyone who has gone to war against them has died, but it seems quite a few people are still living as prisoners. This gathering of the Senators should be to negotiate the terms of their release."

"How could this be?" Zorzal punched his fist into his palm. Roared like a furious lion.

"To think, Imperial Senators would buckle under this sort of intimidation. Disgusting!"

"Using one's kinship as a weapon seems like something the despicable enemy would do." honeyed his words Marx. Leading the first Prince into a blind route.

"Well, it can't be helped. After all, their own relatives are being held, hostage. That must have clouded their judgment. Very well, I know what to do. I shall inform the Senators of the enemy's despicable methods and wake them up." he came up with his genius or not so bright plan. How which, decide yourself.

"If your Highness goes in person, I'm sure they will." nodded Marx approvingly. Dropping his honeyed words into the Prince's ears.

"Still, Count Marx. Why did you not inform my father about this, but for me?" Zorzal asked suspiciously. He did not trust the old politician. He heard too much about his constant political scheming and games, too much to trust him blindly.

"There are many things to be considered, and if this news reaches the Emperor's ears, I fear something irreversible will happen. This cannot be a good thing for the Empire. Thus, I reported directly to yourself, as the heir to the throne."

"Well, that's true. We need to avoid conflict between the Senate and the Imperial family. Only Diabo will benefit from that. If that's the case, then we need to resolve it ourselves. Then, where are they meeting?"

Marx told him where they were meeting.

"What? So close to us?"

Zorzal furrowed his brows and then said to the patrician youths outside. "We're moving out!"

As Count Marx watched him leave, he muttered to himself, "You idiot. Go as grandly as you like." showing a foxy smile before he turned away and left.

* * *

 **Scene Change: The party: A few days earlier:**

Zorzal led a group of his men to the forest park on the outskirts of the capital, and the HMVs left around the same time. It was a close shave. If one listened carefully, one might be able to hear the sounds of the HMV engines vanishing into the forest. They might not know what it was, but they could probably tell it was headed away from them.

As they reached closer and turned in the road that led to the garden party suddenly two chariots with heavy escort appeared. One carrying a bulky looking chest seemingly moving according to its own accord. The other pulled by four sturdy black horse-like creature. From their forehead apparently, two horns are protruding out. On their sides, black feathered wings can be seen.

Zorzal and his men immediately stopped their horses, closing the way from the chariots. The heir to the Empire and his men are a little bit surprised and afraid of the strange looking horses and the escort that composed from dreadfully looking black armored undead, and golden armored soldiers are varying in the race.

"In the name of the Empire! Stop this once!" Zorzal raised his gladius. His men followed suit and prepared their weapons.

A golden armored figure galloped forward. Behind his close faced helmet, the stern expression of a green-skinned orc glared back at the Imperials. "Who do you think you are? Do you dare to stop the carriage of the Sorcerous King daughters? Eleanor and Serene Ooal Gown-sama. Get out our way before we cut you down, mongrel!" barked the orc. His facial features of a porcine still carried pleasant feeling behind his helmet.

"A demi-human?" scoffed Zorzal. "You are lying, your kind is not fit to escort a royalty. Get out my way before I cut you down!" threatened him Zorzal.

"I am Dyel Gan Thro. The guard captain his majesty's heirs personal royal guard! How dare a lowlife like you threaten my honor!?" Dyel barked back unsheathing his glowing, heavily enchanted sword. The menacing creatures and the golden armored guards followed custom.

"I should ask the same… filthy-demi human?!" Zorzal squinted his eyes angrily. "How dare your kind rise against their superiors? Against me! The heir to the Imperial Throne! Zorzal El Caesar!" his face churned into disgust. Showed a furious expression.

"That's it! In the name of the Sorcerer King, using the authority he himself bestowed me, I order your execution, immediately!" looking back his men he ordered. "Men! Death Knights! Marc…" his voice came immediately at halt hearing a sweet, honeyed voice of a female, stepping out from the carriage behind him.

"Captain~… what is this ruckus? Why aren't we proceeding?" asked Eleanor, the daughter of Ainz and Shalltear. Leaving the protective shell of the carriage, holding her handheld fan, cooling herself, covering her lower face.

She was followed by Serene, clothed in an elegant dress. Zorzal gasped seeing, the two woman beauty even surpassed Tyuule, those exotic features. Serene with her heterochromatic eyes and hair, and Eleanor with her pale skin, busty form and the elegance that was fit for royalty.

Serene clothed in a two-colored dress, even more, emphasized the features she inherited from her mother, supplemented with long stockings and elegant high heeled boots. Specially tailored for her by the best tailors of the kingdom. However, she preferred her armor, thus rarely wore a dress.

Eleanor clothed in a soft black evening dress with a big heavy skirt. Her upper body is dressed in a lace embellished ribbon and a short tailored jacket. Her hands are donned with long lace gloves, not showing any bit of skin. Clothes similar her mother usually wore.

Zorzal awed the two women beauty, truly fit for royalty. Bowing slightly he apologized. "My ladies. Please let me protect you from these savages who clearly kidnapped you. I swear… I Zorzal El Caesar. The first heir of the Empire will protect your honor."

Eleanor waved her fan before her face. Then closed it with a curious smile. "How curious…"

"You little!" Dyel raised his sword.

"Captain… that's enough…" ordered Eleanor using a strict tone. Dyel froze, immediately lowering his head. "My apologies your majesty…"

Turning back to Zorzal Eleanor showed a friendly smile. "I must say, I would never expect we got such welcome, and when I thought the Imperials are savage, you impressed me Prince Zorzal." she chuckled pleasantly. "Aren't I am right? Serene?"

Serene just nodded uneasily. "Right…" she knows that face her sister's show. That scheming, smile that hid no good intentions behind the perfect mask of calmness. If this Zorzal guy just knows what hide beneath it, he would avoid that monster that her sister usually is miles away. Her sister usually uses men and usually every people around her for her own political advancement, or just simple playtoys when she is bored. This Zorzal guy will be no different. It would be the best of him just to run away before she crossed her sister's sight. But it was too late. His fate sealed, Serene sister slowly chewing him away then dispose of him when she gets bored with him.

Of course, Eleanor could hardly do against it, as her mother, she as well was a predator, a predator who loved playing with her food and had a few weird fetishes.

"Care to join us? Prince Zorzal? I am sure it is more pleasant to travel inside of a carriage than sitting on that uncomfortable looking animal. We head towards the party organized not far from there."

"Why not?" Zorzal's expression brightened. "B-But my Prince?" gasped one of his men.

"Hus-hus, don't complain, instead join the guards." his men nodded with a scowling expression.

Dismounting his horse he walked to the two princesses, bowing smooching a kiss each of their hands. Showing a lustful grin.

"Ohh… how polite…" Eleanor cooled herself. Then the three of them mounted the car.

Reaching closer the three royalty saw as children and their mothers enjoying food, drink and playing all sorts of games, as well, as noblewomen flaunting their gaudy dresses at each other. All they heard from the carriage was light music and not the scheming that Count Marx had warned Zorzal about. After seeing their merriment, all hatred faded from the first heir of the Empire, and he did not want to worry about that fading noise.

Zorzal and his fellow royalties left the carriage. Zorzal bust out meanwhile Eleanor and Serene moved with the help of the guards, every step of their mirrored their proper upbringing.

"What's this?"

Although he had not been invited, nobody stopped Zorzal from advancing. Everyone could sense that Zorzal and his cronies were directing surprised looks at them. Dyel just frowned seeing the uncivilized act of Zorzal and his men.

After examining the women here, he realized that they were all patrician ladies or heiresses. He knew some of them from the courts.

While these ladies were surprised by the people barging in on them, after noticing that he was the first son of the Emperor, they mistakenly thought, "even the Prince was invited," and so everyone swept forward to welcome him. After all, the organizer of this party was Princess Piña, so it was hardly unusual for her to invite her older brother as well. He was simply a guest of honor.

Zorzal and his men could not be too rough with them.

In the face of people who had nothing to do with the policy and were of patrician birth to boot, they had to treat them with respect. The way they had to treat the children running underfoot went without saying. Their fierce desire to shout "What's going on?!" drained away. After dismounting, Zorzal ordered his men to find out what was going on.

"What are you doing here?"

"This garden party was organized by Piña-dono, Sugawara-dono. It's not an official meeting, just a gathering of various noble families and their children to have fun together. Were you not invited as well, your Highness?"

The one answering him was the elderly head maid. She was getting on in years, but she stood ramrod-straight as she answered the Prince. The fact that she had named his half-sister Piña drew his attention, but not more so than the name "Sugawara" which he had never heard before.

The maids presented the wine and all sorts of food to Zorzal and his men. The trays were loaded with many kinds of food. For instance, collagen-rich meat juices were chilled into blocks (with other foods within) and served as jelly. Then there was the Ma Nuga meat and fruits, and then on another plate, there was flatbread made of wheat, as well as all manner of vegetable and meat dishes. All these things loomed like a mountain in front of them.

Zorzal and friends nervously picked up the unfamiliar food in front of it and put it into his mouth. After that, their expressions changed.

"It's good!" he quoted. "It is heavenly!" her salvia almost dripped out from his mouth while chewed.

The meat jelly bounced as he chewed it and melted in his mouth, and the flavor slowly spread over his tongue. Like a great mixologist's drink, even kissing a thousand girls would not compare to it. Indeed, the feeling in his mouth was like a lover's tongue at work. Size, texture and flavor, all these were the crystallization of Furuta's and Zero's efforts, producing the highest order of cuisine. However, Zero thought the food was still trash. He would never make himself to work with such lowly materials normally, neither he really cared about the people wellbeing around him outside of Nazarick.

In the blink of an eye, the food in front of them vanished. Zorzal's men spread out to look for more.

Turning toward the two advancing women and their guards he said. "Lady Eleanor, Lady Serene, you need to try out this dream-like delicacy." he showed a meatball stick together with a toothpick towards the two ladies.

The two of them did so. Tasting it a smile curled on their face. "Hmmm… it must be Zero-san's work of art. Truly a delicacy. However, it is not his best work; he must really hate working here." Eleanor announced huffishly. Putting back the remains on the tray.

Serene nodded. Then took another bite. "Yes, however, there are the spicing is a little different. As it was a co-project with someone else, undoubtedly it is quite good. Still, Eleanor is right... it is surely not his best work..." she nodded in agreement.

"Zero?" asked Zorzal dumbfounded. Turning towards the two princesses.

"I am glad my skills earned the likings of Ainz-sama's heirs. However, I don't think the meals in this place are sufficing such exalted beings as the two of you. I merely threw something together from the trash I found lying around with the gracious help of Furuta-san. If you wait for a moment. I will prepare something truly fit for a royalty."

"It is fine… Zero-san…" cooled herself, Eleanor. "This food is more than sufficient for us." she stopped for a moment. Then continued. "For now..."

"Still…" the automaton NPC looked nervous, watching his sidelines. "These meat bags outside don't even know what they are doing; please allow me to dispose of them. They are bugging me." he scowled.

"You!" Zorzal pointed at the man just appeared not far from him, one moment to another. Wearing an apron around his waist with the writing. 'Came from the future to make your meal!' "The man from the wanted poster! Men! Fetch him!"

"The man from the wanted poster! Men! Fetch him!" Zorzal roared.

"It is not necessary, Zorzal-dono." cooed Eleanor. "I am sure whatever happened, it was only a misunderstanding, I am right? Zero-san?" she closed her fan. Hitting her palm with it. Raising strictly one of her brows.

Zero nodded, then bowed his head. "Of course, my apologies…" looking up he asked. "My ladies, if you don't want my assistance anymore, I have cooks to order around."

Serene nodded. "Go…" After a momentary nod with his head, Zero disappeared completely.

"...Mmm." Zorzal tasted the food and enjoyed it more than anything else.

Still, something bothered the Imperial heir. Zorzal tilted his head, unable to understand the situation. Count Marx should not have lied to him. Even if he did lie to him, it would have done no good for his Ministry. Could it be that he told that lie so he would come to this party? But there should have been a better way to put it.

At least, this place looked like a festival, and not the site of some conspiracy like what Count Marx said. He must have made a mistake somewhere. Perhaps he had gotten the place wrong and found a place like this while exploring.

At the same time, his hands were reaching for the rare food and drinks.

"Mmm…"

Zorzal was used to the palace's food, but he had never tried these before.

The soup was just a simple boil-up, yet its taste was surprisingly deep. It was golden amber in color and emanated a fragrant scent.

The Ma Nuga meat felt different when he ate it. It practically melted in his mouth before his teeth touched it. This must have been the product of an incredible control of heat in cooking. And then there was the skillful use of salt and other flavors (spices). It was the best Ma Nuga meat he had ever eaten.

Zorzal took mouth after mouth of the meat, savoring the fat juices pouring out into his mouth. Then he went for the next piece. Soon enough, all three trays were empty.

Looking at his two guests, he asked. "Are you not hungry my ladies?"

"I am fine..." answered quietly Serene.

"I am full... thank you Prince Zorzal," answered Eleanor elegantly.

"Ani-sama!" Piña shouted. Zorzal tossed the bone he had finished aside and looked to her.

As he saw Piña jogging over, he noticed that she did not have her knight game people with her and went "oh?" Then he thought that if she was the organizer of this event, then Count Marx must have gotten something wrong somewhere.

"Ani-sama, what are you doing here all of a sudden?"

Zorzal replied, "What, can't I be here?" as he reached for his fourth piece of Ma Nuga meat.

Piña certainly did not want him here, but under these circumstances, she could not say so directly. Instead, she replied, "Of course not, how could I leave my elder brother alone? It's just that you hadn't shown much interest in this sort of thing. Oh, it'll taste better with this." She handed him a batch of mustard that Furuta had specially blended to go with Ma Nuga meat.

Zorzal frowned as he saw the mustard's color and its nose-stinging odor. When he bit into the meat, the intense flavor made his eyes water.

"Your majesty." bowed Drakon before the two princesses of the Sorcerous Kingdom. Piña turned to him with a surprised expression. "Drakon-dono… it's been a while. How are you doing?" asked Eleanor pleasantly.

"My luck changed for the better since I get know of your family, your majesty." he bowed deeply. Turning his face towards the ground.

"Is that so?" asked Eleanor chuckling. When she did this, she really resembled of her father. "Rise," Serene ordered the man. And he did so. Turning towards the princess and Sugawara, he started the introduction. "Princess Piña, Sugawara-dono. Let me introduce you his majesty's daughters, Serene and Eleanor Ooal Gown-sama."

Piña smiled. "It is a pleasure meeting you two." pleasantly they shook hands.

"My ladies… it is a pleasure meeting you two. I must admit, we did not expect your arrival." cooed Sugawara pleasantly.

"It cannot be helped; my father deems it sufficient to send us to conduct the negotiation with the Emperor. After all, a royalty should face a royalty behind the table as he used to say." reasoned the petite crimson clothed girl.

"I see…" the man from the ministry of foreign affairs nodded sweating.

Meanwhile, Zorzal was holding his fifth piece of Ma Nuga meat, this time drizzled with the yellow mustard. He seemed quite fond of it.

Piña looked at the piece of meat before her which was practically painted yellow and did not know how to get out from this unpleasant situation. Seeing the prince's pleasant expression as he consumed meat after meat, Eleanor chuckled. "I will ask Zero-san next time to prepare you a royal dinner. You will see… this food is pale in comparison once you tasted his cooking."

Zorzal nodded with a big grin. "Thank you… Lady Eleanor. I would be delighted."

"You say..." Piña pointed at the food. "You say this food is not even for royalties?"

Serene nodded sighing. "Yes, such food Zero-san used to prepare for people he did not like or deem them insufficient to consume his best meals. He used to feed such kind of food with Demiurge's hellhounds..." chuckled the half vampire.

Piña lowered her head. If that's the case, then what kind of delicacy these two used to eat every day? Even imagining the better food was unimaginable for the Imperial Princess.

In the courts, a chef did not have a lofty position. Hardly anyone would bring in a low-status chef. However, Zorzal thought nobody was looking and shrugged, and then tried to think of a way around this problem.

"Bring that Zero and that Furuta you spoke about in the royal palace. I am sure Lady Eleanor and Serene wants their cook with them once they arrived in the palace as my guests."

Piña thought for a moment that this would be a good chance to let her brother meet a Japanese person and build a better relationship with the Sorcerous Kingdom. But then she immediately shot that idea down.

Yes, her brother thought he lived in a world where "everything goes according to my will." Everything good was for his benefit in the world which existed solely to satisfy him. He would discard anything which denied this. Even the truth would become his enemy… no. It was precisely because it was the truth that it was his enemy. At the same time, he would even believe lies as long as they pleased him.

Naturally, the greatest fantasy he had was that the Empire was the most influential power in this world.

Zorzal would not understand that there was a country far more puissant than the Empire on the other side of the two edifices, those had already dealt them several crushing defeats and which could not be beaten. In this case, he would turn the truth into his enemy.

Therefore, Piña gave up the idea of showing Zorzal the truth. His brother was just too idiotic to stubborn to accept reality, even if it barged in his door.

The problem was why her brother had come here? It could not possibly have been a coincidence. She decided to ask Zorzal, and the answer she got was "Count Marx told me to come here."

"Did he say that, exactly?"

"No, just something like it."

"Then, what did he say?"

Zorzal clicked his tongue at Piña's incessant questions and replied, "He said there were people gathered here to plot and conspire. He must have messed up. Think nothing of it!"

After that, he started to chat with his two newly acquired companions using a pleasant tone that was truly not specific for his person, his cronies assaulting the other food stalls. They even chased away the kids gathered around the ice-cream maid.

As Piña watched him leave, she muttered "Count Marx" under her breath over and over again.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Meanwhile in the seat of the Emperor: Sadera: At the same time:**  
"Zorzal took the bait, but we did not catch a fish. What a shame."

The Emperor, seated on his throne in the audience chamber, looked at Count Marx. He noted the man's lowered head and sighed.

"Well, that's fine. We will have more chances. There's no need to be hasty."

"However, if this goes on, the Senate will rule to begin the negotiations. Should we not do something now?"

"Don't be mistaken, Count Marx. I have no intention to deny these talks. If they want to talk, then let them talk, as much as they like. But I will not give them so much as a hair in concessions."

"However, with things as they are, it may be difficult to follow that course."

"That's nothing. All we need to do is make sure they never reach a decision. If they want to talk with the enemy so much, then let them talk forever. They need to negotiate to begin negotiations; they have to vote on when the negotiations will begin, they have to vote on the conditions they have and so on. If they have to debate over every little detail, they will make no progress. Sooner or later the enemy will give up on negotiations."

"Your Majesty's wisdom is fathomless and farsighted. Your servant is awed by your prowess." bowed Marx deeply.

"Count, proceed as you see fit. However, in the end, we must secure a military victory. If you lose, I won't forgive you." threatened Molt, squinting his eyes seriously.

"Yes. Your servant shall accomplish it with all his might."

Marx lowered his head once more.

* * *

 **Scene Change: A few days later: Town Italica: Near the main gate:**

Zeno and his group well prepared to wait near the entrance for the last member of their little group. Already prepared for their journey, each of them mounted their respective mounts. Zeno using Hamusuke, the huge Djungarian Hamster as his mount. Poor creature escaped from the village Raidyn left her, due to the kids did not let her alone and always hung on her. Thus, she decided she rather waited where there were people who can protect her from the constant assault of the little buggers.

Meguminoi sitting on a floating disk-like thing, Slapstorm mounting a lion-headed chimera with wings, Merryforge on a rough looking goat, Medhirt on a Longma, also called Dragon Horse, and finally, Julian on a simple looking horse with an adorned harness.

Seeing them, Yao could not do anything else just adore the epic mounts of her companion. Her momentary daze has been disturbed by the cheerful voice of Zeno. "Lady Yao… care to join?" he offered his hand.

"Are you sure it is alright?" she asked shyly. Looking around nervously. "Well, let's ask Hamusuke." Zeno turned his gaze down his companion he mounted. Well, what do you say Hamusuke? Can she ride on you?"

"This one live to serve, the humble servant of the Milady can bear multiple people at once if it's necessary. Even more, if it's the Milady's and the Milord's friends."

The armored Hamster replied. "What?! IT can speak!? What a majestic, magical beast!" awed Yao. Hamusuke puffed her cheeks taking the compliment as a positive thing. It made her remember the old times when she was also known as the wise King of the Forest. "This one gets the proud name Hamusuke from the Milady, but in the old times the people also know and feared her as the Wise King of the Forest."

Yao backed in awe. "Really?! You must tell me more!"

Hamusuke nodded proudly. "This one can tell you the stories of the old times, under our journey, if it's okay to you, my lady."

Yao nodded and smiled. "That would be good." With the exception of the crimson witch, everyone chuckled.

Yao suddenly looked back at Zeno. She saw he is still offering his hand, reaching towards her. After the momentarily embarrassed moment, Yao accepted the hand that Zeno offered her and mounted the 'vicious' beast behind the hero.

After all, she did not have a mount with her; she had to accompany someone in the saddle. She can't possibly keep up with them on foot.

Being previously the adventurers took care of the paperwork necessary to leave the city, nothing remained just to head towards the Schwartz forest where the Dark Elven tribe resided.

Yao was a little surprised when she saw the bags strapped in the mounts few in numbers and size. And questioned how the little group could travel so lightly, but when they introduced her the bottomless pockets that were in truth not bottomless but can carry hundreds and hundreds of kilogram worth of goods without adding any plus weight. She understood how they could do it. Thus never bothered with the theme anymore. After all, she doesn't want an another long explanation that the mage strained her mind back in the waiting room. Even thinking of it made her headache.

Time passed, and the little group headed south.

Yao initially set out from Modabarden Village, then curved south around the base of Mt. Colro, passing through the Terilia Plains, then going past Metabal, Gremina, Hebrae, and Tongut.

Using this, Slapstrom backtracked on his enchanted map all the places Yao mentioned. They would backtrack along this route to Yao's home. Marking them with magical markers. Thanks to the modern magical research, the enchantment on the map automatically mapped the surrounding and added the new markers to the paper. Thus, this seemingly simple piece of paper was the essential companion of every explorer, since the new era of revolutionary inventions and discovery in the area of magical research.

The line Yao described her home's direction was not far in a straight line, but the mountains and valleys in the way meant they could not travel that way. However, the path Yao had taken instead went in a great big curve around the countryside, which was why she had taken a month to reach Italica.

"It couldn't be helped; I was chasing the rumors. If I'd known you were in Italica from the beginning, I wouldn't have detoured so much." murmured Yao nervously.

If what she said was true, that meant she would have been collecting rumors from streets and villages, and then after that, she would have reached Italica a month later. From that point of view, the time she spent in Italica would have been very short.

"We're now on the Terilia Plains," Slapstorm said as he checked the location off on the map.

"After that, I went around the base of Mt. Colro in order not to be noticed by the Twin Dragons, and then I followed the stream forward. Well, it doesn't matter whether you're coming or going, it's difficult in both directions."

They could only travel by daylight, and they could not move quickly where there were no roads. Of course, they could travel at night using the continuous light spell to light their path, but they walked in an unknown ground. It was too dangerous to even for an experienced Adamantine adventurer group to stumble around in the unknown terrain at night.

Although it was called the Terilia Plains, it was not nearly as flat as it sounded. Zeno had hoped to make some progress, but the huge boulders everywhere forced him to steer around them, although Meguminoi can use fly magic. Her magical power was not enough to make them fly the group all the way. Thus, most of the time they needed to steer around anyway.

Suddenly as they pondered a rumbling sound approached them from the back. Looking back the approaching HMW slowly decreased its speed, then stopped. "Ara! Hey there!" the man in green uniform, behind the wheel left the vehicle. Scratching the back of his head, he looked nervous.

"Hey!" Zeno raised his hand and greeted back. Then after inspecting the man little more thoroughly, His eyes widened. "Itami-dono? What are you doing here?"

"We just came to hunt down those dragons…" he said simply.

"How so? Aren't your superiors discarded the idea? Aren't your superiors forbid you to do such reckless actions alone?"

Itami nodded with a stern expression. "Yes, however, we got a call from Colonel Kengun, he dropped the HQ a call about a lone Dark Elf lady looking for our help with Flame Dragons. First Lieutenant Yanagida was nice enough to share this information with me. Also, Lieutenant General Hazama requested me to investigate the situation."

Zeno squinted his eyes. "Is that so? As you see we already heading to take care of the situation. However, you can join us if you want, after all, we face with two dragons. We will surely need some backup."

"Do you trust them Zeno?" asked Merryforge. "That guy seems suspicious." he frowned as he eyed Itami.

Zeno turned to him. "Of course, Itami-dono is master's friend. Master's friend's my friends too." he grinned.

"So… did you as well came to help Lady Yao with her dragon problem?"

Looking around nervously Itami sighed. "You see… the problem is a lot more complicated, how could I diffuse the situation?" he muttered defeated. "In the last few days, Tuka's mental state started to fall drastically; she is on the verge of insanity. We have no other choice to prove her father is dead than defeat the Flame Dragon that killed him. It is also plus Hazama sent me,"

"You are lying..." pointed her staff Meguminoi to Itami. "You just skulked away... aren't you?"

Itami backed seeing his cover has been blown. "How?"

"You are easy to read..." said flatly the little witch, then turned away.

"Really?" he looked nervously at Rory and Lelei back in the HMW, waiting for confirmation. They just nodded, Rory smirked, Lelei upkeeped her always a stoic expression.

Zeno pondered and nodded. "Hmmm… are she aware it is already dead?" he asked uneasily as he spotted the sleeping Tuka in the backseat.

Itami glanced back for a moment. "I don't think she thinks it is possible, so she may think it was some kind of illusion." Itami murmured. Lelei and Rory left the HMW in this very moment. Tuka is sleeping in the backseat, made slumber by Lelei's magic.

"Ah! Zeno! It is good to meet you!" offered her welcome Rory. Smiling at him like their previous dispute back in Italica did not even happened.

Zeno smiled. "Ah! Rory-san! It is good to meet you too, a drink after the mission?"

Rory nodded happily.

"Zeno-dono!" scolded him, Yao. "You offering an alcoholic drink for children?!"

"Children?" Rory scoffed angrily. "Who do you call brat? I am Rory Mercury apostle of Emroy," she announced proudly, resting her sizable halberd on her back.

Yao gasped. Then bowed. "Please forgive my unbecoming behavior, your holiness, I did not recognize you…"

Rory nodded approvingly. Lelei already inspected the staff of Meguminoi and slowly started to discuss, about magic. Both of them used their own flat tone. One sentence answered by only one sentence. It seemed the two girls come out with each other quite easily. The scarlet witch even offered some of her sweet for the silver-haired sage. A rare sight if you asked Zeno.

Zeno sighed and shook his head. Then turned back to Itami. "So… Itami-dono…"

"Itami is fine." he smiled.

Zeno bowed his head. "Then, Itami. Care to join forces? I am sure our work will be a lot easier if we work together to defeat the dragons."

"Of course, that would be good." he nodded.

The golden armored adventurer chuckled. "Then it's settled." turning back he headed towards his group. "On, dawn we leave and proceed forward."

Looking back his HMW Itami just sighed in defeat. The girls had piled things onto the HMV like they were running away from home, and currently, Tuka was asleep on a thick fur blanket in the crevices between all the other items. She looked all right, but Itami knew he did not have much time left.

Tuka had gotten worse ever since they set out from Arnus. Then again, it made sense when one thought about it. How could Tuka's father operate a complicated HMV so naturally? It must have caused a huge conflict in her heart.

Because Tuka would occasionally be tormented by intense headaches, Lelei put her to sleep with magic. Thanks to that, they could speak about things that they could not let Tuka hear.

Near the campfire, the adventurers and Yao discussed the details of the Flame Dragons.

"Strictly speaking, its territory appears to encompass the entire southern area, which also includes the Schwarz Forest."

"That big?" raised his brow the Beastman veteran. He hunted beasts such as wild dragons and even Great Basilisks that can turn you to stone with a mere glance in the past. Still, this big territory for dragons? This was just weirdly unnatural for the veteran hunter. He suspected something is behind this unnatural behavior, beasts usually did not have a bigger territory that they can safely foresee.

"If you want to find the Flame Dragon, head south from the Schwarz Forest to the Lordom Valley. The pair hunts in the same place. We can ambush it there."

The Lordom Valley was where Yao's tribe was hiding.

"My people there know where the Flame Dragons' lair is," she announced.

"Then, we head there. After all, hunting a dragon without knowing the terrain is nothing less than suicidal," confirmed Zeno. From the background, Dandelion's shooting music can be heard as he played on his Latin guitar-like instrument. Rory listened the epic tale waved inside of an epic ballad. A ballad that left his mouth and carefully tuned instrument.

"It would be too much of disadvantage for us if we try to fight it in an open space," announced Itami walking near the fire.

Huffing out a cloud of smoke Merryforge nodded. "True, even I am not that crazy to try that." he chuckled.

"We could try to blow them up while they are sleeping." quipped the crimson witch, gnawing on her lollipop.

"We-We should try to reason with them…" noted Medhirth shyly. Covering her face with her prismatic colored hair.

"I think that will not work..." sweatdropped Itami.

"So-sorry..." covered her face shyly the half dragoness.

It was true; such sizable Dragons could not turn freely in narrow spaces due to their sizes. If its nest were not a place like that, they would have to pick another battlefield, lure it there, and destroy it.

"If you need a decoy, let me know. I can get my people to help." Yao spoke lightly, as though it was really that simple.

"Something feels strange about all of this. Why didn't you just run away?" asked Itami.

Much like how Coda Village's residents had abandoned it. There was that choice.

Turning to Itami. Yao answered, "Humans can do it, but Elves cannot."

Most Elves could only live on land that suited them.

Humans could move around and build streets and settlements, but elves could not. The Dark Elves of this world could not leave the Schwarz Forest that they were accustomed to. It was hard enough for them just to hide in Lordom Valley.

It was also partly true the Elves of the Sorcerous Kingdom. However, most of them felt themselves better living inside of their thriving forest and caves. The forest simply called for them. Thus, most of them did not really wander out from the protective forests of the Elven province of the Sorcerous Kingdom. Although in the last one hundred years the newer and newer generations prone to wander out just to gather experience, sometimes even settle down in cities mostly inhabited by humans or other races.

Amongst, them the Forest elves are more commonly seen in the New World as they are known to trade and mingle with humans. Meanwhile the Dark Elves the cousins of the wood elves that are far more isolationist and tend to live far away from civilization.

"Travelling is fine, though," Yao added and smiled, as though she were mocking herself.

Most of the people around the fire understood their situation as being able to travel on a boat, but not being able to live on it. Some people could live on the sea, but they could not. Much like how humans could only live on land, Dark Elves could only live in the forests.

The night passed without accident. However, Itami was a little uneasy. Pondering on the events of the past days. He can't do anything else just sight. That catastrophic party, the earthquake and the demonic invasion of the capital what followed really made him feel uneasy. Not speaking about it comes to light Zorzal kept Japanese citizens as slaves.

As he pondered all of this with the sleeping Rory on his side (most of his distaste). The colorful clothes wearing bard, Julian approached him. "You seems worried my friend. Maybe I can help." he smiled.

Itami looked at him and smiled. "Ah… it's nothing. Please don't be bothered by me."

"Nonsense…" he took a seat near him. Offering a good smelling alcoholic beverage. A beverage what Itami reluctantly but nonetheless accepted.

"As the man of experience, I can clearly tell if something is bothering my traveling companion. So, speak it out my friend, you will see, after you told me your heart content, you will feel yourself a lot better. I speak from experience." looking into the distance, he pondered.

"Oh, Charlott, beautiful muse, how wonderful nights we spend together, the muse of many stories…" he muttered fondling his goat beard. Smiling as he remembered the hours and hours of 'tutoring' sessions the two of them spent together.

Itami sighed. Seeing there is no way out. He started to recall and tell the Bard the events of the last few days. Starting with the night raid.

The Schwarz Forest was a vast domain that was often called "a sea of trees."

It was far deeper than anyone could have imagined. In its furthest reaches, fallen tree trunks were covered in piles of rotting leaves, and over them grew the branches of gigantic trees. The roots on the ground overlapped each other, so thickly one could not see the ground, while above them the sky was blocked out by the spreading tree canopies. It was like stepping into a different world.

Of course, walking through here on foot was a difficult task, to say nothing of actually driving a vehicle in. They had no choice but to go around it. Hamusuke left behind to take care and protect the car and the mounts of the little group. However, Meguminoi was reluctant to let go her flying disk. So, she floated it above the terrain and proceeded.

After making some progress toward the South, they decided to rest for the night. The next day, they followed the edge of the forest westward, before finally reaching Lordom Valley.

The Dark Elves were hiding in the caves here.

At a glance, this looked like pretty good terrain for a fight.

Like the name "valley" would suggest, the flat land was sliced open by the flow of a river into a narrow, twisting ravine. If they could get the Dragons to descend into the bottom of the ravine, they might be able to carry out an ambush on it. However, this place was far too narrow for the Dragons to squeeze in. Even if they were not full sized beasts.

Come to think of it; this place was a place for the Dark Elves to hide. If the Flame Dragons could fit in here, they would be done for.

The bottom of the ravine was quite narrow. The river had scattered large and small rocks all around, and it looked like a good spot for fishing. However, there was no way for the Dark Elves to gather enough food from this place. They would need to leave the Valley eventually, and the Flame Dragon was counting on that.

In addition, the sudden, torrential rain would raise the level of the river until it seeped into their caves. They had to struggle every day so their possessions and food would not get washed away. It was a hard life.

"Please, stop here."

Yao was waiting for Zeno and the rest on top of a cliff. Hardly affected by the muddy ground after the rain, she nimbly descended to the bottom of the valley. After passing through a narrow passage which could only fit one person, she descended another slope and reached the bottom.

Tuka nervously looked down into the ravine time to time, at the river flowing far, far below her.  
Elves loved the green of the forest, but there was none of that to be seen here.

"Aren't you nervous?" she asked Zeno and Itami who just discussed how to proceed.

Zeno turned to her. "A little, such narrow ravine can be easily used for guerilla attack."

"Why did they choose to live here?" looking around nervously she asked once again. She did not like the place. Not at all.

It would seem she had let herself forget about how Yao and her people had been attacked by the Dragons. She had completely excised everything related to the Flame Dragon from her mind. Therefore, all Itami could say was, "Who knows? There should be a reason for it."

Even while he was talking, he did not fail to watch the sky.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Suddenly, seven to eight dark elf men and women appeared out of the landscape. They were holding bows, and they surrounded Itami and the others.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Prison Territory: Omega Seven: Somewhere near the heart of the Universe:**

The days-long trip finally ended. And Raydin and Amaterasu cosmic bubble stepped out from the infernal pathway they forced to travel here.

The goddess of sun still up kept the bubble around them, avoiding the suffocation of her passenger. Unaware her true capabilities and person.

Raidyn whistled as the scenery widened around her. "Whew… the old man did not frit away the decoration that's for sure."

Amaterasu nodded smiling. "Yes, father always liked grand things, such thing, he made his throne and this prison settling not far from it grand as well."

Around them exploding supernovas, seemingly frozen in time. Nebulas, varying in size, always changing in shape and coloration, black and white holes are sucking and spitting the matter and energy around them. Bending space and time in its very fabric.

In the middle of the system, twelve planets, orbiting a bigger tropical one, radiating energy comparable of a sun. Anchored together into the central planet with energy anchors.

"Beautiful isn't it?" she asked with a pleasant smile.

Raidyn yawned. "Yeah… yeah…" she waved away and stood up. Stretching her limbs. "Mmmm! I am so numb." starching her head she looked around. Then smirked. "Let's explore!"

Amaterasu sighed before her. "We have work to do, after, that I show you around. I promise."

"Killjoy…" Raidyn huffed, crossing her hands before her chest, astonishingly curled her back like a cat, and pouting looking away.

The goddess of the sun just shook her head hearing her traveling companion childish behavior, then concentrated and headed towards the paradise-like planet in the center.

Entering the atmosphere the sight before Raidyn made her awe, and both she and Momonga saw one or two things in their long existence.

On the ground, in the air, in the vast waters below them, animals hunted, lived, died and thrived using their lives as they see fit.

Outside of the waters, the mountains, and a few places, a huge, vast jungle covered the whole planet. Amaterasu smiled proudly. "Father really knew how to create grand things… isn't he?"

Raidyn showed a gentle smile and nodded. "Most likely… he must be an artist. What is it called?" asked Raidyn.

For a momentary ponder the goddess answered. "Paradise Lost… yes…" she nodded. "Father called in such name."

However, one thing amiss. Raidyn recognized this as they proceeded above one of the colossal stone constructs. In a few places on the tropical planet, around strange stone structures formed a circle, resembling the Stonehenge back on Earth. Black swirling corruption oozed into the innocent purity of the garden world. She had a bad feeling about this planet; she had a bad feeling about the girl's intentions before her.

The black ooze corrupted everything that it touched, deforming it. Transforming the beauty of nature into horrific abominations. The animals, the planets, the very earth it came contact with. Everything mutated became twisted as it contacted with the black substance.

"What happened there?" she asked suspiciously, inspecting the field underneath her.

"The seals leaking, cracked, soon they will be no longer able to withheld the corruption beneath the earth, soon the corruption will spread towards the entirety of the universe, swallowing it for the whole."

She glanced at Raidyn. "I am alone, I can't keep it at bay anymore, even with the help of my servants, I am powerless. I need help. We need to restart the system and reestablish the seals. Or all else is lost." she explained.

Raidyn showed a mischievous smile. "Then, let's get to work…"

Amaterasu turned to her, in her face the expression of disbelief settled for a moment. What soon turned into a warm smile. Accompanied by a drop of tear. "Thank you…" she wiped away the water from her eyes.

"But… I still don't know how you can help me… you are a simple mortal after all."

The dark elf imitator chuckled. "You would be surprised how stubborn 'us' simple mortals can be…" she smiled. "Not as such thing as immortality exist. " she murmured.

"What?" asked Amaterasu?

"Nothing, nothing…" Raidyn replied hastily. Waving away speedily what she just previously said.

"Right…" with that. The two of them landed near the nearby temple like construct. Constructed of wood and stone, built in Japanese style.

As the bubble touched the ground, it disappeared, and the welcoming committee walked to them. "Amaterasu-sama…" bowed a samurai armored man. Behind him a woman and a man, similarly armored. Bearing the same sun symbol adorned Amaterasu kimono as well. From the back of the man buttock, a monkey tail sprouted.

"Ah… hello Kamamura. I hope everything went well while I was away…"

The man bowed his head. "Of course Mistress, may I ask you who is your guest?" he asked glaring at Raidyn suspiciously.

"Ah…" she turned to Raidyn. "Raidyn. Please get to know Kamaura Genryūsai. Genryūsai, please get acquaintance Raidyn. The person, the Sorcerer King, sent to help solve..." she looked at the sidelines suspiciously. "Our problem…"

"Ah… I see…" he bowed his head. "It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance. Lady Raidyn." then turned back at Amaterasu. "My lady. May this humble servant can inquire about who is his, mysterious Sorcerer King you speaking bout?"

"Later…" said the girl as she passed her servant. Heading deeper in the complex amidst the two rows of armored soldiers. "How is the seal integrity?"

Caught up with her. Kamamura started his report. "The integrity of the seal fallen considerably, three whole percent in your absence my Kami. That means it is only twenty-one percent until the critical point; the seals will break between four and one hundred years."

The goddess clicked her tongue in annoyance. "We running out of time…"

The three of them with escort walked through the beautiful Japanese styled corridors meanwhile Amaterasu gave out her orders to prepare the resealing ritual. Raidyn just looked around, adoring the surroundings. Seemingly not even taking attention what the goddess is walking on her side speaking about.

"Are you listening?" her momentary daydreaming disturbed, turned her attention towards her fellow woman.

"What?"

Amaterasu massaged her forehead. "I said…" she pointed at the altar. "Your place will be there… your task will be to guard that post with your life its necessary. My servants do the rest."

"Okay…" Raidyn rolled her eyes. Then sat down in the middle of the circle cross-legged. She did not like at all; she suspected it would be a trap. But she endured, after all, she loved challenges, she wanted to get challenged, if they want to trap or attack her, they are free to try. At least she will be entertained.

Hours passed or maybe a whole day. She did not really know. She just placed down her sword beside herself. Took out a book and read, read and read and of course, watched, inspected, sent out several shadow demons to investigate her surrounding.

She did not like the place. No… the whole place reeked something unnatural, something not right in this planet, in this temple. And the bad feeling just radiated from this very place. The exact place she sat on was the ley line of some kind of machine intended to keep something dark at bay. She did not trust Amaterasu before, but after her servant came back to her, she trusted her even less than before. It will be a fun game she thought.

Meanwhile, she sat and read her book; she used her time to meditate. Tried to find the source of the strange bad feeling this place reeked from. Locate it underneath her.

Suddenly she heard a few steps behind her. Turning her head, she smiled and waved. "Hey! Long time no sees."

It was Amaterasu and her bodyguards. "Something wrong?" she asked. The girl behind her showed a concerned face. Something really bothered her, turning her head away, she could barely squeeze out an able-bodied sentence.

"I-I am sorry…"

Raidyn squinted her eyes. "What? You did nothing…" she inquired.

"He promised… I am sorry, I need to fulfill my part..."

"Promised what?" something was not right. Something was very wrong with the tone the girl used. Grabbing her sword, she slowly started to walk towards the sun goddess. "I am sorry…" nodding towards her servant Genryūsai pulled a lever. Around the circle, she sat a force field appeared.

She inspected it curiously, running her hand over it, the surface rippled, showing a little resistance. _"As expected..."_ she chuckled inside.

You may think she is not sane. And you are half right. But I ask you... Would you be the same after the mental torture of the chaos gods put you throught? You will be sane after living through eons with a simple human mind, without the mental protection of the undead race? After losing numerous people precious for you, meanwhile, you remain the same, never get old, seeing them get older and older, get family, then die out of natural causes. I think not; no sane person can get used to this.

Of course, she can resurrect them a few times, but every time you resurrect someone, the said person usually paid with their life force and five levels, after a while, the people cannot be resurrected anymore due to the insufficient lifeforce they bear and simply crumbling to dust. Their soul permanently destroyed. Scattering into the virtual space of infinite darkness.

"So…" Raidyn turned towards Ama. "It is… you know, even if you can keep me there… Ainz-san will surely not let you go." she chuckled. "Such man he is, infinitely loyalty to his friends."

"I have planned for him too… please forgive me." bowing her head she apologized with a sorrowful face.

"Tell me at least… why? And why do you think by keeping me… a simple 'mortal' as you called me, here." she pointed the swirling darkness that was the ground underneath her. "Will bring you anything good?"

Amaterasu gulped. "Even if you not yet know… Ainz-sama core resembles father, but much more powerful."

"And care to elaborate? What do I have to do with this?" Raidyn asked lazily. Seemingly did not even caring about her tight situation. The simple, noncaring tone she used was not consistent with all the tight, imprisoned situation she found herself.

"Even if you not aware, I felt the same power in you, slumbering, but still here. He promised if I bring either you or Ainz-sama here. He will give them back…" she explained sorrowfully.

"And if you accidentally failed? What's then?" mocked her Raidyn using a low tone. "Care to elaborate?" she inquired.

Amaterasu turned her head away. Too tense to answer clenched her fist angrily. Raidyn tilted her head. "Well, then, please forgive me."

"What?" Amaterasu eyes widened as she looked back. Raidyn clenched her fist and pulled it back. "Please forgive me… I need to put up a little resistance, after all, it would be a shame if I did not try o play your game? Am I?" smirking like a madwoman, she started to hit the force wall before her.

The whole temple trembled, the stone constructs provided the energy necessary trembled. Cracked under pressure. Minutes passed, but Raidyn was relentless, she started to use her sword, accelerating the process. Strike, strike, strike, clang, clang, clang. The force field started to rip and cracks appeared on its surface.

The goddess backed, on his face horror. Impossible, the field was on the maximum, she should not be even able to move not even crack it. Not even her father was able to disrupt under such short time.

"Genryūsai!? How much time!?" she asked with wide eyes. Turning her servant.

"How unfortunate... I can't teleport, nor I blink through..." Raidyn noted calmly.

"Only seconds my lady!" the warriors in the room prepared their weapons. Genryūsai watched the interface on his forehand sweating heavily. Amaterasu turned back and with her priests tried to fortify the field surrounding Raidyn. With less success than more. The long travel exhausted her.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are." Raidyn sang.

"10, 9, 8, 7, 6,…" recounted Genryūsai.

"Little pigs, little pigs, let me come in.

Not by the hair on your chinny-chin-chin.

Then I'll huff. . .

. . .and I'll puff. . .

. . .and I'll blow your house in!" sang Raidyn as she stroke the force field with her enchanted sword.

"5,4,3…"

Raidyn broke out a smaller chunk from the field and looked through it. Showing a terrifyingly pleasant face.

"Here's Johnny!"

"2,1…"

"Genryūsai!" Amaterasu shouted.

"0." Raidyn just stepped through the border, when she felt an incomprehensible power overwrite her resistances, pulling her back into a black vortex. She struggled momentarily, fought all with her strength, but then she realized, it was an equal effect one of the twenty World Class Item. A World Class item regular World Class Items could not neutralize.

Struggling momentarily, she turned back. Smiling she tilted her head. "I will be back… don't worry…" pointed in the direction of Amaterasu and Genryūsai who stood behind her all along. "I will have your ass handed! You filthy changeling!"

With her last strength, she sent her sword towards Amaterasu and her attaché. Almost impaling poor Genryūsai in the process. Cutting through deep the walls of the temple. Previously thought impenetrable for any kind of force.

The echo of her cheerful laugh was the last thing that reverberated amidst the walls of the temple before she disappeared. Slowly, condensed into a black, twilight colored gem in the middle of the stone circle.

Amaterasu collapsed on the ground. "It is over…" she breathed heavily. Looking up the demon statue, she glared at it. "I did what I promised! Let them go!" the statue did not answer like always. The only thing that welcomed her is silence.

An awful stench of presence appeared behind her back. She tremblingly glanced back. But it was too late to dodge or even teleport. The blade found its way into her back. Cutting at half her spinal cord.

"Gen… Genryūsai… why?" breathing her neck she felt the awful presence once again. Her golden colored blood landed on the ground. The awful presence she only felt when her father battled with that abomination, here, in her temple, once again. The enemy of the existence. Even for a glance, she saw the face of her most faithful servant. Twisted and distorted. An ordinary mortal would lose its mind even for a mere glance. Or even feeling the disgusting, always changing presence.

"I sHoLld ThAnK YoU, NAïVe GoDdeSs… YoU SeT mE fReE… YoO gAvE THe kEyY oF mY fReEdOM, YoU ReLeAsEd Me… YoU… NaIvE, NAïvE little gIrL… YoU jUsT HanDeD Me ThE PowER I NeeDED." his tone distorted, always changing, grateful and mocking at once.

Amaterasu spat her golden blood. Looking back her former servant she cried. "You promised, you promised to set them free… Give them back!" she roared using the last inch of her strength.

The monster used his distorted voice and released a gloating crackle. "I NeVer CheAT… HaVe yOuR ReWArd…"

A black hand burst through her chest. And a golden, flaming, still beating heart of Amaterasu held by a swirling black hand before her, just to a moment later, ripped backward, ripped through her back, separated from her body.

Before Amaterasu body could reach the ground. With a strong kick, she was sent into the closing swirling darkness of the still-forming dark jewel in the middle of the room, swallowing her body at the whole, sealing the gem in the center of the room. Giving it finally form in the image of an impeccable black jewel with twilight and white aura, radiating holy and malicious chaotic energy, time to time releasing a lighting, scorching the ground beneath it.

The corrupted Genryūsai walked to the jewel, his distorted face turned into a smirk, before grabbed and swallowed the stone. Just to a moment later, feeling the immediate power surge surging through his body.

The whole planet, the whole fabric of the system started to rot. With all thirteen planets dusted away under mere moments, the resurrected, empowered 'Enemy of All Existence' can finally start his dark crusade. With the power of gods and the Supreme Beings run through his veins. Most likely no one can stop him anymore.

Stepping into the black bladed sword Raidyn just embedded into the wall, it pulled it out with a big grin. "SuFFicInG WEapON..." he stated. And seated on the scabbard appeared on his die. Did not even recognizing the little beacon embedded in the sword already activated.

With the last protector, the last hope gone, what will happen with the universe? It's only hope imprisoned in the darkness. Consumed by the Devourer. Ainz and his faithful vassals too far away to help.

What will happen? Will Ainz and his vassals arrive in time to save the day? Maybe, you will know next time.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Well, that's for now. I hope you liked it! :)**

 **RnR!**

 **In the next chapter: Itami's story: The demonic invasion of the Capital, the return of the Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth?**

 **"Tremble mortals! For I have returned, that foolish king can't protect you anymore!"**


	16. Thug Life and Anomalies, Let's Take Over

**Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There**

 **by oblivon2991**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.**

 **I don't own the _Overlord_ (** **オーバーロード** ** _Ōbārōdo_** **?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **Please review it. I know I will make mistakes that I intend to correct and will try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

* * *

The Sorcerous Kingdom and JSDF's activities in the Imperial capital had begun. In order to gain the support of the common folk, both faction expeditionary force had set up several bases of operation throughout the capital.

They were places like the warehouses of the ALC's Imperial capital branch or the second floor of a tavern or a downtrodden bar in the middle of the red lamp district, the thing they had in common was that they were places where people could move in and out without being noticed.

But the most obvious of these were the new shops, inns and the rented mansion near the capital's southeastern gate.

It was technically within the capital's city limits, but there were all kinds of different races and species here. Ordinary citizens would never go near this place.

Every few steps, a pickpocket would try their luck, and behind there would be people following. It could be compared to Hong Kong's Kowloon district or the red light district in Carne the capital of the Sorcerous Kingdom.

Almost none of the rows of shops belonged to proper businesses.

They sold all sorts of lewd tools, various drugs, and slaves captured from all over the continent.

Of course, people had to live here, so there were also shops which sold food and clothing. However, everything on sale here was strange. The clothes on sale might be stained with blood or rent from a cut, and the shops even sold grass from the roadside. As for the butchers, one always had to be suspicious of their purchases, lest one accidentally end up buying human meat.

Because this place was called Akusho, a lot of the men here were either humans with blades bared, Werewolf Beastmen who was every bit as ferocious and bloodthirsty as the weapons they carried, or Four-Arms. One could also see the odd Goblin or Ogre in the distance. Many of the remnants of the Coalition Army came here to be thieves, enforcers, mercenaries, or to do some form of violent work. In any event, they were all villains.

As for the women, there were girls who looked lewdly around their surroundings or those who stared blankly into the distance like vegetables as fragrant smoke wreathed them. None of them had a proper job, and most of them were prostitutes.

The species present included: Humans, Warrior Bunnies, Catpeople, Dogpeople, Lamias, several horned species, and winged species like Harpies or Winged Men. The men in the streets ogled them lasciviously, while the women responded with bewitching smiles, and a coy offer of, "Want to play?"

In this place, the strong feed on the weak. Therefore, the people here paid no heed to corpses on the street. Did it appear yesterday? Today? Well, even if it happened tomorrow, nobody would care, because this was a way of life for the people here. This was not Arnus or even Dalnus.

Thus, neither the JSDF nor the Sorcerous Kingdom peacekeeping forces can do anything against the stain in the district without risking war.

It absorbed the very worst elements of the Imperial Capital and continued festering in the darkness.

The JSDF and the infiltrator units of the Sorcerous Kingdom chose this place for a simple reason: in this melting pot of people, nobody would notice an extra strange fellow or two. There were other gates where many people came and went, but the people there were ordinary city folk, and anyone who stood out would attract a lot of attention.

This place, on the other hand, was where people who did dirty work lived. It was important that these people were here.

The thing was, whatever happened in Akusho would not make it out of the district. In that sense, it was perfect for secrecy. However, the flip side of that was that there were several notable individuals in Akusho.

The newcomers seemingly were much better-mannered than the people on the streets, and they paid well.

When they hired people for requests, they always paid twice as much as the crime bosses here. They had ruled these streets from the beginning, and to these crime bosses — Gonzori, Medusa, Paramount and Bessara — the SKEF (Sorcerous Kingdom Expedition Force) and the JSDF were eyesores.

These newcomers came from elsewhere, bought multiple establishments, and then acted all secretive. They did not even know how to greet the bosses properly. They even dared to ignore the rules of the street and the power of the bosses. And because they always paid so much, the people who traditionally feared the old bosses were now getting rebellious. They were indeed a bunch of annoying people.

All these small aggravations piled up, and the bosses of the district became angry.

One of them was Bessara. One day he started thinking, "Since they've got all that money to throw around, they must have a big stash. Why don't we nip over and help ourselves to some of it?"

So he gathered his men and punks from the street to attack the JSDF's Akusho base of operations.

Being the soldiers of JSDF seemed frailer, less equipped with exotic equipment than the soldiers and adventurers of the SKEF. Not speaking about the brutish looking species and those monsters amongst their ranks.

Made him reconsider the tactic he employed.

Thus, as a tactic, he chooses first to beat submission these 'Men in Green' then buy more equipment and hire more thugs to show the SKEF the rule of the street. 'Never mess with the Bessara family.'

He made a mistake… a huge mistake!

When his men that counted several brutish looking orcs amidst their rank gathered to raid the place. What greeted them was not an easy raid with several flair soldiers and easy grab and loot job.

No, what waited for them was a slaughter, a baptism of hot lead.

The looted H&K MP7s and FN P90s confiscated by Zero and passed down to Itami found its use here. Naturally, the servicemen were very well equipped. In this sort of unconventional warfare, the rules were very simple: kill your enemy when you saw him. Nothing else mattered.

And so, the brave men of 5th Recon who were manning the base welcomed their attackers with a hail of bullets. Bessara's men were slaughtered in seconds, and their corpses piled up.

It was over after the first round of fire.

Not only had Bessara lost all his men, but his own home had been blown up. Without men or a dwelling place, Bessara had also lost the fighting power to protect himself and give him authority. And then, in the next moment, he paid for his life of lawlessness.

The residents of Akusho, many of whom had lost their wives, children and other relatives to his vile activities, surrounded him and stabbed him with knives and swords until he looked like a pincushion, and then dumped him in an alley.

After seeing his gruesome remains, the people on the streets muttered to each other, "The JSDF is untouchable."

The Gonzori, Medusa and Paramount families did not join the Bessaras in their attack, and so they were spared. When they realized that the JSDF did not intend to claim the Bessaras' share of profits, which was to say, the income from his brothels and his protection money, they breathed a sigh of relief and reached a common understanding that nobody was to make a move against the JSDF.

Although they were an unpleasant bunch of people, they were good businessmen, and they knew trouble was bad for business. So they changed their minds and approached the JSDF for work.

The JSDF wanted information, and pawns that could collect that information. Under request from the JSDF, the crime bosses gathered their pickpockets and thieves and had them spy on the patricians' actions. Sometimes, they would enter their houses and steal books, and protected themselves by showing their worth and usefulness.

Simply put, the JSDF were treated like conquerors. It was only natural that the strong could do whatever they wanted in Akusho. People might praise those who defied the strong on the surface, but in their hearts, they would curse the defiant for fools, and these defiant people would not live long.

In addition, when people approached the JSDF with evil intentions, they would maintain their composure and politely ask them to stop.

When they saw illegal activity, they had frustrated looks on their faces, as well as feeling sympathy for the plight of others.

As a result, the men of Akusho were, regardless of species, both fearful and respectful of the JSDF.

However, to the surprise of the three remained families, the SKEF did slightly differently than the JSDF. Most of the time the soldiers overlooked the business of the crime lords, only time to time make a move. Requesting the three family underworldly services rarer and rarer occasion day by day. Then one day, cutting ties with them completely.

And after the carnage that happened when the Gonzori family accidentally raided one of the warehouses owned by the SKEF. (only due a false trail that one of their contacts provided) They never tried again.

The Akusho did not understand why the SKEF is requesting their services less and less occasion as time passed. And it was strange… too strange…

Yet, they let it for the time being. After all, after the Gonzori family accidental raid. Gonzori disappeared without a trace one night to another. His family completely intact, but their leader missing, according to the women he spent his last night, he disappearing directly from his bed without a word.

Only returning two days later. But as he returned, something changed in him; he was shaken, changed. Like something horrible happened to the man, always pale, terror radiating from his eyes.

That was the result of the appearance of the newcomers in the eye of the Akusho criminal families.

In contrast, the women had mixed feelings about them.

Simply put, they could not like the forces of JSDF and the official soldiers of SKEF.

No matter what temptations they used, the men of the JSDF and the SKEF were unmoved. Since they had so much money, what was wrong with spending a little on them? But no matter how they fluttered their eyelashes, or what seductive words they spoke, the men did not respond.

It was true that the men on the streets were richer thanks to them, and in turn, the women had more significant earnings. However, the women still wanted the SKEF and the JSDF to spend money on them because that was how a woman's heart worked.

But even when they shouted, "Are you, real men? You impotent bastards!" all the soldiers did was a shrug and steadfastly refuse to take the bait.

Being the appearance of the Death Knights and other such summoned beings was kindly said frightening for the everyday people, they mostly remained outside of the capital. Only those who escorted Serene and Eleanor stationed in the city officially. Unofficially who knows?

This was why the girls seemed sweet on the men of the JSDF and the SKEF on the surface but inwardly resented them.

However, a few groups with expensive looking equipment also arrived in the city not long ago.

These groups consisted both men and women; these people named their profession with a simple but a strange word… 'Adventurers.'

These people in different of the career soldiers of the JSDF and SKEF often used the services of the girls. Being most of them was a gold mine in the eyes of the prostitutes, the girls could gain that they lost on the men of JSDF and the SKEF.

And being the rule of the adventurer guild did not prohibit the usage of the services of the girls, there was no repercussion if a lonely adventurer spent a night or two with the girls that were completely natural.

In the Sorcerous Kingdom there was also brothels, but all of them, even the lowliest place has been registered at least a database or registry. Every month an inspector (usually a lich accompanied by a doctor and a healer) sent out to inspect and check all of them.

Check if the employees treated well or their employers abused them, check if they get their deserved share for their work.

The girls also got aid if they want to leave this kind of life and learn a new profession if they wished.

First, Ainz wondered how to end illegal brothels. First, he thought about he will just close them all by force.

He remembered how many strip clubs and known illegal brothels were in Tokyo in the year of 2138, yet, the authorities did nothing against them because the operating management in most cases was the Yakuza itself.

Thus, the management simply bribed the authorities and business went as usual. He doesn't want that; he wanted to change things.

Under his days when first started the adventure as Momon the Black, he saw many of those places. Even when he is missing the ability to throw up. He almost managed to do so few times. And after Sebas spoke about under what kind of circumstances he found Tuare, the head maid of Ainz's residence of E-Rantel. (as well the wife of Sebas). He understands, he needs to change things.

First, he wanted to close them all without hesitation. But after understanding the situation. He let them operate for few reasons.

First, many girls or even a few boys have no other choice just to offer their bodies in exchange for coin, thus work in such places. If he closes such business establishments, the former employees will have no other choice just to steal, murder and live as criminals.

Giving him and his forces more problem than necessary.

Filling the prisons, even more, that means the provision of the criminals will burden the lawful taxpayers further.

The second reason was financial; it is better to have a controlled brothel network directly answering and monitored by the government that is actually incrementing the profit than owned by a criminal organization that may turn the gained money against him.

This was all for the betterment of his kingdom, nothing else. Being an undead, he thought logically.

Outside of the contempt, he felt against such places; he felt nothing else.

Such places if successfully managed supported the economy, helped the lonely men and women release their frustration day by day and with it distract them from the bad things happening around them, preventing possible riots and insurrection. And all that's mattered in the eyes of the undead king.

Although, with the constant flow of traders, adventurers and every other kind of people who got clearance to pass the border of the structure stood in the holy hill of Dalnus. With them also came the criminal organization of the other side.

The criminal organization that thirsts the resources of this world.

The criminal organization that sooner or later will annex and consume every minor, and even the grander underworld organization that gets in its way.

It did it since who knows how long, with lesser complications it did when the Sorcerous Kingdom come to existence, and despite the Sorcerous King's best effort, it will endure under his rule as well.

If others did not join willingly… they will be annexed by force.

The mafia of the Sorcerous Kingdom... The mysterious criminal organization also called E.A.S.Y.

The organization that existence only whispered amongst the common folks and only the higher-ups of the Kingdom could confirm it indeed exists or not.

Some say, this organization simply does not exist, a legend that only exists to frighten the common folk, some say it exists and lurk in the shadows. Waiting for the best opportunity to strike and gain profit. Waiting to end the Sorcerous King rule and replace him with their own puppet.

Of course, there was some conspiracy theorist (although few in number) those said the whole E.A.S.Y. thing was just a cover organization.

They said the government simply created a controlled criminal network to keep in check the criminal activity from the background. Creating a necessary evil to keep in check the unwanted elements. Very few believed this theory. Thus no sane person takes it seriously.

The word E.A.S.Y was an acronym. However, no one knows precisely its exact meaning. Only those joined know it. And those left never saw light again, disappeared without a trace.

Now… In the imperial capital… Their presence yet unknown... yet... wherever they turn their faces, the deep roots of the organization gain foothold.

Usually so deeply embedded in the core of the society. Without burning everything to its core… it is impossible to wipe them out.

Recruiting, taking control more and more resources, they gain strength day by day.

It was a peaceful night, and the three crime families celebrated their great business opportunity with the JSDF.

The Medusa, the Gonzori, and the Paramount families celebrated the fall of the Bessara family. And with it, the territory and resources they gained with the fall of their fellow crime boss.

Surrounded by women, booze, food, and guards. Medusa, Gonzori, and Paramount celebrated.

"Guaaahhh~! This drink is so good! Now that idiot Bessara out of the way! We can finally share his share!"

Paramount nodded satisfactorily. "As you say, my friend. These JSDF folks really know how to business. And after hearing what they did with that fool, I would never want to be their enemies."

"Truer words never were spoken!" raised Medusa his cup in a drunken gaze. "It's a shame we can't make business with that strange other faction. They look rich. Maybe we can subdue them!" offered the crime lord in his drunken stupor.

"I would not advise it. I heard Gonzori tried to sack one of their smaller warehouses accidentally because of a false information and they simply cut down every man he sent without resistance. According to the news, their firepower is equivalent or greater than the 'Men in Green.' Is that true Gonzori?"

Turning to Gonzori, Paramount asked calmly.

"Bastards…" Belched the drunken man. "They think they are better than us? I will show them!"

Ganzori just drank his drink strangely quiet, then looked at Medusa with fearful eyes. His complexion pale, his expression tortured.

Standing up Medusa did a few empty punches in the air, then fall back into his pillow where he sat. Around him, several merry chuckles rang immediately.

"I know you will take care of them! Lord Medusa!" coed one of the courtesan sitting beside him. Pouring red colored drink into his goblet.

"~By the way… what about you Gonzori? What happened that night? Hic…~ Eh? You make it out with that girl again then come round in one of the deserted alleys again?" winking a few times Medusa laughed.

Paramount nodded, his expression turned serious. "Yes, I am curious too. What happened? Outside you told us they killed your men. You shared no details, details that would be crucial in our situation."

Gonzori just shrugged, sweating like fever running through his body.

"There is nothing else to speak about… they are just…" his stomach clenched. Gulping down his fear and nervousness the man continued. "They just killed them… that's all…"

"Buwahahaha! You speak nonsense Paramount my pal! ~ I am sure the great Gonzori would share us the information if he had it!"

Looking at his side suspiciously, Paramount squinted his eyes.

"I still don't like it… those SKEF guys did not even move against us. They just sit in their resources doing nothing meaningful. Not spending, not buying… just walking in circles in the district over and over again."

"~Be merry! Because of tonight, we are celebrating a big business opportunity! Chin-chin!~" raising his golden goblet Medusa held towards the other two gang boss before him.

Paramount just shrugged and knocked his goblet to his business partners. Gonzori did the same, however on his face a worrisome, tormented expression.

Paramount seeing this wanted to ask, but he rather not did it, maybe it was just a sickness.

However, Gonzori's look of a walking dead rather than a living man.

The three of them drank a sip from the goblets. When Paramount instinct started to scream.

The door opened, turning towards the direction where the creaking sound come off, the three crime bosses, and every individual in the room looked in the direction of the sound.

The guards who stood before the door fallen inside lifelessly, their eyes turned backward, staring the inside of their skull, showing the white of their eyes. Their bodies full of stab wounds most likely coming from specialized weapons.

And the person behind the door appeared. "Now… Gonzori-kun… don't you want to introduce us to your friends?" The person who stepped the back one of the dead guards asked playfully.

Silver hair, almost glowing blue eyes. She had a slender body build, wearing green Neo-Nazi uniform she marched in the room. Holding her steampunk looking rifle strapped above her shoulder.

Two black feathered angelic wings are protruding from her back. Confirming her fallen angel status.

"~I think they are just a little shy… Tasha-chan… Nya!~" behind her come a tempting voice.

She was in her twenties, with short blonde hair and delicate features, giving her a cat-like appearance. Wearing a revealing armor, her crimson red, cat-like eyes pierced through the soul of every men and woman in the room. Just like the person before her, she also had black feathered wings protruding out from her back.

"You think so? Clementine-chan?" asked the previously named Tasha playfully. Then looked back at her partner.

Clementine licked down the fresh blood from her exotic looking stilettos, showing a sadistic smirk towards her most likely future victims.

Gonzori snapped, tremblingly looking back at her as she comes to his vision. He could barely speak.

"Well, Gonzori-kun… it is time to introduce us… doesn't it?" asked Tasha politely.

"Ri-Right…" turning back his former comrades Gonzori started to speak.

"Co-Congratulations… Th-They are our new employer… they and the organization behind them will take over our business."

His tone trembled, turned into a submissive one. The previous businessman he was disappeared entirely.

"What the hell are you speaking Gonzori? What the hell happened to you?!" shouted Medusa furiously.

However, Paramount said nothing, just suspiciously looked through of the new arrivals. Something was wrong; something was very wrong.

"You seriously allow those two bitches to control you!? Simply kill them or beat the crap out of them! Make those whores learn their place! They had a pretty face after all. I wonder how much we can get from them in the market." grinned the sadistic man.

"Come, I will give you a good time." Medusa cooed tempting imagining the things he will do with the two of them.

First, two women just looked at each other with a surprised look; then the previously mentioned surprise turned an amused chuckle.

The shorter girl with silver hair showed a devilish grin. The blonde women licked her lips, like a predator who found her prey.

"~Can I play with them? Nya? Tasha-chan?~" asked the blonde playfully.

Tasha shook her head lecturing. "No. Clementine-chan. First is the business. Second the pleasure." grinned back the silver-haired girl.

"~Ahhh… You are such a letdown Tasha-chan… Nya! But so be it… I will refrain myself to do any drastic steps.~"

Tasha nodded, then turned back the still dumbfounded crowd who listened to all of this.

"Let's start then…" she spread her arms in a loving embrace.

"Now! It is the time! I offer you the only chance you will ever get! Flock under the wings of our glorious organization without any repression! Resist, and you will be crushed, submit, and you will be spared! Accept our generous offer, and you may see the light of the tomorrow!"

Everyone in the room looked at each other with disbelief; no one wanted to believe the madness the girl is speaking about.

Every pair or multiple pair eyes nailed at the two of them.

Some of them with anger, some of them with great amusement, thinking it is all part of some kind of charade.

"Aren't you glad you can become the servant, the part of the greatest criminal organization of existence? Aren't you glad you can become the part of E.A.S.Y.? Aren't you glad to serve the God of Darkness?"

"Co-Congratulation…" Gonzori sheepishly started to applaud. Fearing punishment if he did not do so.

"The hell you say?!" shouted Medusa as he struggled to stand up. But because he was neck deep in the alcoholic intoxication. He failed to do so or it was because of something else?

The leaders were still trying to figure out if they were enemy or ally, a charade or a trap.

It was too soon to conclude the two women were enemies and Gonzori betrayed them, but life in the underworld had taught them to stop thinking so hard, look out for their own safety and worry about killing their enemies later.

They didn't understand the strange girl true intentions, but since the other side had so blatantly crashed this meeting, that probably meant that the two of them could suppress everyone here.

If that were the case, even the best bodyguards each chief could hire would probably be unable to beat the two of them. Given that no enemy would be so stupid to barge in if there were even the slightest possibility of losing, it would seem that escaping safely would be a higher priority in this case.

The head of the three families would use their own guards as shields without hesitation. At least it was Paramount's idea.

However, he was far too late to stop his fellow crime lord. Medusa stumbled tried to force himself up, and now, no one can stop him.

"Me-Medusa! Stop!" it was too late.

The first thing the chiefs realized as they tried to stand up was that they could not move.

"Ah? Oghhaaah? Ahhhhhhh?!"

Their bodies were completely immobile, and even their tongues were unable to move. Drool ran down the sides of their mouths.

The girl who had just snapped her fingers began to laugh. "Clementine-chan! This new fast-acting helium based paralyzing poison just marvelous!"

"~Nyaa! Well, thank you! Our research branch really worked hard to create the adequate formula not to kill these weaklings, but still, let them experience the wonders that are the pain…~"

Tasha and Clementine, of course, wore items those made them immune effects such as poison and toxicity. Thus they were not affected in the slightest.

Walking near Medusa, Clementine stabbed his shoulder with her stiletto that the crime lord answered with a roar, a roar that was so loud and sinister, it reverberated amidst the streets of Akusho.

"Guahhhhh!" Medusa can't move. He was stabbed at multiple times. Yet, never before he experienced such intense, stabbing, caustic pain that rippled through his body just now.

The drunken fog before his eyes immediately disappeared, replaced by the red fog of pain.

They spoke about some kind of paralyzing poison. But where?

Tasha nodded satisfied seeing the effect of the toxin.

"I see… that means the toxin also intensifies the pain of these maggots. Truly marvelous I must say. If it would have existed when I trained my battalion…"

Embracing her old memories when she trained her mage battalion, a gentle smile curled on her face. Then shook her head.

"Does not matter…" turning back to her victims, Tasha continued.

"What's your answer? Are you willing to obey or we will have to do this a hard way?"

"Go to hell!" Medusa wanted to say and tried to look thought. However his tears streaming down his face betrayed his intentions. His mouth stuck closed.

Tasha looked around curiously, no one answered. On her face still that devilish looking smile, completely distorting her beautifull face.

"Come one, don't be shy, if anyone has a better idea we will take it to the happy fun place~" announced the silver head girl with a cheerful expression.

"~Nyaaa! I am sure everyone will like it… Am I right? Ganzori-kun?~" The two of them looked towards the previously mentioned man, waiting for an answer.

Ganzori's body started shaking violently. Turning towards the girl, he started to beg.

"W-Wait! Not me, right? I helped you, didn't I?!"

As they finally confirmed who had betrayed them, the men all turned their gazes towards the broken crime lord.

"Please! I'm begging you! I can't take it! I can't take it anymore!"

"Hmmm~ what're you talking about?"

"I think he means being taken to Kyouhukou-san's room Nya! Where his organs were being constantly devoured from the inside. Truly a glorious kind of torturing method!~ Nya! I would watch it all dayyyy...~" as she elongated the last part of the sentence, she rolled sarcastically her crimson, cat eyes.

However, Tasha's face twisted into an 'eww~' sort of expression.

Ganzori must have remembered something. He hugged himself tightly, both hands clutching himself, his body shuddering violently. One hand covered his mouth while the tears flowed freely from his eyes. From the greenish hue of his face, he looked like he was about to vomit.

"A-And—"

"Stop. We healed all his wounds with magic. So it's only natural that he is a good boy. Although, it's a rare thing that we didn't get to kill him. However, he was pretty soft; he could only bear that dark place for a few hours before broke down completely and started to beg for release."

Clementine nodded satisfactorily.

"~Nya! Can I kill them already? I thirst their blood! And I promised Neuronist-tan to bring some souvenirs to her. Nya!~ Don't be selfish Tasha-chan!" pouted Clementine.

"Mm, mm. There's a lot of corpses already, and we still need him to run the organization."

"I see. Well then, Goka-san, good luck~ If you betray us again, we'll lock you up longer in the Black Capsule~."

"Eeeeee!" Behind them, several creatures resembling lower cast demons, accompanied by thuggish looking people varied size and race stepped out. Cracking their fists.

Ganzori nodded vigorously, while still green in the face. That was plainly the look of someone whose will to resist had been utterly broken and would obey any orders given without hesitation.

"Anyways, before we know they're going to do as they're told, you can take your time with them. OK?"

"G-Got it! Leave it to me! We can definitely make something useful for them!"

From Ganzori's desperate, pathetic gestures of submission, Medusa and Paramount realized that they too would experience the torments that would mold them into something like him, and turned pale.

"Then, I've already bought a few of my boys down to help you out. Make good use of them. There's a few more you absolutely can't kill or fight, I'll explain later."

Tasha and Clementine were all smiles.

"Now then, we still have a few places to go but basically we've done half the work of taking over this country. I wonder what he is planning with this country. Submission? Annihilation? Hah! Who cares, the point is to have some fun." stated the silver-headed girl as they turned their back and walked out of the room.

Leaving alone the utterly terrified and confused crime lords with their new 'employees' under the rule of their new 'employers.'

Clementine smirked looking down at her companion. "~Tasha-taaan! You are so sadistic! What would Visha-chan say if she saw you like this?~ Nya!"

Tasha clicked her tongue nervously and glared at her companion from the corner of her eyes.

"You have no fucking business with her. Stay away from her immediate area, or I will butcher you."

The silver-haired girl threatened her partner. Her voice was serious, the previous playful tone of hers disappeared completely as her blue eyes lit up with a new golden light.

A playful light glint in the eyes of the blonde fallen as she grinned back. Then released a weak chuckle. "~So scary… Nya!~"

* * *

 **Scene Change: Sorcerous Kingdom's capital: Carne: Near Object Ro (the gate)**

Under the protective layers of invisibility magic, the secret research department of the Sorcerous Kingdom, the Achnologia as always, did their best to break the mystery of this strange structure.

Being Fluder Paradyne was a busy man, having many more responsibilities outside of being part of the secret research team. He was currently not present.

Amongst many things these responsibilities featured: being the head of the Famous Magic School floated above the Capital of Carne, mentoring his students and doing his own magical research. Doing publications and giving lessons to the younger generations.

He could not possibly stand guard and study the strange edifice all day and ignore all of his duties.

He would like to do so of course, but unfortunately, his body was still human despite the upgrades he received from Ainz and from his own magical research.

He can't always overstrain himself. Sometimes even he needs some rest.

Near the structure the research branch's staff was always full, changing each other after eight-ten hours of work. Overworking helped no one, thus, everyone from the staff strictly ordered to only work eight to twelve hours a day maximum. Then go to break, sleep and have some fun in the mobile entertainment center the group brought with themselves.

Being space expanding magic similar to the one in the series, 'Doctor Who' existed in this world. It was possible to stuff a whole mansion in a simple wooden house. Of course, like everything, this as well has its limits.

As usual, the robed and lab-coated people surged around their strange machines, making calculations, casting their experimental magic.

But something was strange; something was not right, like when you throw a stone between two territorial cats, and they were frightened ran away.

Harumi Bereare was in line to check the data they gathered last night, she also received the honor to run a few important test on the body of the structure.

Being she was the Great Granddaughter of Deidre Bareare, the head of Practical and Alchemical research branch of the kingdom.

Despite her young age, she received many responsibilities, the expectations that her great-grandfather nurtured in her were quite high. Despite all of this, the blonde haired girl did her best to upkeep her family's name as famous scientists and valuable assets of the Sorcerous King.

As she checked the strange floating sensory machine floated near her, suddenly every sensor be it magical, digital or mechanical went mad. Starting to spit out meaningless data, starting to overcharge the sensors.

"Wha-What is this?!" panicked a scientist suddenly.

Harumi gritted her teeth and clicked her tongue seeing the data. She needed to solve this situation fast. Or it will end in catastrophe.

The earth around the structure started to shook and tremble, causing at least quake four tectonic activity. With the structure the whole capital seemed to tremble, causing minimal structural damage, only thanks to the enchanted walls and building methods of the buildings that no house collapsed.

"Activate the suppressors! Fast! We need to stabilize this anomaly!" shouted the girl.

The ground trembled, the people around the edifice panicked, never before the earth trembled in Carne, naturally, places existed where it happened in Gown Prime.

But being the Capital of the Sorcerous Kingdom laid in steady foundations, far from the meeting points of the tectonic plates. It was very unlikely Earthquake happening anytime soon.

The only sensible explanation was either the quake originated from some kind of magic or technology, capable of such thing.

Of course, there was always another possibility, namely that the hole in the time and space wanted to fix itself, tearing down the way towards the other side.

The scientist worked fast and activated the suppressors. Harumi and the staff prayed to the Supreme Beings it will be enough.

The cloaked suppressors came to life, and the huge, cloaked time space stabilizers neatly placed around the structure raised their metallic head around the edifice.

An alarm sound released from the nearby magical loudspeakers and the soldiers stopped every incoming and ongoing traffic for a few moments.

The spatial-temporal disturbance seemed to calm, and the earth no longer shook.

"Ah… I see… As expected it happened…" Harumi heard an elderly voice behind her back.

Her eyes widened and flipped to the person behind her. "Gre-Great Grandfather! What are you speaking about? Aren't you suppose to sleep?"

She was astonished, seeing the weathered appearance of Deidre it looked like her Great Grandfather rather read publications than sleep.

Releasing a great yawn, the elderly scientist stretched his limbs.

"I suppose… but just nahh… I find sleeping merely a waste of time."

Harumi squinted her eyes scoldingly, crossing her arms over her chest and she tapped her feet impatiently on the ground.

"Gramps… do you know what Hii-obaasan say about the usage of those items, and the Supreme Beings as well told us to not overstrain ourselves with the usage of [Ring of Sustenance]? It may have some side effect."

Deidre waved her concern away with a lazy motion.

"Ara-ara… you are like your mother… worry too much about simple things as such. According to the magical research branch, it has no such negative side effect that may threaten my life…"

Harumi bit her lower lip, and a concerned expression settled on her face. "Still…"

"Shu-Shu… aren't you figured out the weathered appearance of your ol-ol great gramps that I didn't use the ring?"

Harumi pouted.

"Still it is no excuse your lack of sleep! It may cause the serious withdrawal of your health." looking down she clenched her fist. "Grandma would never survive your death…"

The old man sighed. "Sigh… I know…" Then looked up to the structure and the still cloaked stabilizers those were visible thought the visual filters of the force field the group resided.

A mischievous expression curled on his old face as he looked up to the structure with satisfaction.

"I knew we might find some use for those old things…"

"What do you mean? Jijii (old man)?"

"Seeing the energy readings previously, I theorized this is some kind of perpetual bridge through time and space. The similarity was just too obvious…" murmured the old man.

"You mean?" Harumi tilted her head, then looked back at the portal.

"You saw similar things before?"

Deidre nodded slowly, showing a seriously concerned expression.

"Yes… Esdeath-sama experimented such things back then, and almost managed to get lost, yes, I clearly remember the case."

Remembering the past, the elder just stood for a few moments and clenched his fist. Then lowered his head and smiled.

"Fortunately, she managed to get back, and we learned from the experiment. Still, it is concerning…"

"Why?" asked Harumi in a slight careless tone.

Deidre squinted his eyes and looked back at his great-granddaughter furiously who immediately backed, realizing the old man's frightfully scolding expression.

"I mean… you saw such thing before, as well the Supreme Being experimented on such portals and managed to stabilize them… Sooo what's the problem with this one?"

Deidre sighed, he loved his great-granddaughter, but sometimes she just could not spot the obvious because of her overcomplicated thinking.

Massaging the bridge of his nose, he looked back at her.

Then pulled out a simple rubber ball from the pocket of his white coat. A solid stress ball that he used to squeeze when he was nervous.

"Imagine this simple stress ball is our planet."

The girl just nodded.

"Now imagine it, what if something or rather someone is disturbing the normal flow of the balance of the spatial and temporal forces, the forces that are flowing through the very fabric of reality, what if someone is messing with them without the proper methods, using the adequate formulas to balance things out… hmm?"

Pointing at the ball, he pumped some magical energy inside of it. First, nothing happened, then the rubber ball started to tremble, small cracks appearing on its surface.

After a while, the trembling got stronger and stronger, and more and more cracks, deeper and deeper with each passing seconds appeared on the surface of the rubber ball, reaching deeper with each second.

In the end, the ball burst open and blow up in Deidre's hand.

"Time and space are flexible; it is very hard to tear a permanent hole in it, much less to destabilize it completely. If you hit a hole in it, it will fix itself after a while, forcefully if it's necessary. Removing the tumor, the irregularities, and the anomalies from itself one way or another. Of course, there are several ways to prevent such thing and balance things out."

"And that is?" asked Harumi curiously, her eyes shone as she held her notebook and her pen in her hand. Taking notes vigorously.

Deidre chuckled slightly seeing his great-granddaughter enthusiasm.

"That's what I like to see…"

After a momentary pause, he turned towards the huge metal construct surrounding the structure.

"One way to trick the system, after all, you can look the universe as a flexible formula, if your variables do not conflict with other variables, the system stabilizes and accept the new variable as its own. Of course, this is one of the hardest method hard to come by. We are lucky these old stabilizers remained back then. Or we would even need to alarm the Supreme Beings or one of their vassals with time-space abilities to help us out."

Harumi nodded. "What's the second method?"

Deidre squinted his eyes.

"The forceful way, but outside of the Supreme Beings, I don't know a single person who can force the universe to bends knee to them. It requires at least tier ten magic or one of these miraculous items they possess…"

"You mean the magic of gods Jijii? The miracle?"

Deidre nodded thoughtfully, remembering when Esdeath once showed him such item and its powers.

"You can call it that… but according to Esdeath-sama… there is nothing godly or miraculous in that kind of magic or technique. As she said… I quote… 'Miracles are illusions caused by insufficient observation and understanding. They're just... glorious misunderstandings.'"

"Ahhh! I see!" nodded Harumi hastily and engraved the quote in her notebook.

"There is one more way to stabilize it of course…"

"What is it?" asked the student impatiently, the hunger for knowledge just radiated from her brown eyes.

The old man took out his cigarette and lighted it with his lighter. After huffing out a cloud of smoke, he started to smirk. "Figure it out by yourself; it will be a good study material for you…"

Turning around he started to walk towards the command tent.

"Hold the line for a while, will you? I need to notify the Supreme Rulers of the happenings; we may need their power to stabilize this hole completely… our solution seemingly not permanent."

Harumi checked once again, then raised one of her brow dumbfounded.

"What do you speaking about? They seem fine and the readings good enough!"

"Then look the readings once more… look up and see the distortions by your own eyes if you don't believe me…"

Looking up her eyes widened. The solution was indeed not permanent. Around the stabilizers the universe already struggled to fix the hole, lightning danced around the heads of the stabilizers, and the metallic structures slightly vibrated as they fought to remain control over the anomaly.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **I know this chapter was short but be assured, the next chapter will come in a few days and this was only a teaser chapter.**

 **Unfortunately, I am very busy nowadays thus I just do not have the time to update as frequently as I would like to.**

 **But be assured, the next chapter already on paper I only need to check it a few more times. :)**

 **In the next chapter: Itami story begins, the great demonic invasion starts.**

 **The sky will burn, the ground will tremble!**

 **Tremble Mortal! For I have returned!**

 **Be prepared for Operation Gehenna V. 2.0.! (part 1)**


	17. Operation Gehenna V2 (part 1)

**Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There**

 **by oblivon2991**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.**

 **I don't own the _Overlord_ (** **オーバーロード** ** _Ōbārōdo_** **?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **Please review it. I know I will make mistakes that I intend to correct and will try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

* * *

These events take place a few days before Itami and his group left to their journey to hunt down the Flame Dragons.

Near the capital of the Saderan Empire. Zorzal's estate.

Eleanor and Serene. The two daughter of the Sorcerous King Ainz Ooal Gown, sat at the dining table, accompanied by Zorzal and Tyuule. The former queen of the bunny warriors.

The slave queen of course just stood behind Zorzal, on her neck a sturdy chain hung steadily fixed.

Behind the two girls stood Zero in his butler outfit, watching over the maids work as they served the food he prepared. And most of all, watching over the well-being of the two princesses entrusted his care.

You don't have to figure out what he thought of the work of the maids. You don't have to figure out what he wanted to do with the man named Zorzal.

Only thanks to Ainz's and his creator's strict orders he managed to restrain himself. Only thanks to them he tried to at least not to step on any bug under his feet. It took a considerable effort to watch his moves, not to obliterate the 'meat bags' in his way.

Eleanor was slightly impressed, despite Zorzal's blunt nature at least he knows how to treat royalties. Or at least, he treated them the best he could. Strangely, the man addressed every other people around him in a much rougher manner. But not them, towards them, the man showed a pleasant smile and treated them with a happy tone.

It was either he fell to Eleanor, or she simply used her vampiric charm to charm the man. Thus taking control of his mind. No outsider knows the truth, only the selected few.

Serene just rolled her eyes in annoyance and huffed, being forced to wear her dress all day really made her uncomfortable and probed her patience.

Zorzal even showed them around on his private estate not far from the Imperial Palace and promised to the girls, later he will introduce them to his father officially. Thus, the two sides can finally start the peace talks.

Explaining the lateness of the introduction with the fact as an emperor, his father, is a very busy man, and currently discussing the situation with the Senate.

But when he wanted to show the two girls his slave collection kept in his estate, strangely every single one of them disappeared. As well his award-winning horses. But after seeing the conditions amongst those poor creatures lived, it was probably better in that way.

Only Tyuule remained who he kept in a separate location due to her status and being considered Zorzal's dirty secret.

It was quite amusing what kind of rampage poor Zorzal organized after he learned about the disappearance of his beloved slaves and all of his award winner battle steeds.

Serene could barely hold back to burst out into laughter, Eleanor just waved her fan before her mouth and said: 'Oh, my…'

Both Serene and Eleanor kept quiet about it, but they suspected who was the strange, mischievous savior who saved the slaves and stole the horses. In the process leaving every guard around the barns unconscious. Leaving them locked in the cells of the slaves, scribbling the face of Zorzal's lackeys with a permanent marker.

The two of them, of course, asked Zero about it, but he politely brushed them off, saying;

'It must be some kind of messenger boy who let them out…'

Thus, they simply paid him no heed. It was not important after all.

Unfortunately, Zorzal's amusing charade left at the half when he apologized and asked the two women to follow his faithful right hand who led them their appointed guest rooms.

And here they are now, sitting in an elegant dining room, seated at a table, eating late dinner with the bully named Zorzal.

"Hmmm! I must say…" Zorzal munched greedily on the delicious, juicy steak Zero prepared previously. Enjoying every bit of the heavenly food.

"This is the best food I have ever eaten. Say again… what its name?"

Zero did not answer, only glanced at the two princesses for confirmation. Like he did not even want to take note the existence of the man.

He just stood, saying nothing. The silence became awkward. Zorzal asked again, still no answer. The silence grew awkward even more, but before the man could raise his voice.

The vampire royalty lightly glanced at the chef and asked calmly... "Zero-kun… if you may answer Prince Zorzal's question."

Slightly bowing the man answered. "As you wish… Eleanor-sama. The menu tonight consist a light fruit soup consisting peach, melon and berries, and dragon steak with fries and salad..."

He continued a while sorting the inhumanly oodles kind of food he prepared. Then, in the end, he reached the end of his list. "...and for dessert, light ice cream. Various type of cakes and fruit shakes."

Zorzal stuffing down the food in his throat mumbled incomprehensibly. "Humph... you say it is a dragon? Delicious! I never eat better-prepared food in my life! After we conquered your nation, I will make you my personal chef. But first, civilize your barbaric kind to how to treat your betters."

Zero said nothing, concentrating all of his willpower he withholds his hand to behead the prince.

One misstep, one little joke is enough, and he will destroy him. He only needs to say his hand slipped and it was an accident. He suspected Eleanor might just laugh it off and say: 'Ups... No problem, accidents happen, carry on..."

The only real thing that withholds him to proceed with his plan was the picture of his creator, even imagining the picture as she showed her puppy-like, sad, disappointed look, made him tremble and root to the ground.

This was his only real weakness, even when he was an automaton, he can't bear if his creator might get disappointed or ashamed because of him. Thus, upkeep a rooted expression and said nothing.

Zorzal showed a cocky smile.

That's it! He had enough! Zero snapped. He will not tolerate the existence of this 'cockroach' in one space with Ainz's daughters anymore. He was too disrespectful towards both his creator and Ainz.

The automaton NPC clicked his tongue and mumbled. "Miserable meat bag…" momentarily forgetting his previous image, raising his hand he wanted to behead Zorzal, only Serene and Eleanor scolding glance stopped his hand. But his hand already moved, carrying the momentum he simply adjusted his tie.

"Lady Serene! Lady Eleanor! Don't worry, we treat royalties rightfully after we conquered your father's nation I make sure your family treated according to your rank." barked Zorzal confidently.

Serene could barely restrain her snicker hearing the prince's ridiculous statement, Eleanor simply hid her amused smile behind her fan and answered. "Is that so…"

Zero remained standing, clenching his fist he could barely restrain his anger, the urge to annihilate the nation called simply by the name Empire.

"By the way… what do you think about my personal slave? Hmm? Aren't she a piece of beauty?"

Tyuule gritted her teeth inwardly as Zorzal slapped one of her butt cheeks.

Earlier in the day a few dark clothed individual sneaked into her cell and offered her the chance to escape as for every other slave Zorzal kept under his rule. But she refused out of her thirst for vengeance, if anyone kills this worm, she will be the one, she will annihilate, she will eradicate this corrupt empire.

She will make sure Zorzal behavior bring the wrath of justice down upon this corrupt nation.

And the first step was to smuggle the potion that the man (or the demon), named Jaldabaoth gave her.

"More wine!" ordered Zorzal and Tyuule poured him some, not without dropping a few drops in the drink from the strange potion she received from Jaldabaoth.

Zorzal drank, and he immediately felt the effect of the liquid. He felt lighter, he felt more relieved, and finally, he thought he could conquer the world. He also felt some kind of bond started to weave between him and someone else.

Shaking his head he waved away such thoughts, looking back Eleanor who spoke.

"Please forgive my shallowness Prince Zorzal, but my father-laws strictly forbid slavery inside of our borders as I stated earlier when you showed us around in your home. As his daughter, I share his opinion. I myself as well not fan of the concept…"

She glanced at Tyuule behind her fan. Tyuule eying at her tried to figure out her true intentions.

Zorzal nodded understanding.

"Understandable, you two raised under your king repressive rule, but don't worry, when I march through the Gate of the Holy Hill of Arnus and Dalnus, victoriously leading my grand armies, I will save you from his repressive rule."

Serene can't take it anymore and burst out of laugh. Zorzal glared at her surprised, is what he said that funny? He thought.

Serene don't want to say it out loud the sad state of this Empire and its hopeless situation facing against two powers that could end the whole rule of his family under one night.

She really doesn't want to say it out loud, after all, speaking out loud such thing might end their strategic advantage and would be considered merely rude, not as it mattered in the current situation.

Still, she was still a royalty under the tomboyish behavior of a princess. Her father as well her mother expected her to behave accordingly most of the times.

As she saw it where she stood, the Empire had two choices.

Either annihilation or complete subjugation under the rule of one of the invading power.

However, reading the reports. That country called Japan does not seem the country who want to conquer these lands. Neither its people would allow such things without causing a political shitstorm.

Zorzal wanted to open his mouth to ask what she finds so funny, when…

The night, the Imperial Capital and its surroundings were shaken by an earthquake.

After hearing a distant rumbling from a distance, the earth suddenly began to shake violently.

The problem was that the city had never experienced an earthquake before, and so the buildings were not protected against the violent shaking. They were made of stones stacked on top of each other, and thus the more fragile buildings collapsed.

That being the case, the foundations of the Capital's streets were not completely destroyed. But the true damage was to the hearts of the city folk.

Because there was no seismograph on hand, no exact figures could be taken, but from the spread of the destruction, it seemed to be around a magnitude 4 to 5 earthquake.

The earthquake occurred in the middle of the night, so it took the Capital completely by surprise.

Most of the people were thrown out of bed while soundly asleep, and they were too drowsy from sleep to properly panic at first. Various objects began falling to the floor like rain, including things like shelves and objects hanging from the ceiling.

When the cabinets collapsed, the sharp fragments from shattering vases and ceramic cookware was enough to cause cuts. The fragments littered the floor, so there was no place to stand.

The people of the Capital believed that the earth would not move. That was what it meant to be "as solid as a rock."

Water flowed, the wind blew, the fire burned, wood grew. But the earth did not move. That was a fundamental principle of the world. When that preconception was shattered, everyone thought the world was going to end. This terror was deeply engraved on the people's souls, leaving grievous spiritual wounds.

Predicting this disaster would have been difficult even for the scientifically advanced Japan. It was not impossible, but only a god or a being with far better sensory abilities than a human could have done it.

Of course, it was easier in the Sorcerous Kingdom where the magic existed that could control the weather or even cause earthquakes and other similar cataclysmic events. But here, such cataclysmic events rarely happened and the people usually connected them to the gods of Falmart.

Thus, events like this happened maximum once a hundred years and caused even more fright.

However, in the Special Region, there were people who could predict such incoming disasters. There were some people who saw the disaster coming.

Like Tyuule sense of danger. As a bunny warrior, her instincts and spatial awareness were higher than of a normal human. Thus she felt the uneasiness coming with the shake.

These were very simple things, but for people who had never experienced earthquakes before, they would have had a hard time thinking of these.

Zorzal looked around panicked. "Wha-What is this?! What's happening!? Did the enemy dare to attack the capital? Did the gods fighting a war over our head?!"

Eleanor simply drank her wine. Like this earthquake did not even bothering her, she and her sister was completely calm.

"I think not… Prince Zorzal, I think this is a simple Earthquake generated out of natural or magical means. If you ask me the first…"

"Wha-What do you mean Lady Eleanor! Such thing is impossible! Come! We need to escape from the country! We need to warn my father!"

Standing up he hurried towards his stables, don't even remembering his horses has been stolen by some ruffian at morning. Dragging Tyuule with himself forcefully by the process, dragging her by the chain around her neck, the two of them left to find a proper horse without saying a word.

"Do we let him fail?" asked Serene with a mischievous amused grin.

Eleanor sighed. "I would like so… really, but it is much more fun to keep him in the illusion of control."

Grinning back her sister the two siblings nodded satisfied. "Let's give him a lift; I am curious what he will do next. He just too stupid to let him go…"

Turning towards Zero, Eleanor asked kindly. "Zero-kun, would you kindly prepare our carriage and escort for departure?"

The automaton butler simply bowed his head, on his face no emotions can be seen. "At once! Eleanor-sama."

In the meantime.

Piña grumbled as Sugawara woke her up for a walk in the forest outside the palace. Hamilton followed her in a half-asleep state. After all, her job as a scribe was very tiring.

Itami, Kuribayashi, and Tomita were assigned as Sugawara's guards, so after they received Nyutabara's wireless transmission, they brought Piña and the others to a safe place despite doubting the reports. In addition, Itami was in his uniform, while Kuribayashi and Tomita were in their combat fatigues and fully armed, with an extra pistol each.

The maids and Piña's torch-bearing guards could not hide their worry. They were only following because they knew they had to follow Piña no matter what.

Even if they explained that the earth would shake and what would happen after that, the maids would not be able to imagine it. It would be like trying to understand what it would be like to fall from the sky.

Therefore, when the earthquake came, they received a massive shock.

First, there was the gentle trembling that marked the early stages of an earthquake.

"Oh, it's coming, it's coming…"

The length of this period made Itami say, "Looks like it's going to be a big one."

There was a correlation between the length of the initial trembling and the distance to the epicenter of the earthquake. This meant that when one calculated the distance to the epicenter, the stronger the early vibrations, the bigger the shock would be.

After this, the real shaking started.

The earth heaved as though it had been struck mightily.

It was roughly 30 to 40 seconds before the quake tapered off. However, for those people in the Imperial Capital who had encountered an earthquake for the first time, it seemed like an eternity.

Piña wailed. She thought that the world was collapsing. Beside her, Sugawara and Itami said, "Ohh, it really came."

As she saw Itami, Kuribayashi, and Tomita standing around calmly, Piña's eyes filled with fearlessness and a determination not to lose out to this earthquake. She imagined that they would probably maintain their cool even if the ground vanished from under their feet.

Itami was a man who would look for excuses to slack off when he was tired of annoying things. Either that or he would immediately flee them. He did not seem to have any of the qualities of a warrior. Yet, at this moment, he looked perfectly calm and composed.

The maids and soldiers fell prone to terror.

The sounds of the rooted trees swaying and the sound of the leaves grinding against the wind sounded like the movements of a huge monster. The maids cried and screamed, while the soldiers shouted in response. However, they, like Piña, saw the same thing; Itami, Tomita, and Kuribayashi looking around their surroundings like nothing was happening.

The steadfast forms reminded them of the gods.

The maids grabbed at Tomita's and Kuribayashi's legs one after the other, while the soldiers looked at them with admiration, as though they were invincible heroes.

"Well, if it's only this much, it shouldn't be a problem. The weaker parts of the walls might collapse, but the rest should be fine. Can't say the same if we were closer to the epicenter, though."

The shaking stopped after a while.

Piña heard Itami's calm analysis as she was left adrift in detached silence, but her thought processes were on hold, so she could only nod and answer "Mm."

As the guards heard Tomita and Kuribayashi asking, "Are you all right? Is anyone hurt?" they immediately straightened up upon hearing the words of their heroes. They were currently in a state of abject submission. As mentioned before, this was the psychological impact of an earthquake on people who had never experienced it before.

Because Itami and the others protected and helped to evacuate them, Piña's spirit returned quickly. When she heard that there might be aftershocks after a big earthquake, she said, "I need to get to his Majesty." She was worried for her father, but also concerned about the state of the court.

Since Piña said so, Itami and co. had no objections. "Is that so. Then, take care when you go." Piña looked like she had seen the apocalypse as she heard those words, or maybe it was a girl being jilted by her lover. Either way, she pressed her pale face against Itami.

"Won't, won't you go with me?"

"It's not that; I'm just saying, the Emperor… going to his side like this might not be good."

From Piña's point of view, Itami and the others were soldiers of an enemy nation. Bringing them to the Emperor's side would be like checkmating herself. If this were an RTS game, it would be like enemy paratroopers landing in one's home base.

However, the fact was that Itami and company were Sugawara's guards, so something like pointing a gun at the Emperor was absolutely forbidden. However, the JSDF's words were just words. Piña had to be ready for anything.

Still, Piña was insisting that they go with her. Itami and Sugawara looked at each other, wondering what was to be done.

"Itami-dono. Please, stay by my side."

In other words, what she meant was, "It's scary, so please go with me."

Behind them, Hamilton nodded with a pale face. They were scared silly, and then there was supposed to be an aftershock on top of that. It could not be helped that none of them wanted to leave Itami and the other JSDF troopers. The maids were nodding behind them, and the guards formed a human wall behind Itami, suggesting that they did not want him to leave.

However, at halfway, they became aware of something, something very unusual.

Around the walls, fire, blue fire reaching, stretching towards the heaven. Girdling around the outer walls of the capital, seemingly cutting off the people from any means of escape.

There was one more strange thing, two exactly, two floating person in the very heavens. One of them covered by a thick brown mantle, his/her face covered by a shadowing hood, seemingly holding a twisted looking, dark staff.

Next to it a tall man, around 1.8 m tall. Wearing a British suit with a tie, he is dressed like a gentleman. Behind his back is a silver tail, covered with metal plates and six long spikes at the end. His face covered by a harlequin mask.

 **"** **Tremble mortals! For I have returned! That foolish king can't protect you anymore! Submit to me, and I may let you serve! Resist, and everything you hold dear will turn ruin and ash!"**

Many people looked in that time at the skies and the direction of the encircled walls. Trembling in horror, the common people don't know what to do, even the soldiers trembled unable to act.

Looking at his side, the demon nodded to his companion. Who in answer waved his twisted staff once again, and the ground started to tremble even more than before.

It was not like before, there was no warning, no preparatory quake. The earth just started to shaking with full intensity. Building crumbled, chaos ensued as the buildings started to collapse like a house made from cards.

Itami urged Piña to move before the quake get even worse and something might fall in their head, squishing them like bugs under the stone.

The earthquake lessened, and what came after it... let's just say, the little group and most likely everyone in the city wished to experience the tremor once again instead of facing its horrific consequences.

Earth shattered, opening holes wherefrom many disgusting, strange creatures that resembled of demons crawled out amidst the uprising flames. Piña thought these creatures sent by Hardy the Goddess of Underworld to punish the Empire for its misdeeds.

But according to Itami, the appeared creatures resembled more to demons from an A+ horror game with lifelike graphics, rather than creatures created by some kind of underworld goddess. Even looking at them the first Lieutenant's stomach churned in disgust.

The creatures were numerous in type and size.

Like demons that looked like the cross between man and frog with sick yellow skin, beasts that looked like skinned humans, their exposed musculature painted with some kind of slimy black liquid.

And enormous hellhounds that although looked like large dogs, their eyes are filled with an infernal intelligence, and in place of drool, flames leak from their maws.

The situation was worse than bad. It was horrible, despite their modern weaponry Itami, Kuribayashi and Tomita were barely able to keep the maids, the princess, Hamilton, and Sugawara safe. Even after the ground opened a minute ago. They were completely outgunned.

The smaller beast's who's recognized their presence were ruthless, charged in their direction. The limited ammunition was also a problem for Itami and his comrades.

The distance between them and the palace were only a few hundred meters, still, cutting through the narrow alleys and fending of these demons off, the distance rather felt like miles.

Maybe their weapons managed to pierce their hard skin after the constant fire, but where one fallen two more appeared. The whole city was like a slaughterhouse.

People left and right flee for their own life, pleading whatever god they worshipped, trying to hide from the mere sight of the infernal creatures before swallowed at whole by them.

The luckiest amongst them died instantly, the not so lucky majority struggled before their final horrible death, as their souls swallowed by the creatures and digested by the demons. Promising one thousand years of digestion and agony in the stomach of the beasts roamed through the city.

Meanwhile, the two floating figure glared down at them, simply watching poor, unfortunate victims underneath them. Enjoying the Hunger Games they conducted.

After a few streets, Itami and his group caged, surrounded by towering demons, there was no hope for them to survive. If just Rory and Lelei were with them, the situation would not be that dire.

But they were not present; they were both backs in Arnus. Rory is either lollygagging around in the base or doing some kind of religious stuff connected her with her god.

Lelei worked as an official translator, bridging the gap between the denizens of the Special Region and the JSDF.

"Hold the line Kuribayashi! I need to reload!" shouted Itami as he unloaded the last bullet in his mag, reaching for the last mag residing in the breast pocket of his vest.

Measuring his ammo pouch, there was only one mag remained. With this rate, they will never reach the Imperial Palace, if it is indeed standing at this rate.

"First Lieutenant! Look out!" Tomita shouted with great fright in his tone. Turning towards the danger. Itami's eyes widened. Above him a towering abomination.

It was like the previously mentioned frog-like demon with yellowish skin, the demon Itami and the band saw earlier. They managed to avoid to raise the attention of the bigger ones, at least until now. Be as subtle as possible. It seems they fall out of Lady Fortune's grace. At least it seemed...

Standing face to face with such creature, Itami can't move, his legs trembled seeing the horror. It was like the film of his life played before his eyes, embracing every moment of it with ultra-fast space.

Seeing closely, the monster seemed even more monstrous, more horrific, more otherworldly than inspecting it from far.

Because of the night and the faint lights of the fires, Itami and the group can't see the fine details of the creatures. But now facing it... he rather wanted to stay as far away as he could.

The creature had a jaundiced yellow skin that gleams with a sticky, shiny coating. Its body is covered in huge lumps, which are in fact human faces pressed out against the skin from the inside.

It possesses a mouth that could swallow a man in one gulp gaped open and an abnormally long tongue. In the depths of its massive mouth depths, one could see the flickers of fires from within.

Opening its mouth, it wanted to release a soul tearing wail. But before that...

"Agghhhh!"

A warrior, clad in jet black armor landed before them. Cracking the ground under his feet. His crimson cape fluttered. The cape that resembled the cape of the infamous antihero, the antihero named Spawn from the comics.

Holding two enormous sword each of his hands, he carved the monster at half vertically. Blocking it even to release one soul tearing scream.

The monster fell apart, and the hero turned towards the little group. "Hmm. Everyone all right?"

Resting his huge sword on his shoulder, he turned towards the princess and her escort.

"Mo-Momon-kun! What are you doing here!?" asked Itami flabbergasted, stumbling to his feet once again.

Momon wanted to answer, but he was cut off by a younger voice. A familiar voice.

"We just did our daily training routine, when suddenly our magical sensors went mad because of the gathering of the strange demonic energies above the capital." Slicing at half a demon with a flash like a strike, a man stepped out from the shadows.

"Pri-Prince Beelzebub! You are here! How!?" Exclaimed Piña stupefied.

Her heart raced. Is he come to save her? Is he come to save her and her people from this nightmare. She did not know, but she at least hoped he would come for her.

Beelzebub bowed his head showing a relieved smile. "It is good to see you Piña. Are you hurt? You are right?" stepping closer he grabbed her side and inspected her.

"Ye-Yeah…" shuttered the princess. Looking for the maids, the serviceman of JSDF, Sugawara, and Hamilton. Beelzebub released a relieved sight. Miraculously every one of them was fine.

"I was worried…"

Piña's face turned red like a tomato, shyly turning away her head. "I-I am fine really… but we need to reach my father; he might be in danger."

"So be it, I already sent a few soldiers to the palace, so it should be fine for the time being."

"Prince Beelzebub," Sugawara stepped forward. "I am Sugawara from the ministry of foreign affairs, I know it is not the right time, but I would like to thank you in the name of my people and the princess of the timely rescue." bowing his head he followed the custom.

Beelzebub patted his shoulder and nodded. "Don't mention it; I just did my duty."

"Beelzebub… I mean your majesty, aren't it is strange the demons attacking right after the earthquake?" asked Itami stammering, still shaken from his previous experience.

"I as well found it strange, after all, it is not every day when our magical sensors freak out from the released demonic energy. The earthquake you just experienced might be some kind of magic inducted technique or the after effect of a summoning item."

"You say it is a demonic invasion?" exclaimed Itami uneasily.

Both the maids and Hamilton covered their mouths out of horror. Kuribayashi and Tomita looked sternly, fixing their bayonets and checking their weapons.

Beelzebub nodded. On his face a stern expression. "Yes, I am afraid this is the case, and with the current situation…" looking around seeing the chaos in the streets.

"I am afraid this capital will fall at dawn… strangely we can't teleport in the city because some kind of magic blocking us, thus, we could only arrive not far from it and cut through the fires on foot."

On Piña's face, the horror settled. She doesn't want to believe what he said; she can't accept it! To the capital fall under only one night? Unacceptable! Such thing never before happened under the course of history.

Thinking about it, the capital never before invaded by enemy forces. The whole thing was absurd.

"I bought a few soldiers with myself and the humanitarian forces stationed in Akusho still holding the line with the help of your serviceman and woman and the adventures passing through the city. However, without reinforcements, they will fall. Unfortunately because of the temporary non-aggression pact, and the shortness of our time I can't bring more than a few units from my elite guard force to help out." explained Beelzebub.

Itami nodded wiping away his sweat. "What do you propose?"

Beelzebub turned to Piña. "Piña what is the most defensible location in the capital?"

After thinking through her options, the princess answered confidently. "The Imperial Palace, the military presence of the district is quite high with a lot of choke points and archers in every wall. The whole district engineered to slow down the advancement of the enemy."

Bowing his head, Beelzebub accepted the proposition. "Please lead the way, then there we can rally the soldiers and gather our strength. Unfortunately being something blocking my teleportation magic, I could not use it to teleport us there without the risk ending up in a wall. Neither I am explicit enough to try it alone."

The stocky Kuribayashi backed in horror. "I-In the wall?"

Beelzebub confirming with a nod. Closing his eyes, sent a mental message to the guards he brought, in order to save as many civilians as they can and herd them in a safe place.

Being under this delicate political situation if he would be brought more soldiers at the capital, that would risk a full-scale war; the fight would be short but bloody. He was sure in his father's victory, still, he just does not want to conduct senseless genocide. He was not that type of man. Neither his father are willing to waste precious resources.

Beelzebub suspected how his father gears moved, being his emotion suppression that made him unable fully embrace emotions, it was expected Ainz thought in a more logical, colder way, thus seeing his subjects more like resources than actual people.

But even then, still he understands them and sought to build his kingdom the best way it is possible.

Beelzebub was proud of his father, and if he ever inherit his throne or Ainz himself entrust a province to him to rule, he wanted to do like his father, he wanted to make him proud. He knows he would never be able to replace him as ruler, he could only try. But if he ever steps down the throne, everyone in the kingdom knows, no one can replace him ever.

Beelzebub only hoped the few elite royal guard unit he brought with himself will be enough until he gains some kind of permission from the current Emperor for a large-scale operation inside of the borders of the capital. Until that, the demonic invasion remains.

"Lead the way Piña, we are backing you…"

The Imperial princess nodded, and the little group continued their stroll through the alleys. Fighting off the seemingly endlessly appearing demons.

The palace which Piña led them into was plunged into chaos.

One could see various items and furniture tumbled to the floor.

Not only had the bureaucrats not rectified this matter, but they were sobbing in the corner, while the Praetorian guards were standing aside in a stupor. Others were prostrate on the ground, praying to the gods to save them.

Naturally, neither Piña nor Sugawara were questioned. Neither did anyone try to impede them as they proudly strolled through the passageway. Cutting through the shaking walls of Praetorian guards who stood guard at the entrance of the palace.

The entrance literally littered with corpses, but the crown prince of the Sorcerous Kingdom was satisfied seeing his Elite Royal Guards, Death Knights and Nephalem Guards standing on the top of the stairs. Their commander behind them.

The magical barrage was constant that released from the focus objects of the magic casters, and the Nephalem Guards energy based weapons. Keeping away the demons with flying capabilities.

Seemingly no guard force questioned the appearance of these strange beings after their arrival with the civilians they saved under their way. The imperial guards were just glad they don't have to face those demons and die in the process.

As she saw the sad state the palace had been reduced to, Piña grabbed her head and ordered her guards to find the officials in charge of the court in order to gather them up for a briefing.

Beelzebub ordered a few of his free men to help the guards sort their ranks, finding the officials.

In any event, they needed to restore order to this chaos. For that, they needed to gather the people in charge.

"Hmm. The quality of the troops has dropped," Piña sighed as she saw the soldiers frozen in just about every corner she cared to look.

She wanted to get surprised, but she just can't, knowing what kind of force the veteran soldiers have fallen, she just simply can't.

And here they are now, her own Empire forces trembling in the corner as their supposed enemy protecting the civilians and holding the line. Truly pathetic...

After all, she had experienced it firsthand, so she could understand their terror at a natural disaster and the sudden demonic invasion they had never seen before. However, she was still disappointed by how disorganized the Praetorians were.

They had taken away a lot of officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) from the Praetorians in order to reconstitute the legions. The soldiers who replaced them were poorly trained and inexperienced. The negative results of that approach were on display now.

For a moment, Piña stopped, breathing heavily she looked pale. Beelzebub recognizing stepped close to her and patted her shoulder. "Are you all right?"

Breathing heavily she gulped, bowing his head. "Ye-Yes… thank you, just this whole night seems absurd. Is this a dream?"

Releasing a tired sigh the first heir of Ainz looked back at her. "I am afraid; it is not… but don't worry, we will see through this together."

She doesn't know what get her, but tears started to roll down on her delicate cheeks, burying her face in the armored chest of the man. "Thank you…"

After the momentary emotional breakdown, Piña and the others finally reached the Emperor's bedchamber.

As they looked around, they found that shockingly enough, the Praetorians assigned to protect the bedchamber were gone. They must have fled or otherwise disappeared at some point. Piña suddenly felt the strength leave her body, and she took a deep breath to regain her spirits.

"Sugawara-dono. Prince Beelzebub, I will introduce all of you to the Emperor. Until then, could you keep quiet?"

Since this was a necessary part of courtly etiquette, Beelzebub and Sugawara would naturally obey. Momon just watched as the situation unfolds, being he was ordered to do so as the Prince's appointed bodyguard. Occasionally answering Itami's and the others in present questions.

After that, Piña let the maids open the door to the bedchamber.

"Oh? I believed the first one here would be Diabo or Zorzal. To think it would be you, Piña."

The Emperor sat upon his bed, his face covered in cold sweat as he welcomed Piña.

It looked like he wanted to see which of his children would come first in this time of emergency.

Although he was slightly disappointed that reality did not match his predictions, now was not the time to be so relaxed.

"Your Majesty. Please prepare yourself."

Piña ordered a maid to get the Emperor dressed. After that, she had her guards surround them for protection as she accompanied her father to the audience chamber.

The Emperor rose, although he still needed to hold onto Piña's shoulder to move.

After entering the audience chamber, they saw that the civil and military officials gathered there all had panicky looks on their faces. Then they closed in on Piña and the Emperor to beg their aid.

Piña helped the Emperor onto his throne.

"Don't panic. You lot, bring the ministers and the other officials in here."

"Military officers, go get control of the troops and prepare for battle. Defend the Palace. Also, have the troops find the generals throughout the Capital and have them report to the Palace."

As they heard Piña's voice, the various officials remembered their jobs and went into action. After emerging from a vortex of chaos, they all regained their discipline and began moving in the same direction.

Piña breathed a sigh of relief as the court finally resumed its normal functioning.

However, as she looked around carefully, she saw that the candle stands and other articles in the audience chamber lay scattered on the ground, and the shattered remains of the picture frames littered the ground.

A corpse of a lower level demon laying on the floor of the audience room, a demon who managed to get through before Beelzebub's guards arrived. It took the sacrifice of the bravest men from the empire to take down even one of the monstrosity who tore through them like paper.

She suppressed a gasp at the sight of the audience chamber's dismal state and ordered the maids to tidy this place up.

Organizing the audience chamber should have been the job of the Emperor's most trusted advisors. Typically speaking, Piña and the maids would be forbidden from this room. What they did was in defiance of the court's rules. However, in this time of emergency, only she and the others could act regularly, so it could not be helped.

At these occasions… no, it was precisely because of times like these that maintaining one's dignity was even more critical. The panicking people could calm down after seeing the stern discipline of the audience chamber. In contrast, if the audience chamber remained a mess, it would only intensify the confusion in their hearts.

The first time she saw the chamber's luxurious decorations, she grumbled that they were useless frippery, but now she saw the purpose of the grand display here. That was to say, without those decorations, the audience chamber itself would be useless frippery.

Until recently, Piña and her knight band respected practicality and looked down on the extravagance of the palace's furnishings. But after taking on the task of being the intermediary for the Empire's diplomatic relations with the two foreign nations, she finally understood their purpose.

"Piña, you seem to have shed a layer of skin."

However, Piña did not understand the hidden meaning in the Emperor's words, and replied, "My skin is in place, and it is undamaged."

And then, the Emperor's grave facade crumbled.

"Piña, for a while now, there's been a group of unfamiliar people by your side. Since there is some time before the generals gather, why don't you introduce them?"

Piña nodded, and then slightly lowered a voice. Then she opened her hand and indicated Beelzebub and Sugawara like she was slashing at them.

"Allow me to introduce the ambassador from the land of Japan, Sugawara-dono and the first Prince of the Sorcerous Kingdom. Prince Beelzebub."

Sugawara took a step toward the Emperor with his chest held high, then lowered his head in respect. Behind him, Itami and the others saluted in time with Sugawara. The way they did things was slightly different from the usual courtly etiquette.

"It is good to meet you finally, your grace. I am Kōji Sugawara. Sent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. I am tasked to be the ambassador as well the mediator until we solve this tight situation."

Molt nodded acknowledgment, then turned to Beelzebub.

Beelzebub taking a step forward bowed his head in respect. "Your Grace, it is good to meet you finally. It is a pity to be the first official encounter had to be amidst a demonic invasion. I am Prince Beelzebub, the first heir of the Sorcerous King, Ainz Ooal Gown. Unfortunately, my father is a busy man; this is why he cannot be present to conduct his intentions personally."

The Emperor simply shrugged. "Hmph… it cannot be helped Prince Beelzebub. Hard times born desperate solutions. Although, please accept my thanks helping my daughter in this dire situation. I hope she did not give you any kind of hardship or make you feel uncomfortable."

Beelzebub smiled mischievously, then turned slightly towards the redhead princess. Then right after back to her father. "I assure you, she is more than adequate to handle every situation she might be forced."

Piña sighed relieved, one moment she thought Beelzebub might say something embarrassing.

Molt bowed his head understanding. "I am glad to hear my daughter doing good."

Both the Emperor and the Prince know it is no time for pleasantries, still, they forced to keep up the protocol, just to give the people the air that said. 'We are aware of the situation, everything under control.'

"The Sorcerous Kingdom? The land of Japan?" mumbled Molt thinking through his options.

"I see, so you have accepted the role of a mediator between our Empire and the newcomers. But why have you brought them here at this time? They have come all this way, but we have not yet welcomed them properly."

"Forgive me, Father. But I heard they were knowledgeable about this earthquake and the sudden demonic invasion, and they said this would only get worse if we don't do something. Therefore I kept them by my side to benefit from their advice."

Those words made Piña's father blanch.

"You, you said the invasion would be worse?"

"Indeed, which was why I asked them to come with us."

The Emperor wiped off the sweat that suddenly beaded on his nose with his pajama sleeve.

"Very well. Your grace, Ambassador-dono, I bid you welcome."

Sugawara, who had been introduced at first, spoke the words he had been rehearsing in his mind.

"Thank you very much. I pray your Majesty will be in good spirits."

"How could I be in good spirits after this cataclysm? However, it would seem it has also let me see how my daughter has grown. I must thank you for that once again."

"No, your Majesty. All this was the result of her Highness' training and refinement."

"I always thought she was just playing war games."

"Her Highness has long graduated from games! If her Highness were to go to war now, I am certain she would be an excellent commander!"

The sudden interruption came from Hamilton.

Right after that, Hamilton realized that she had rudely interrupted a conversation between the Emperor and a foreign ambassador, so she blushed and tried to make herself as small as possible. However, Beelzebub, Sugawara and the Emperor ignored her. If they did not, they would have to censure her for her rudeness.

"I vouch for her highness, your majesty. She showed prowess and drive I rarely see on the battlefield. She is indeed a great commander." Confirmed Beelzebub what he previously stated.

Molt raised his brow and glanced at his daughter with an interested expression. "Is that so…"

Then closed his eyes and looked back at the two ambassadors.

"Please forgive me. Regretfully, we are busy at the moment. At any other time, we would have prepared a great feast for you. Forgive our poor hospitality tonight."

"Yes, your Majesty. There will be many other opportunities to discuss the future of our nations."

Sugawara bowed once more and then retreated behind Piña. He had said what he wanted to say.

Beelzebub took the reins from under his hands. "Your majesty, the state of the city is dire. If we don't do something, I fear the whole city will fall victim of the demonic invasion we face. Everyone will be either enslaved by the demons or killed, the capital either will be turned the nest of demons or burned to the ground by the demon we face."

"Forgive me Prince Beelzebub for my following rude remark, but let me ask you… aren't you demon as well? How can I be sure I can trust you? How can I be sure you don't just backstab me when the time is right?"

Good question, if Momonga would be a beginner in the field of politic and strategic planning he as well would not know the answer. But now, even he was not sure how old he was, he had a handful of experience with such things through the years.

Ainz only hoped Albedo taught Beelzebub how to handle such delicate political situations.

The first prince bowed his head. "I assure you, if I were with the attacking demons, I would not be sent my private guards to save as many civilians as they can and guard the entrance of the palace. Instead, I would send infiltrator units to weaken the defense or even assassinate your leadership."

"Oh, they were your guards back then, thank you for that. The people of the Empire and I as well very grateful for your action." After giving his thanks, raising his head the emperor gazed into the half demon's slit eyes.

"So, what do you propose?"

"If you give me the permission, I can call further reinforcements in the capital, giving us enough time to evacuate and fight off the demons, giving us enough time to face the leader of this uprising. Of course, after the threat subdued, we immediately pull out from your Capital and let you recuperate as the pact states. We even help with the restoration if you request us. Free for of charge, of course, just to show my father's goodwill towards your people."

Offered nobly Albedo's spawn, showing a sincere, stern expression.

Molt clicked his tongue unsatisfied; it seemed this was not the answer he waited for.

"Unacceptable, if I would accept the entrance of hostile forces in my capital that would be equivalent to total surrender, I refuse. We will solve the situation somehow as always…"

Piña paled, gulping nervously stepped forward. "Father! Please think about it! If we don't do something, the city will fall!"

Molt only grunted with displeasure.

Just as he was speaking, a great sound came from the hallway behind them.

"Father, Father, are you alright?!"

Zorzal charged into the audience chamber like a wild horse.

His lackeys had their breastplates on backward, and their sandals on the wrong foot and some of them had their scabbards but no swords. They were apparently in a panic.

He was followed by Serene and Eleanor. The daughter of Zesshi Zetsumei changed into a full plated battle gear, bearing the cross-shaped war scythe, similar to her mother's.

Eleanor wore her usual red attire, being she was mostly a magic caster, not a close ranged fighter, it was more than enough protection for her. She lacked in weaponry, but she could easily substitute her lack of weapon with her magical might and talent. The talent almost rivaled his father's prowess when he first arrived at Gown Prime.

Several neatly armored Royal Guards followed them with Dyel Gan Thro as the first in line, as the commander of the two princesses royal guard unit, his place was near them.

The armor of the royal guards almost spotless, only stained with demon blood. The blood of the demons they slew under their way here.

Their fighting technique that the soldiers trained, honed and refined for numerous years through the battles they fought, showed their dedication towards their kingdom. The fighting technique that developed to fight against overwhelming odds and giant-sized enemies effectively came handy under their current circumstances.

Their armors and weapons enchanted, made by the best craftsmen in the kingdom, strengthened by the runesmiths of the Dwarwen runemasters of the Azerlisia Mountain.

Wearing items, each of them worth a lesser country.

However, in number few, the order of the Royal Guards only counted five hundred thousand. But their dedication and merciless training with eight from ten mortality rate in the first round made them a force to be reckoned, be it a one-one duel or facing overwhelming odds against sturdier, bigger opponents, such as monsters. Their average strength level balancing between Mythril and Orichalcum level without gear.

The delicately handpicked and trained elite guards cannot be compared to Zorzal's unfitting lackeys. Even the thought of it was embarrassing.

Zorzal had a chain in hand, and the other side was linked to a collar, which was locked around the neck of Tyuule. The white Warrior Bunny Tyuule had been dragged wearing her simple brown linen cloth all the way here, and there was a bitter expression on her face.

As Itami, Tomita, and Kuribayashi saw this, they were shocked speechless.

Sugawara, the diplomat, remained impassive, but one could hear him clicking his tongue softly.

"Sister Serene, Sister Eleanor? I am glad you are all right, but what are you doing there?"

Cooling herself with her hand-held fan, Eleanor answered smugly.

"Hhmph… we just gave a lift to Prince Zorzal who was so nice to entertain us, until the discussion begins with the Emperor."

"Demon!" Zorzal barked bluntly as he pulled out his sword. "Father, Lady Serene, Lady Eleanor. Piña. Stand behind me quickly; then we can flee together."

In the next moment, Zero flashed before him. Grabbing his sword amidst his thumb and index finger. The automaton saw the perfect opportunity to end this fly and he will use it to end him.

Zorzal momentarily can't even budge his sword, like it was stuck in an immovable stone. Then with a simple motion, the automaton butler snapped the weapon in half.

"You threatened the first heir of the kingdom, the punishment is… death." Zorzal can't even react; the nerve pulses does not even reach his brain when Zero raised his hand to behead him with the edge of his palm.

But suddenly. With a blink like movement, Beelzebub flashed near him and stopped his hand in the air. But because of Zero's high physical stats and the level difference between them, it was hard to hold him back even for him.

"Zero-kun… that's enough! We are not here to start a war, stand… down…"

Bowing his head the servant eased his stance. "As you wish, Beelzebub-sama."

"Hah! Know your place you maggot!" showing a smug grin, Zorzal smiled, being too sure of his own superiority, he can't even recognize the light punch collided his stomach. Making him vomit the food that the automaton NPC cooked, and collapsing on the ground.

"Don't anger Zero-san, next time I might not be able to stop his hand to behead you…"

Zorzal looked up at his fellow prince with a furious expression. Gritting his teeth, holding his stomach he sat on the ground. Beelzebub went really easy on him, if he would put some strength in the strike, he would blow away Zorzal under a moment notice. The physical power that he inherited from his mother sometimes can be a real nuisance.

Usually, merely drawing a weapon in front of the Emperor in court was a grave offense, to say nothing of actually offering violence to a member of the Imperial family. However, the court was currently paralyzed in the wake of the earthquake, not speaking about the demonic invasion. The Praetorians who should have defended the Emperor and his household were missing. Since there was nobody to maintain order, the area before the throne was a sea of chaos.

"Who the hell are you!? Demon!?" shuttered Zorzal in pain. But Beelzebub paid him no heed instead turned to his sisters. "I see you found an another toy to play with, how long until he wears out this time? One week? Two? Hmm?"

Beelzebub know Eleanor fetishes and hobbies she inherited from her mother, he also knows the sick games she used to play with the people behind her father's back. Beelzebub naturally was sure Ainz know about it, the only thing he doesn't understand why the ruler of death didn't do anything against his daughter's unacceptable behavior.

Meanwhile, Ainz groaned under his cover personality. _"Ahhh… this again, first this invasion then the prattle of these two. Then Zero almost killed a royalty in the presence of his father. It is worse enough with Eleanor inherited her mother's nature and now this… I really pity that poor guy she picks as a toy. I tried to explain her she can't do this, but she… ahhh! She is like her mother! I can't do anything with her!"_

After releasing a disturbing sight that said _'I can't take it anymore…'_ Ainz under his Momon cover persona continued his internal monolog.

 _"_ _I really need a long break. I wonder why Demiurge organized the demonic invasion once again. Why he just can't tell me about his plans? It is too much to ask to notify me about what's happening?"_

Grumbling in the corner of his head, Momonga remembered the numerous times when his vassals acted out of his knowledge, only because they thought he is the 'All Seeing Eye' in the sky.

 _"_ _Of course I should suspect such thing might happen, no one tells me anything, sometimes I really loathe my silence back then, why can't I just told them I have no freaking idea what's going on? Why can't I act sooner? If I would, I would not be in such tight situation now, or at least I could prepare beforehand."_

Rolling his eyes sarcastically Momonga grumbled under his armor.

 _"_ _That's it! After all this mess sorted, I am going to a long ass vacation… alone… I even 'borrow' Esdeath's ring that makes me completely untraceable. She is my regent, after all, it is time to use her and for her to learn to take responsibility…"_

Meanwhile in reality.

"I don't know what you are speaking about…brother…" fluttered away from the accusation the undead daughter with an innocent expression.

Beelzebub just glared at her. "Yeah, sure… like the last twenty times, grow up sis…"

"Hmph…" Eleanor raised her nose with an offended, 'I beg you pardon' expression and looked away.

"You!" recognizing Zero the Emperor pointed at him.

"You came to finish your work? Come then! I don't fear you gutless assassin."

Zero give Molt a killing glare, then shrugged disgusted fixing his gloves.

"I am only here to guard Ainz-sama's daughters. I have no interest in you... meat bag…

Huffed Zero with disgust. Then pointed at the Emperor threatening.

"However, considering you heavily exceeded the time limit to fulfill Ainz-sama's claims. Even after he generously extended it multiple times and even sent you warning about the time limit, the adequate response would be to simply march right into your capital, kill, torture and flay everyone who resists, then with fast space taking over the whole Empire, estimated under a mere week."

Piña paled, then looked at her father with a confused complexion.

"I don't care about this pathetic demonic invasion, if not Ainz-sama's and Creator-sama's strict orders; I would gladly start the process right here and now, be it demonic invasion or not."

Molt just waved away the death threat with a huffing wave, leaning away supporting his head with his fist. He seemed slightly disturbed remembering those 'claims.'

"Even mentioning those claims are ridiculous. Getting rid of slavery altogether in the whole Empire under a month? Ridiculous. Giving the people choice? Eradicate every law supporting racial discrimination? Outrageous. Subjecting ourselves to total vassalage to this so-called the Sorcerous Kingdom? Scandalous! That would be equal of total surrender. You might simply invade and conquer us, simply eradicate the leadership and replace them."

 _"_ _What!? I remember mentioning to Demiurge about the slavery thing, but invading? True I might say something about repercussions if they refuse to do so… but I never thought about a total invasion! 'Sigh…' why Demiurge and Albedo had to overthink everything?"_

Ainz really had enough, if not his immunity to mental effects he would be crying in the corner. By the way, in the dark corner of his head, he just crouched and thought hardly where things went wrong. Surrounded by a wailing depressive aura.

Sugawara turned his gaze slightly at Zero. Thinking hardly if he was indeed serious threatening the Emperor or not.

Back in Earth if a representative would act like this, openly threatening the other side with annihilation, it would surely negatively affect the said country reputation, moreover, it is possible the United Nations even bring heavy sanctions against them.

Everything aside, he was sure if the Sorcerous Kingdom would invade the Empire one moment to another the uproar would be chaotic at least, the people would force the hand the governments of Earth to make steps. Thus, forcing them to take the side of the downtrodden Empire. Forcing the UN to intervene with force if necessary.

Most people would see this as charity, but for the big time players, it was just guaranteeing the future access of the raw resources of this world. Even if in the process they had to sacrifice people for the cause. They will do it for the increase of their wealth no matter what.

As a famous saying goes: 'Older men start wars, but younger men fight them...'

"Zero-kun… that was just rude…" scolded him, Eleanor. "This is not the time for discussing such things."

Raising from the ground, Zorzal looked at his father. "Father! These monsters caused all of this! We need to flee and reorganize our lines!"

"Where will we run to? Hmmm?" ruffled the emperor.

"In any case, we need to get out of here."

Piña turned to her elder brother, who was harassing the Emperor and said, "Ani-ue, just now, I ordered the generals to report to the Palace. If we leave now and the officials return to find nobody here, the palace will be thrown into chaos."

However, Zorzal replied, "We don't have time for that!"

If this went on, it might be seen as the Emperor abandoning his throne.

Suddenly a terrifying screech broke through the halls, and a substantial flaming dog jumped through the open window, cutting through the walls, making space for itself.

"Bauuuuuk!" it roared, from its mouth dripping its acidic, flaming saliva. Suddenly looking in the direction of the trembling Praetorians it charged towards them. Swallowing at least three of them at the whole. Then proceeding towards its next meal.

Molt, Zorzal, Hamilton and even Piña who faced such being in the streets beforehand trembled.

The beast turned towards Sugawara, squinting its eyes releasing a scream like a bark, charged towards the representative. Wanting to nothing more to devour and digest his soul amidst its acidic purgatory, called the stomach.

Kuribayashi, Tomita, and Itami under a moment notice raised their rifle and released a barrage of hot lead. That seemingly had barely any effect on the hellish dog.

Sugawara felt the time is slowing; his heart beat faster than ever before. His adrenaline level at its peak. He wanted to move, but it was like he stuck in a drift.

The hound almost reached him, then...

An armored person stepped before him, black and white heterochromatic hair, elf-like ears. Her stature was impressive. Raising her huge double-edged war scythe carving the beast at two with only one move.

Time seemed to move again normally as he breathed, sweated heavily.

The foul, acidic blood of the creature splattered on the ground, immediately biting a big chunk out from the marble floor.

The armored girl kicked the hound a few times then huffed discontentedly. "Hmph… that's all? I expected more…" she announced rather unsatisfied.

"Tha-" Sugawara gulped. "Thank you…"

"No problem…" waved away his concern Serene with a passive motion. Cleaning her weapon from the beast foul blood.

Piña immediately ran to Molt, checking he is alright. The emperor being completely pale and disoriented could not shutter a single word.

"Father! Are you all right?" Asked the redhead princess with a concerned tone.

The Praetorians started to panic seeing how quickly the beast broke through the walls. If one of them able to do it. Then there is a high chance the others would be able to do it as well.

Running to his father, dragging Tyuule with himself Zorzal approached his father with fast space. However, because of his quick action, the former queen of warrior bunnies stumbled, falling on the ground, making Zorzal release the chain connected to her collar.

Momon immediately jumped to her like a true knight. His dark armor shone in the pale moonlight. Catching her amidst her fall.

"Are you all right?" his voice thick, muscular, making Tyuule blush for a moment.

"I-I am fine… thank you…"

Momon nodded. "I am glad, let's get rid of this collar." grabbing the collar the dark legend gently broke the sturdy device.

"Don't worry… I will protect you, are you a slave?"

Tyuule nodded shyly. "Ye-yes…" she doesn't know what hit her. Even being in the presence of the man seethed her drive for vengeance, replaced from some kind of dizzy feeling as her heartbeat hastened.

"What's your name?"

"Ty-Tyuule…" The former queen blushed, slightly turning her head away from the mysterious, tempting warrior.

Seeing her adorable reaction, Momon just chuckled. He himself didn't understand as well, even after he lived through ages, ages considered impossible for an average person. But whenever he spoke to a person, be it either man or woman or even sexless creature.

The said person either freak out and descends into the paranoiac state. Or fall of his so-called:

'Irresistible bony charm provided and fueled by his daily milk consumption' as Esdeath formulated her sentence.

He really needs to make her stop announce these ridiculous compliments in public. The last of her quip became a proverb in the kingdom, even included in the newest proverb dictionary. First, it was amusing, now it was rather annoying hearing again and again as the people recall her senseless, sarcastic sentences.

He really loved his friend, after all, she was all who remained from his former comrades, but sometimes, she was just too much to bear even for him.

Just now Ainz remembered the former Emperor of the vassalized Baharuth Empire of Gown prime.

Poor Jircniv, Ainz just wanted to be a proper host and befriend him, or the former 'Bloody Emperor' mental breakdown was the side effect of Ainz's constant spying?

He doesn't know he never experienced such side effect of the Mirror of Remote Viewing. Being Ainz had no prior experience ruling over subjects in that time, he hoped by watching Jircniv's daily routine he may learn something useful.

But the guy ended bald after approximately two years out of his constant stress and fear. Thinking Ainz is constantly spying after him, thinking he is a devil itself seeing through every plan of his.

A few more years and he became a mumbling, paranoid, bald wretched who stared the walls all day long... poor guy, Ainz just wanted to make him his friend. Ainz never wanted to ruin the man. He even offered a helping hand when his health turned dire, but as he approached him, he simply committed suicide. Such a pity, he seemed a good guy.

Shaking his head, sighing, Ainz returned from his mindscape.

Tyuule turned her head away, puffing her cheek like an offended little girl. She was slightly offended by Momon's playful chuckle.

"Please forgive me. I am Momon. By the way… Do you want to be free? Tyuule?"

Tyuule was sound for a moment. Considering her options. She was completely confused, she wanted to continue, and her goal was just before her. But… when she tried to refuse the offer, she can't utter the words. She could only utter the words. "Ye-Yes… please save me…"

Momon bowed his head, then turned to Serene. "Princess Serene, Sugawara-dono. May you be the witness to her liberation?"

Sugawara smiling bowed his head, Serene just nodded. "Sure. Momon-san. Go right ahead."

"Very well, by the right that the Sorcerer King bestowed upon me. I Momon the Black, declare you free before the people of the free world. If anyone else wants to deny your right to be free. You are free to defend your freedom. Repeat after me the oath of liberty."

Momon gazed deeply into Tyuule eyes and the red spots behind his helmet flared up momentarily.

"I Tyuule…"

"I Tyuule…"

"No longer bound by the chains of my captors…"

"No longer bound by the chains of my captors…"

"Never again subject myself the will of others, my fate, and my will is my own. Free to decide how I live and in the end how I die…"

"Never again subject myself the will of others, my fate, and my will is my own. Free to decide how I live and in the end how I die…"

Tyuule repeated the oath, tears gathering in her eyes.

"I Tyuule, by the right of the freedom bestowed upon me by my own birthright, declare my own person free, no longer subjected to the desires of anyone else, but my own…"

"I Tyuule, by the right of the freedom bestowed upon me by my own birthright, declare my own person free, no longer subjected to the desires of anyone else, but my own…"

Tears are rolling down on Tyuule's face, she was the verge of breaking down. The dam of her tear duct barely could hold under the emotional pressure.

"I declare myself free. Thus, if anyone else disputes my liberty I am free to protect it any tool I deem necessary."

"I declare myself free. Thus, if anyone else disputes my liberty I am free to protect it any tool I deem necessary."

The oath finished, and Momon nodded his head approvingly. "Good. Now you are a free woman. You can go wherever you like, do whatever you want."

For a moment, the woman was speechless. She was finally free, but then... she doesn't know what to do with her freedom. Since Zorzal's betrayal, she had no other goal than the demise of the Empire. But now... she felt empty, she felt that is no longer a considerable option, seeing Momon, she already knows, this Empire will fall one way or another. It's only a matter of time.

Momon stood up and turned back his protected person. His form seemed to swell even more heroic in the eyes of the woman, he seemed like a living god in her eyes. The god of justice and righteousness.

After a momentary hesitation and inner struggle what to do. She made her decision. Kneeling before the dark warrior she spoke.

"I am grateful, Lord Momon. How can I thank you for your generosity? How can I pay back such miracle?"

"Please stand up. You are free after all."

Tyuule hesitated and looked at the sidelines. "Still... this is too much... I..." her words abruptly blocked by Momon's booming voice.

"It is not important if you want to thank someone, thanks to the Sorcerous Kingdom's laws those made it possible to liberate you."

Meanwhile, Zorzal grabbed firmly his father's forearm urged him to stand up and leave the city. Don't even recognizing he most likely lost his last slave.

"Father! We must leave! Now, or everything else will be lost! If you don't come, I will drag you away!"

"It is enough!" roared Emperor Molt, pulling out his hand from his son's grasp forcefully. Zorzal backed for a moment, never before he saw his father this angry.

Turning towards the first heir of Ainz, Molt measured him. Then bowed his head thoughtfully for a moment.

"Prince Beelzebub, assume I will accept your offer, how soon your forces would be able to join the defense? What do you want in return? Do you know the enemy we are facing?"

"Father! You can't..."

"Sush!" the Emperor raised his hand, quietening the first heir immediately.

Beelzebub looked towards the hole in the wall and squinted his eyes. "Sister, please confirm, are the area around the capital dimensionally locked?"

Eleanor closing her eyes extended her magical radar, nodding confirmed what her brother implied.

"Yes, but not just the capital, but everything in a several kilometer's radius around the city. Whoever did this either used a world item or close in strength to a floor guardian, no… even a floor guardian are hardly able to extend dimensional lock to such extent."

 _"_ _Ahh… Demiurge is overdoing it… again…"_ Ainz groaned. _"I wonder how_ many servants _he requested for this action... or he became such_ proficient using _his_ ability over _the years? I don't really know... he is always so secretive and deceptive..."_

"Dimensionally lock?" turned towards her Sugawara.

"Floor guardian?" asked Itami dumbfounded.

A cocky smile curled on Serene's face placing her weapon on her shoulder. "Perfect! It is time to show my combat skills. Father will be proud!"

 _"_ _Why everyone in my family either a battle addict or simply a pervert? This not fair… I just want a normal family with everyday problems…"_ Releasing a tired sight, Ainz commented.

Beelzebub just eyed his youngest sister, but otherwise letting her comment unanswered, a small smile curled on his face remembering their childhood in the royal court.

That innocent little girl who always wanted to show her worth to her father, always nagging her Onii-san to train together, be stronger together.

She was always like this, a tomboyish girl who rather preferred training and combat than balls.

She was a good girl, and the two of them shared a positive relationship in their childhood. They even shared training session privately, sometimes under the tutelage of Cocytus, their aunt and when his time allowed, even with their father.

But as they grow, these sessions became rarer and rarer, as the years passed the responsibility of royalties descended heavily on their shoulders. Separating them bit by bit.

Eleanor after a nod, started her explanation, answering the previously stated questions of Itami and Sugawara.

"Yes, floor guardians, father's strongest vassals guarding the realm of Nazarick, the realm where my father and the Supreme Beings resides. As for the [Dimensional Lock]. It is an ability only the highest level demons and angels able to use. In short, it makes impossible to use any kind of teleportation and transportation magic in the affected area."

"Wow! They can do that?!" Itami exclaimed excitedly. His stature changed, now he resembled more of an excited Otaku than a trained soldier.

"First Lieutenant! Sir!" scolded him Kuribayashi. "This is not the right time for that!"

"Ahh… sorry…" Itami scratched his head with a sheepish expression.

Molt nodded. "So, it is then, very well, how long time until your forces can join our defense?"

"I have forces prepared, but being the [Dimensional Lock] still active they can only arrive the border of the effect. The heavier units can reach the Capital in around ten minutes with full speeded march, then join the battle."

Molt raised one of his brows. "That means you have a fully armed unit near the capital…" sighing he shook his head. "That means you have been prepared for this all along…"

Piña turned towards her fellow royalty with frightful eyes, in her oculars the light of betrayal flickered.

"Be-Beelzebub it is true? You wanted to take over the capital despite your promise?"

She was disturbed, in her heart, a storm raged. Piña just can't decide what she heard is true or not. No, she refused even the thought of it. Beelzebub was an honorable man; he would never… but if there is even a chance she must be on her guard.

Raising his hand, the half-demon prince waved away her worries. "Don't worry… they will arrive as I and my guards arrived, thought teleportation, now we already know why we can't directly teleport into the city. We can plan accordingly."

The emperor slightly turned his head to Beelzebub.

"Teleportation, that's some kind of transportation method? I never heard such thing before."

"In short, Teleportation or teletransportation is the theoretical transfer of matter or energy from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them. It makes possible for us to move forces or travel one point to the other instantly. Of course in a normal battle where the enemy using countermeasures against teleportation, it is a risky move."

Explained Beelzebub with great care, it seemed the countless hours he spent learning magic theory paid out.

"Use it then…" ruffled Molt.

"Father! You cannot be serious! You seriously willing to play the Capital in the hands of these barbarians?!" shouting Zorzal motioned towards the invaders. Accusing them of treason.

"Zorzal! That's enough! Currently, we are under siege! We have no other choice just to accept the offer and hope the best."

Gritting his teeth Zorzal stormed away, wanting to drag away Tyuule. To his surprise, the slave collar previously settled around her neck, completely gone. Only the bruises remained after it, signing her previous slave state.

"Where is your collar whore!? How did you get rid of it?!"

Grabbing the wrist of the former slave he wanted to drag her away. To his surprise, the former broken toy of his struggled. Slightly glancing at Momon, the black-clad man give her an approving nod.

A sadistic grin curled on her face, raising her slender leg, using her beast lineage she kicked Zorzal between his legs. Breaking his crown jewels. Making the man collapse on the ground, groaning unable to act.

Then releasing her anger, kicking his stomach and head a few more times, even breaking out a few of his tooths. Soon Sugawara signed subtly to Kuribayashi and she dragged Tyuule back.

Naturally, the remained lackeys of Zorzal who did not flee already wanted to kill the woman.

Advancing steadily the men readied their spears.

They were stopped by the sound of the clicking Type 64 battle rifles as Sugawara guards unlocked their weapon's safety mechanism with a simple move. Releasing one-one warning shoot right before the feet of the thugs. Halting their advancement immediately.

This gruesome scene finally came to an end when the door to the audience chamber opened,

The ministers, generals and those Praetorians who had regained their discipline were all led here by Count Marx. However, as they saw what was before the throne, they froze.

The first thing they saw were scattered corpses, followed by Zorzal, who looked like he had been applying blood to himself as makeup.

Zorzal's broken teeth were scattered all over the floor, along with what looked like molars. Blood streamed from his mouth and nose. Everyone who saw him was frightened.

Eleanor sighed dissatisfied closing her fan. "What a mess…"

Walking to Zorzal, the undead princess looked down at him. The first prince of the Empire looked up to her hopefully, like a child searching his mother, hoping she will protect him. Grabbing her long heavy skirt.

Crouching to his level. She smiled charmingly. "Let me heal you…"

After raising her hand a faint red light released from her palm, making Zorzal injuries disappear immediately.

Eleanor felt something, like some kind of potion circulating in Zorzal's veins, recognizing the nature of the liquid, a small, innocent looking smile curled on her face.

But inside, she laughed slyly, suspecting the expected effect of the potion. " _Is that so... this makes things more_ interesting _..."_ these thoughts ran through her mind suddenly.

"Better?" she asked happily. Showing her best, charming smile to the man before her.

Inspecting himself, stretching his hand, checking his now full dental. Zorzal showed a confident smile. Bowing his head in total submission.

"Yes, Lady Eleanor. I never felt better, thanks to you I feel better than ever. I am literally overflowing with energy!"

Tyuule scoffed, she wanted him to suffer, and now that midget healed him. Not fair.

"You will suffer for this transgressions whore! I made sure of it!" Threatened her the crown prince of the empire.

Of course, he does not dare to advance. Instead glared his former slave from the far.

The former slave who hugged Momon's muscled, armored biceps glared back at him for a moment; then a mocking smile curled on her face. Showing him the smile about her total, dominating victory.

Sugawara shook his head disapprovingly, then faced the Emperor.

"Your Majesty. I hope you will reserve your welcome for after we solved this critical situation."

After saying that, Sugawara exchanged glances with Itami, and then retreated back, giving the stage to Beelzebub who he suspected have something more to discuss with the Emperor, most likely about how to proceed.

"Itami-kun… please radio back to Arnus; we may need their help as well… be discreet…" whispered the diplomat to the first Lieutenant. In answer, he nodded discretely.

However —

"Stop right there, barbarian scum!"

If the praetorians permitted this sort of violence against their leaders, the Empire would be utterly disgraced. Under the command of one of the generals, the Praetorians drew their swords. It looked like there would be another battle here tonight.

"Eleanor-sama, Serene-sama… can I kill them? These bacteria's poisoning my personal space." Zero asked with an expressionless tone, pointing towards the soldiers with the sci-fi like gun materialized in his palm.

Momonga just groaned inside _. "Ahhh… why do you want to kill everyone Zero-san? Did Esdeath make you like this? Of course, she did… damn role-player…"_ He grumbled.

"Hold!"

However, the Emperor's voice kept them from moving. This was because the Emperor was fully aware that fighting against the Sorcerous Kingdom and the JSDF would only add more corpses to those already on the ground.

"We have more important thing than fighting against each other in such dire situation… however, I must state something first…"

The Emperor turned back to Sugawara and Beelzebub.

"Sugawara-dono, Prince Beelzebub. I admit the army of yours is powerful, even formidable. However, being strong in battle does not equate to victory in warfare. Your nations have a grievous weakness."

"And what weakness would that be? Emperor Molt? Care to elaborate?" asked back Ainz's heir, raising one of his brows.

"Your country loves her people; no, not only her people…"

Molt measured Momon for a moment who in exchange glared back at him. Then continued his monologue.

"But watching the scene how one of your elite warriors just proclaimed the right to liberate a slave despite it might cause a diplomatic accident, far too much, perhaps. Excessive righteousness makes you predictable. Excessive trust leads to massive losses. When the enemy is strong, one should not fight them. The tip of the sword is very sharp, but the hilt of the sword is its weakness. If the edge is sharp, then all one needs to do is break it. Even a so-called invincible foe cannot hope to escape unscathed when they are exhausted and fleeing for their lives. Once a country's national power is depleted, no matter how civilized or advanced they are, that country will be destroyed by barbarians. That is a fact which has played out before in history."

Sugawara replied, "Indeed, my and Prince Beelzebub country does have this weakness. Our JSDF trains to defend our country. And I suspect the Sorcerous Kingdom's soldiers do the same out for the same reason. Do you wish to test their conviction?"

"Better question your majesty. Let me ask you, is a king even king without his people? Or it is a simple beggar with all power he wishes, but no one around to acknowledge its authority. No one to receive and fulfill his orders."

"What do you imply Prince Beelzebub?" huffed Molt displeasure.

The redhead princess turned her head with a terrified expression towards him. Hoping he will not make any hasty decision that may deny them the time what she blood sweated won for her nation.

Hoping Beelzebub will not decide to simply withdraw his forces from the Capital and let the innocent people for the mercy of those foul creatures rampaged outside even in this exact moment.

"Do you intend to fight to the end even amidst such circumstances? Have the negotiations not started already? Every one of us would be in a tight situation if you did not recognize already, not just me, but you as well unable to leave the capital because of that huge flame wall and the roaming demons."

 **"** **Mortals! You have one more hour to decide! Life under my rule! Or endless death and suffering by hellfire! For I have returned from my long banishment! And I am more powerful than ever!"** The whole capital boomed as the Demon Emperor announced his threat. " **I am the Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth! Remember and tremble hearing my name!"**

His voice is booming, bone-chilling.

The Earth started to shake once again, ruining many buildings and tearing pieces from the ceiling.

The praetorians shook, no one amongst them dared to move, a few of them even urinated in their pants or simply fainted.

 **"** **Decide now! I, the Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth give you this last chance, decide before my Dark Crusade, my final retribution against the 'king' will start! My hatred is endless, my forces unstoppable, my vengeance will be terrible! Not even the gods can stand in my way! For I am invincible!"**

"Who the hell was that guy?" implied Kuribayashi with an annoyed expression.

"Jaldabaoth…" Momon muttered. His tone completely calm, but Tyuule felt a slight concern hidden under his composed words. "So he returned..."

"Jaldaboth?" asked Molt surprised.

"So he indeed exists... not just fairy tale I read one of the books in the library..."

Beelzebub mumbled under his nose, watching the moon slowly turning blood red coloration. Painting the word in the mix of darkness and crimson death.

Shadows started to emerge and gain volume from the corners as the situation began to turn dire.

How will Prince Beelzebub proceed? What will be the emperor's answer?

Does Molt sacrifice his empire for the sake of his pride? Does he make the right choice?

Seemingly only two choices remained. Submission or defeat. Or there is a third option?

The demon emperor could even be defeated?

You will know next time.

* * *

 **Omake**

 ** _[The next story might confuse you… If you want the best for yourself, please don't take seriously and read with light head (after consuming at least a few liters of alcohol or some kind of hallucinogen mushroom drug or similar substance.)]_**

Drugs are bad, MKay?

-;- **[Really!** ** _Don't take seriously this is just a damn Omake with an absurd situation most likely will never happen!] -;-_**

 ** _Just Enjoy and close your eyes when you see a grammar mistake! XD_**

Sitting on her Tartarean throne of purgatory, surrounded by her demonic servants.

Hardy the goddess of underworld and ruler of Hell was terribly bored. Despite the exciting newcomers, she just can't find any exciting program.

Dangling her legs, sitting in an awkward position on her fiery throne, almost lying instead of sitting.

Wave after wave she released a bored sight. The servant demon was trying to trim her nails desperately tried to keep up with her flailing limbs. It was also a hard task due being a celestial entity she remained the same, no matter what happened, time, and physical injuries no longer affected her.

Thus, every time poor demon trimmed her nail, it just grows back in an instant. Forcing poor servant to start over and over again.

The poor demon did not get paid since he served the goddess, he should start to think about changing job or post a compliment to the trade union.

The struggle of her employee seemingly does not affect the goddess; she seemingly can't even recognize the diligent servant of her.

Her bored gaze nailed a huge screen floated before her. The strange television frame constructed from bones and gruesome melted flesh, adorned with suffering faces of the victims of hers. The whole frame and even the environment painted a horrific picture, a picture you might imagine hell alike.

"Next… next…" she ordered a demon standing vigilantly near the screen. And the servant simply obeyed the order of its ruler, changed channel after channel. (It seems she still lived in the middle ages, she had no clue remote controllers already existed.)

It was some time she sent Giselle to seek out the presence emitting from that fortress her gaze strangely can't penetrate.

She even put away her everyday activity to stalk after Rory to prioritize the investigation of the situation.

Still, she was bored. The other gods seemingly punished her with a thing that the people called 'silent treatment' and it just annoyed her.

Every time she wanted to speak her fellow gods or prank them they just ignored her existence. Hitting them does not help either. They just looked around and blinked a few times, scratched their faces, then ignored her completely. Saying 'It must be just my imagination... there is nothing here.'

Even thinking of it made her pout her face angrily, crossing her arms over her chest.

And it's only getting worse and worse, every time she found an interesting channel to watch something blocked her sight.

A channel where she could finally watch those interesting people, their strange machines and those creatures those really made her curious.

Every time she found something interesting, something strangely cut down her amusement, denying her sight, writing some kind of gibberish message on the screen she just could not recognize.

Playing an annoying lift music in the background. (You know, that kind of music that plays in the lifts when you travel with them.)

"Next… next…" she gave out the orders lifelessly. Rolling her eyes.

Her only hope for fun is her faithful servant Giselle, hopefully, she can make contact with the gods of the other side and manages to convince them to at least speak with her.

Under the short silent treatment, her fellow gods treated her. She realized she really hated to be alone. It was just not fun.

Her train of thoughts disturbed by the deep voice of the demon standing near the screen.

 **"Hardy-sama, we found a channel!"**

Her expression immediately turned bright immediately, and a smile curled on her face.

"Wonderful! Let's see!" she clapped her hands together happily.

The screen changed and showed the capital under siege. Fire and death everywhere, demons ran amok, massacring everyone in their way, feasting on the soul of the innocent.

The goddess' eyes widened, seeing the seemingly endless waves of demons roaming through the city. Taking tool of the environment, torturing their victims.

"How wonderful scene! How marvelous!" she exclaimed excitedly. Clapping her hands vigorously. Then after her momentary happiness, she stopped.

"But wait a minute…" her eyes started to twitch.

"I don't remember I let my demons wreck that city…"

Looking around dumbfounded she just doesn't understand. Her demons looked at each other surprised as well; they as well didn't remember getting such order from her.

"Who let my beauties out?" she demanded the answer impatiently, crossing her arms and tapping her forearm with her fingers.

Her servant around her glared the screen then looked back to Hardy. **"Those things don't even resemble us Hardy-sama, I think those demons don't belong to you…"** stated one of the servants in a harsh, but a respectfull voice.

Watching the scene Hardy drooled, seeing those 'Beauties' she can't do anything just jump up in joy.

"So cute! I want one!"

Poor demon who trimmed her nail, now he can start from scratch… again…

"Who is the organizer of this wonderful scene?"

The scene changed, showing the lean demonic figure and his cloaked companion floating above the capital.

Hardy cleared his throat. "You there!" he pointed the screen, the being turned towards her voice, like he just saw her from such distance.

"Kukukuku… my-my… what a surprise… to getting such guest tonight. I am truly honored."

"You! What's your name!" she demanded his name immediately like she was the owner of everything outside. It seemed her ego quite bit inflated by her constant seat in the underworld.

The masked being tilted his head curiously. "Curious aren't you? But whom I speak if I am allowed inquiring?"

"I am Hardy, goddess of hell and underworld, being a demon you answer me!" snapping her fingers then immediately pointed at the masked figure demanding.

"Chop-Chop! I don't have all day!"

"Kukukuku… amusing… aren't she?" Jaldabaoth turned to his cloaked companion standing not far from him.

"Ye-yes… very courageous… Jaldabaoth-san…" shuttered his companion nervously.

"Enough of your chatter! Obey me and give me one of those cuties! I demand you!" tapping on the ground heavily the whole underworld trembled from the tantrum of the goddess. "No... not just one, I changed my mind, give me a handful of them, I want at least one from every type."

"Kukukukuku..." Jaldabaoth chuckled amusedly. Completely ignoring the pouting glare of the goddess.

"Very well… but you were a naughty girl, naughty girl's needs punishment. This will be the perfect opportunity to learn your place…" Raising his hand Jaldabaoth already traced the location of the messenger.

"Schrödinger-kun… if you may… entertain the lady… You can bring guests if you want."

"As you wish… Jaldabaoth-san…" a young voice with a heavy German accent appeared behind Hardy. Laying her throne smirking.

"Who the hell are you? I requested one of those cuties, not an annoying brat!" pointed at him Hardy accusing.

"And get away my throne!"

The person laid in her throne take the form of a young boy, although he appears to be around 14, with cat ears and a perpetual smirk, he dressed in a military youth uniform which consists of black shorts, a yellow dress shirt, black knee high socks and a black tie. He also wears white gloves and black dress shoes.

After a sinister chuckled, Jaldabaoth waved his hand. "Have fun…"

The screen changed, and a dancing banana appeared on it that danced in an awkward manner.

"Haaah! Mein favorite music!" jumped up the boy and started to dance a similar manner as the banana on the screen.

Insert music: 'It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time!'

"(Chorus:)  
Where he at 4x  
There he go 4x  
Peanut butter jelly 4x  
Do the peanut butter jelly, peanut butter jelly,  
Peanut butter jelly with a baseball bat 2x

(Chorus)

Now, break it down and freeze 4x

(Chorus)

Now tic tac toe (uh-huh)  
Tic tac toe (let's go)  
Tic tac toe (you got it)  
Tic tac toe (let's ride)

(Chorus)

Now, freestyle, freestyle, freestyle, freestyle, freestyle, your style 2x."

Hardy tried to disable the annoying music that reverberated through all of her underworldly domain, singing seemingly everywhere and nowhere.

She managed a few times, but right after she shut down the source of noise, it came back right after that. Continuing the endless loop of voice.

She ordered her demons to kill the strange boy, but they were unable. He just jumped away happily making fun of them as he danced around them mocking.

And every time she killed him he came back, seemingly more and more of him started to appear in her home and dance around them. A few times they even jumped into her neck and messed her silky hair, writing obscene things, drawn in her face with permanent marker.

Dancing, trashing her furniture's and trophies. Playing fool with her.

Combined this with the awful constantly looping music it was unbearable. But it was not the worst…

The worst came after the growing presence of the boy started to sang the lyrics of the music using his awful German accent, sometimes changing the whole lyrics in fully german translation. Trashing even more of her furniture.

After one hour… she can't bear anymore.

Gritting her teeth, she tightened her palms around her ears. Leaving the room to find a quiet place. Only hoping in time he will leave her home, and she can come back.

But she had no luck because the boy followed her, carrying a CD player that also continually looped the infernal music of the peanuts and jellies. Even after she used her shrine to escape her realm and possess one of her priest's.

Where he at 4x  
There he go 4x  
Peanut butter jelly 4x  
Do the peanut butter jelly, peanut butter jelly,  
Peanut butter jelly with a baseball bat 2x…

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **That's for now! :)**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter before the clash.**

 **In the next chapter!**

 **Operation Gehenna V2.0. Endgame. Do the heroes manages to stop the uprising of the Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth? Or they will fall like many before them?**

 **You will know next time!**

 **Next time: Itami story: Operation Gehenna V2.0 (part 2)**

Where he at 4x  
There he go 4x  
Peanut butter jelly 4x...

"Get out of my personal space! Ahhhhh!" shouted the angry, desperate goddess.


	18. Operation Gehenna V2 (part 2)

**Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There**

 **by oblivon2991**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.**

 **I don't own the _Overlord_ (** **オーバーロード** ** _Ōbārōdo_** **?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **Please review it. I know I will make mistakes that I intend to correct and will try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

* * *

 **WARNING!**

 **THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS EXTRA STRONG VIOLENCE AND GORY SCENES! READ ONLY FOR YOUR OWN RESPONSIBILITY!**

* * *

Sitting on a comfortable chair, behind a cosy table. Two figure mingled with each other.

One was a tall man, reaching the 180 cm, his hair black, neatly combed.

On his body, a British suit, cloth, the disguise that give the man the air of a true gentleman.

Although, in the dark, ordinary beings without night vision or any item that helps to see in the dark may see it as a brown disguise.

In truth, it was between orange and red. His clothes paired with a tie in the same colouration.

On his face a mask, depicting a joker with an always vigilant smirk, and eyes so squinted, they were almost closed.

The slyly squinted eyes and the smirking pseudo face borrowed the person a deceptive nature.

Behind his back a metallic tail sprouted with several metal plates and six spikes, confirming the person demonic relation.

Before his person takes a seat the second significant figure, we see in the picture.

A covered individual, clothed tightly in an all body covering brown cloak, paired with an enveloping hood that only allowed the nearby onlookers to peek and barely see the lower part of the person's face.

More precisely, the delicate androgynous lower jaw and caramel tanned skin of the person. The individual slender hands are donned with shiny white silk gloves.

Before them, two hands crafted but not less beautiful tea cup with dragon symbol, currently empty. Sugar and milk holders also paired with the set.

A maid, unknown in origin, bearing similar mask than the archfiend in the scene standing near the duo, serving cake and hot tea.

A brutish looking demon with fiery breath and mane reporting the progress to his lord. Taking a submissive stance, nailing his gaze towards the ground.

 **"Jaldabaoth-sama, we are progressing well. Our forces managed to subdue the third biggest resisting group in the town. In a few hours, this city will be ours."**

The previously mentioned demon emperor, Jaldabaoth and the brown cloak covered figure only glanced at him, disregarding.

Using the small cut, which served as the mask's mouth, like an expert, Jaldabaoth swallowed a small portion of his tea, tasting it, enjoying it for a moment, then turning to his servant.

"My-my… not good, these 'Imperials' are more fragile than I first thought, I expected them at least able to hold themselves against such weak demons…"

His tone solemn, completely disregarding the struggling defensive force best attempt.

"A-As you say, Jaldabaoth-san, they are not challenging at all."

His companion, albeit a little bit shyly, but answered in a steady stone. The voice that came from the direction of the hooded individual was young and soft. Nonetheless, it was the voice of a young man, maybe in his late teens.

"Huh…" grunted the demon emperor. "If this goes on, we may be forced to initiate plan B. That would force King-sama to step earlier; we wouldn't want that, wouldn't we?"

Clutching his fists tighter around his black, twisted looking staff, the second individual answered immediately. His tone mixed the stomach-churning nervousness and the fury he felt at the moment.

"Yes, 'he' most likely will be disappointed if we could not even initiate your plan, Jaldabaoth-san. Although, I think, such mighty being as he is, would suffice, even without us."

A fox-like smile curled under the mask, happily closing the jewel-like eyes, sealing them for a moment as the being obliged slowly.

"Indeed, of course, he would thrive and conquer without us with no problem, but as the faithful servants of his, we can't let him dirty his hands with such lowly work. He is a strategic planner who outlined his Kingdom's fate in advance more than ten thousand years, calculating every variable. I am sure; even if we fail because of the weakness of the sheep, he planned our failure in his grand plan all along."

"Oooo…."

The heterochromatic eyes of the person under the clown widened, changed their sizes twice of the original. Giving a faithful, adoring look, freeing an admiring gasp.

"Even now, he knows all of this will happen? I would never expect it. After all, we never saw such structure before." murmured the dark-skinned person under the cover.

"Although, I expected as much. Why am I so surprised?"

Lowering his head, the dark elf under the hood smiled, but this was not entirely a happy smile. No, it was a smile mixed his happiness and sorrow.

Thinking about how after all this time, he still can't fathom his master's foresight.

"Kukuku… Don't berate yourself Eram-san, even me and the White Queen, the two wisest individuals created by the 'them', unable to fathom his foresight. The only thing we can do is to try to better ourselves and serve him loyally, hoping one day, we will be able to scratch the surface of his impeccable thinking."

The dark elf called Eram nodded, confirming what Jaldabaoth said.

Both of them and every servant used cover names as well a strong illusion to cover their real identity under the operation, for safety purpose of course. No one wants to blow the blame to Ainz.

Their conversation rudely interrupted by several loud screams.

"Jaaahhh… Please have mercy!"

"Don't take my son!"

"It is a joke! It's a joke! Please let me go! I will do anything. I have money! My family is wealthy! I give anything, anything…"

The painful, suffering, agonising, sorrowful screams are coming from the background, mixed, melted together with the carnage conducted around the duo. Giving the atmosphere of the tea party, painting the usually peaceful event in a new light.

Now it was more like two close friends discussing something happily in the middle of the hell itself.

All over the place, demonic beings, varying in form and size roamed around.

Killing, capturing every living people around the town. Fighting the negligible resistance, the residents and the newcomers showed.

Of course, thanks to the present Imperial, JSDF and SKEF forces, several locations still hold themselves firmly. But slowly their strength turn asunder as newer and newer demons appear on the horizon.

Although, the higher the power of the summoned creatures, the lesser you can summon.

It was also true in reverse, the lesser their level, the more you can call.

Over the years, Demiurge did not sit back and watched as his master's gained more and more strength. No, he as well every denizen of Nazarick tried to better themselves following the footsteps of the Supreme Beings.

After all, a weak servant can't possibly secure the person they intended to protect. Without the strength to support their purpose, their existence was meaningless. That would be an absurd expectation live with such burden.

Because of this, all of them did their best to gain more strength, some of them with more success than others.

But indeed every one of them progressed with small, but steady steps, gained more and more might over the years.

Demiurge was satisfied, not only with his own growth but the evolution of his comrades as well.

He was especially proud the progress he made with his passive [Command Mantra].

He managed to increase the effective level range of the passive ability and was able to figure out how to ignore even the mid-tier items specialised to protect against mind control and charm effects by using his passive skill.

Drinking his hot drink amidst the fire illuminated darkness, he refused to release a satisfied grunt. He was not such a person who give away such unpleasant noises after all.

Not far from their table, several cages, stuffed full with the naked form of the captured inhabitants of the Empire.

Humans, elves, dwarves and part animal people such as Warrior Bunnies, Cat People, Winged Humanoids, Leonoids and many more exotic people, all filled many cages.

Completely ignoring the former social standing, they were all packed in one place.

Several fairies with their small size are trying to get away through the holes, just to be denied the free passage by the magically created barriers around the cages.

Their social standing did not matter anymore, nobles or the low of the lowest, in the eyes of the demons and Demiurge, they were all the same.

Tools of conquest, as people.

Their skin material for scrolls.

Their flesh food stock for their own kind, and their bones, well…

Demiurge used the bones fit for his strict expectations as material for his carpenter hobby. The rest, he sent for further experimentation or other more sinister purposes.

With these new people… no, sheeps are the fitting notion for them.

With these 'sheeps', the possibility opened of further experiments.

Some of these sheeps' race may seem familiar the ones back home. Even so, thanks to a clever tool Demiurge gained from Esdeath, he can run a fast DNA scan and tell the differences at the moment.

Using the distinguished traits and positive qualities the races of this world, he can proceed with his examination to gain new stock of raw materials for his experiments or even initiate some of them in his breeding enterprise.

The possibilities were endless.

Of course, he commanded his demons to keep the citizens of the Sorcerous Kingdom separated, kill as less amongst them as possible.

They were Ainz's precious subjects after all, and as the citizens of the Sorcerous Kingdom, they deserved better.

Unfortunately, appearances must be maintained. Several of them had to die for the cause. And Demiurge was sure his Lord would be indulgent towards his direction.

Looking around timidly, Eram shuttered, his tone called for his hesitation after a moment of thinking.

"Ja-Jaldabaoth-san… are you sure the heirs will not recognise us? Are you sure 'he' will go along with this?"

Jaldabaoth looked back lazily at his companion.

"Don't worry, Eram-san. I said, doesn't I? After this night is over, this country will beg to be taken over by a hostile force."

"I…" Eram gulped nervously. "Is that so…"

Jaldabaoth nodded, then continued wisely, showing up his index finger.

"As for the heirs, don't worry about them."

He assured Eram subtly.

"Our leech lady is well aware our actions tonight and approved everything, the half-breed simply wants action to show her worth to her father, and the demon despite his heritage too busy to recognise the faint traces."

Stopping for a moment, Jaldabaoth stared the blue scorching flame walls surrounding the borders of the city.

"Albeit, he is intelligent but unable to recognise this because of the current stage of his maturity. If my theory is right, it is because of his mother's boiling succubus blood. Despite his half undead nature, he is half demon as well. Demons of his age are already able to produce a healthy offspring. In another word, his sexual drive starts to awaken slowly. Moreover, according to the reports Zero sent in my direction. His and the redhead princess' pheromone level especially high when standing on each other's side. That means they are attracted to each other."

"Yo-You mean…" Eram inhaled deeply, guzzled down his slight discomfort. His caramel face changed hues as he thought about 'that' thing.

Even after all that time, he is unable to think about such thing might happen.

Of course, he did it before, but for his taste, it was too uncomfortable theme to speak about loud.

It was a good feeling and all, but young Dark Elves like him who barely passed their two hundred and sixtieth winter, it was not a proper theme to speak about.

His timid nature did not help either; he still churned in nervousness remembering how Demiurge explained him the washed down version of the mechanics behind the thing run under the name; sex, right after his two hundredth birthday.

Why did he have to ask back then? Urges? Curiosity? Yeah, most likely interest.

Sometimes, he still had nightmares about it, and after seeing his Onee-chan's face after Albedo and Shalltear's first tutoring session.

Let's just say; he doesn't want to imagine what happened under those 'lessons' meant to prepare a young, female Dark Elf to spend some quality time (as Demiurge put it) with her partner.

It was a broken, dead, empty expression, eyes filled with void.

The expression he only saw on Esdeath's face after Albedo and the other female servants dragged her (more like kidnapped) to have a girl's day together.

It was just scary in an entirely new level.

Shaking his head, he managed to suffocate the unclean thoughts, glaring back the man before him. Eram's face flushed in an even more profound hue as he started to shudder uncontrollably.

"Yo-You mean? The two of them together?"

"Hmmm…" Demiurge humming, folded his fingers together, supporting his head with his elbow as leaned forward, straining his gears, pondering hard.

"I, myself would not support this sexual intercourse of course."

Disapprovingly shaking head, Jaldabaoth silently cursed.

"He is the son of a Supreme Being, and amongst them, the son of the ruler of all, the First Prince of the Kingdom. Even thinking of touching such low cast is unacceptable. Maybe a play tool for him, which I can imagine. A concubine, in rank, maybe a 'Responder', a 'Lady in Waiting' but maximum an 'Honourable Lady' considering she is a royal blood in these lands."

Explained Jaldabaoth thoroughly, thinking through the things, remembering the concubine/consort system of the Kingdom.

The system that they modelled after the structure of the early Feudal Japan and China.

Ainz did not take advantage of the system of course, but several servants lived with the given opportunity and produced offspring in such way.

For many of them, Demiurge himself offered good choices of possible breeding partners.

Naturally, to strengthen Nazarick and to raise the new, loyal generations of servants. If accidentally some of them die and Ainz unable to resurrect them.

Even thinking of it was absurd, but Demiurge was not a person who disregarded such possibility.

"A-As you say Jaldabaoth-san, very concerning, to stain the bloodline of the Supreme Ruler with such lowly filth. Very unpleasant indeed."

Obliged Mare hastily under the hood.

The bulky, hellfire ridged, the muscled demon just watched patiently as the duo conversing. Waiting for the best moment to interrupt the conversing pair.

Although he did not mind listening to the conversation of the two esteemed figure, he would rather do his work and serve the Supreme Beings in that way.

His time comes, finally, he can reveal the information came to his knowledge only a few minutes ago.

 **"Lord Jaldabaoth, Sir, if you may have a moment."**

"Hmmm… Yes? What are you still doing here? Do you have something else to report?"

The fire mane demon bowed, even more, closing his eyes.

"Yes, according to the investigation of our shadow demons, several infiltration units consisting several JSDF and SKEF individuals heading this way. As you ordered, we let them try their luck. In a few minutes, they will approach the camp."

Demiurge sly, perpetual smirk sneaked back to his face, hearing everything goes according to his calculations, he was satisfied.

"Kukuku… Splendid. Everything proceeds as planned, it seems. We did not need plan B…"

Turning to his subordinate, he hissed him away softly.

"Proceed as discussed. Collect as many livestock as you can. Prepare for the arrival of our esteemed guests…"

"As you wish…" bowed the scorching demon, leaving the duo behind, initiating the plan's second stage.

An exhilarating sight left Demiurge's lips.

"Ah… Nothing like the corruption of innocence to spark the fires of creation…"

Quoted the Demon satisfied, raising his tea, sipping one last time.

Meanwhile several streets away.

Several small groups cut through the streets. Covered by invisibility magic and items capable of hiding the faint traces of their presence.

Amongst them, humans wearing green camouflage uniforms, carrying M4 carbines, MP7 submachine guns, KSG shotguns, Howa Type 64 and 89 rifles and of course several of them even lugged M24 sniper weapon systems and Panzerfaust-3.

In other word, weapons those confiscated from the Russian, Chinese and the United States Special Forces under the Hakone incident.

For good reasons, the JSDF can't equip soldiers under their command with weapons those could be traced back to them under the infiltration action in the Capital.

Fortunately, these weapon brands were popular back on Earth. Thus, the HQ could distribute ammunition for them richly as well could gain a few more from the said unmarked weapons through several 'shady dealings' under the table.

Because of this, the groups who enclosed intermediate compound and temporary HQ of the Demon Emperor proceeded smoothly.

The second part of the groups was entirely clad in enchanted golden and black armours.

The golden figures might seem to wear heavy armour and heavy weaponry consisting swords, one and two-handed, shields, bows and every other kind of arms.

But all of them were also equipped with an item that was capable of rendering the noise of such heavy armament and muffling their steps entirely if activated.

Their faces covered by a closed golden helmet with a magical looking gem embedded in the forehead.

If the golden clad members of the group looked impressive, then, you may say the black-clothed individuals was mysterious and dreadful at once.

Wearing a strange, light looking, but nonetheless armoured skin-tight black uniform. A hood and a skull mask covered their appearance.

Their enigma factor even more increased by the strange silenced sidearm, sniper rifles, bows, and daggers hung from their bodies.

Most of them were humanoid looking, of course, this darkly clothed unit dreaded by many individuals back in the Sorcerous Kingdom

These dark clad guys and girls run under the alias; 'Deathbringers' back in Ainz's domain.

Usually, the work of the unit consisted infiltration, assassination and to guard the well-being of the crucial figures of the Sorcerous Kingdom. Made sure nothing happens to them.

Naturally, doing all of this under the covering shadows.

Amongst the VIP targets, there were politicians, high nobles, and persons of particular importance.

Roof by roof, silently, the black-clad figures cleared the scout demons, giving an opening the proceeding group.

"Shield, Shield. It is Silent Blade. I am nearing the target. Please confirm your position. Over."

One of those shady individuals just held a crystal and conversed in it. It was a strange device, for the first glance, it was just a beautiful looking, slight purple light emitting stone.

But if you know its real purpose, then you know the device is called [Dark Drifting Stone]. An item that was able to relay coded messages to the user spoke through it. Like a walkie-talkie, you may say.

But in different of those small electronic devices. These items immediately coded the message they passed.

Only those were able to receive the message which also carried one of the said stones and turned them into the right frequency, the frequency only the leader know.

You may say, it is easy to kidnap the signal and spy after the special unit's conversation if this is true, despite the sophisticated algorithms the item used.

But I say… no, it was not.

The stone specially made from rare materials enchanted with strong magic.

Only the real vassals and the Supreme Beings able to reproduce techniques those were capable of deceiving the stone.

Also, the crystals imprinted with the personal data of the user. To put it in another way, a soul key attached to each stone. Only the appointed individuals could use the items.

If the enemy tried to force the agent or used methods to charm, intimidate or mind control the Deathbringer who the communication crystal belonged, the technique failed immediately, the item either did not worked or promptly self-destructed itself as the sensor algorithms discerned the outside influence.

All of this was all thanks to the innovation waved inside of the stone.

Numerous complex magical and physical algorithms examined the owner's physical state, mind and soul. Studied the individual if it's affected or not by similar effects.

"Silent Blade, This is Shield; we are up to the task. We are in position. May the Supreme Beings with you."

"Sword is in position. Over." answered the third voice.

The black-clad man nodded, jumped through the air, reaching his final destination.

Landing on the tiled roof with the agility of a silent cat, it took only a few strikes, and the sentry demons guarded the roofs fallen into dust, the black-clad individual cleared his blade.

Taking a sniping position, equipped his awesome looking bow.

His bow really looked unique, maybe even one of the legendary weapons of the Kingdom.

Part of the bow was made with animal parts, but there was no air of blood and gore about it; instead, it had a sacred feeling to it. It had worn down runes which decorated the bow.

Stretching the string almost ripping point, the assassin aimed at Jaldabaoth's head, his senses are keen, his upward slanted black eyes sharp behind his death mask.

His enchanted mask and armour further increased his bow's piercing power and precision.

"Silent Blade is ready, I strike, just give the signal." whispered the aiming man.

"Dawn Roar ready, shoot, we will follow. Radioactive will aim the hooded one." comes the answer through the stone hung from his neck.

Aiming at them and inspecting their movement for a moment, the air was too calm. Naturally, the sounds of death and destruction reverberated through the scene.

Even so, the whole mission just reeked of stink. Why should Jaldabaoth let them close this much? Why he just doesn't annihilate the defended safe points with one decisive strike?

He had the forces to do so. In the absence of the Special unit, the secured areas should be weakened now. Then why not?

Even with the numerous adventurers flooded the city in the last few days. The defence was just not strong enough to repel a demonic invasion of such magnitude.

They could only hold because of the few Elite SKEF, JSDF unit constant efforts and the guardian Death Knights and Nephalem Guards presence.

According to the legends, if the demon before him indeed that Jaldabaoth from the tales.

The Demon Emperor should be able to merely call annihilation from the heavens in the form of a fiery meteor. Then why he didn't did so until now?

Withholding such powerful technique would be utter nonsense considering the demoralising psychological effect of it on the denizens.

Holding his bow, he prepared to release the shoot, the time finally come… then… suddenly the agent named Silent Blade lowered his shoot. Seeing the commotion happened in the next moment.

An oval hole tore on the very fabric of time and space, appearing from the nowhere, outlined with an unstable-looking frame emitting slight blue hue. A slender figure stepped out from the crack.

Immediately, every demon kneeled, for the surprise of Silent Blade and every other watching infiltration unit.

Even Jaldabaoth and the hooded figure (who seemed to be his attaché) forced to follow the same courtesy.

Thanks to an item that provided him perfect Nightvision, Silent Blade saw the person before the demons kneeled.

It was a slender, short girl, with night black hair, blood red eyes, and pale complexion.

Clothed in a school uniform with a short skirt, typical Japanese in design. You may say, her clothes designed in Goth style.

The sides exchanged a short talk seasoned with the girl's happy expression and joyful laughs.

At least, she seemed happy with the end result.

But because of the anti-spy measurements taken place around them, no one knows for sure.

She may be angry, perhaps, she was just a good actress and acted joyfully to deceive the enemy.

Finishing her chat, her eyes suddenly squinted, looking around suspiciously, professedly sniffing in the air. Then, turning her gaze against the roof where the agent positioned himself, lazily waving her gloved hand.

Looking right in the direction where Silent Blade take his vantage point.

Agent Silent Blade's slanted eyes widened under the mask, instinctively ducked behind a chimney, his heart throbbed almost rocketing through his chest.

 _"Calm yourself! Calm yourself dammit!"_

Trying to regain his professionalism, his cold blood, he chided himself. Barely able to control himself.

Even when he wore items that made him immune to fear induction effects, he was unable to calm down for long moments.

The suddenly appeared malice the three individual emitted was just too much for the item to neutralise. Sweating heavily his whole body trembled.

His steady hands became clumsy, shaking. For a moment, even unable to remember the skills he honed through his horrific training and numerous missions he completed.

His intuition never lets him down before; now he will be damned to not listening to it.

Jaldabaoth as well the hooded man turned towards him at that moment. Ostensibly beamed the chimney with their gaze, the same protrusion on the roof where behind the agent hid himself.

"Silent Blade, several enemy units on the move, heading in our direction. What're your orders? We are waiting only for you."

Came the report from Unit Dawnroar, forcing Silent Blade to choose. Choose between two options, full retreat and an all-out attack.

Breathing deeply, he can't do anything just smile under his hiding.

Remembering, even if they fall, the Sorcerous King and his vassals will not let his enemy go unscratched. Only these thoughts comforted his last moments under the suicide mission.

"Ready, strike with everything you had," he ordered the units solemnly, using a muffled tone.

"Acknowledged." come to the answer immediately.

His cold blood returned instantly, the previous shaking disappeared.

Rolling out from behind the chimney served as his cover, the black-clad man stretched his bow called [Great Bow Special], releasing shoots after shoots.

Each of them aimed directly at the three head figures standing near the table, just near the still standing maid.

The lower ranked demons without a single thought jumped before the three VIP, protecting them, not even taking care of their own wellbeing.

The masked maid took a defensive position, arranging herself to provide cover to Jaldabaoth, Eram and the Goth girl.

Jaldabaoth and the girl seemed amused, both of them took a rested stance.

The Demon Emperor crossed his hands behind his back, leaned forward, taking up the stance that said.

'How amusing, I am interested.'

The girl just glared in Silent Blade's direction, without even taking consideration the projectiles heading in her way. Completely neglecting those with her stare, biting her index finger entertained.

The moment of Agent Silent Blade released his first shoot, the previously calm square suffocated by chaos.

The positioned JSDF forces rained death in the form of enchanted hot lead and explosive shells released by the mobile L16 81mm mortals and Panzerfaust-3 they carried.

Before the mission, every person's weapon enchanted by the nearby mages and the bullets blessed by divine magic casters, making the ammunition especially lethal to demons and the undead.

It was a desperate situation, the three sides; the Empire, the JSDF and the SKEF local forces needed to work together. Stall the enemy until the reinforcements arrive.

Despite their best efforts, the waves of demons seemed endless, in the stead of every demon died two more take place.

"Fire! Fire! Don't let them gain a foothold!" shouted a JSDF officer, directing his fire on the closing demons.

The bestial creatures are not stayed idle for long of course. On no!

Slowly but steadily they closed on them.

The ammunition of the JSDF was not endless, neither the Deathbringers accustomed to long battles. Naturally, they have the training to do so, but the speciality of the night clad unit relied on quick strikes, quick grab and vanished missions where no one saw them.

The Royal Guards still hold themselves firmly, but their number was few, neither they were omnipotent.

Rolling away from the grasp of a flying demon, Agent Silent Blade gritted his teeth.

He had only one ace left, the battle already lasted too long, and it was five minutes since the chaos started.

Quickly placing his bow on his shoulder, the man unsheathed the two daggers from his side. Preparing the items, the weapons dripped from the swirling dark and holy energies the blades enchanted with.

Crouching down, the air rippled around him violently, for a moment tearing the very spatial and temporal awareness of the world around the young agent.

Closing his eyes, he concentrated. His breath slowed, his heart calm, it was like time ceased to move around him for long moments. His already keen senses sharpened into the unnatural level.

The stance he took was a special one; he only used this posture when he activated his unique rogue class ability and combined it with five martial arts.

Only using this stance and meditative state of mind his body was able to endure the strain comes with his final ace.

"[Greater Flow Acceleration]! [Greater Full Throttle]! [Instant Reflex]! [Greater Focus Battle Aura]! [Greater Limit Breaker]!"

His body strained, activating five martial arts at once press a tremendous pressure even to a trained body and mind.

The primordial mental forces run through his veins wanted to tear him apart more and more violently with each moment. Only because of his enchanted gear and meditative state of mind he was able to endure them.

"Grrr… [Shadow Strike]!"

Agent Silent Blade disappeared in a flash of dark fog before the enclosing demons could catch him, only leaving a small souvenir, a sizzling fragmentation bomb in his stead.

The fuse reached its end, blowing the foul creatures and the building he stood on into oblivion.

In the next moment, he appeared right behind the Goth Girl and the Demon Emperor.

His body acted automatically, thanks to his [Instant Reflex] Martial Art he did not need to worry about what's next.

Time still seemed frozen, now, the only one who moved was his person. Everyone else around still looked like stuck in cement.

His body, his limbs did what they intended to, know what to do and thrust the blade towards the two fiendish creatures' unprotected nape.

No matter what kind of supernatural creature, the unprotected nape was always a weak spot.

One moment, one more moment and two heads will fall to dust.

He only hoped the last remaining commander would flee and with him the remained forces to retreat.

At least, that would be the sensible next step after seeing the early demise of the two speculative commanders.

His body screamed to stop, his every muscle long ago crossed the point no return. Crossing the sound barrier multiple times his blessed blades released a shriek like sound.

He almost reached it; he will hit them! HE will save the day!

Then….

 _"Stop. Surrender…"_

Like a whispering sound, so faint he was barely able to recognise, it ran through the endless waves of fabric constructed his mind.

Like a puppet whose strings cut. His body, his limbs limped, dropping the blessed daggers on the ground powerless.

Fallen on his knees, he was paralysed.

 _"Mind control? Impossible!"_ he thought.

Every member of the Royal guards and Deathbringers equipped with items specialised to fend off such effects.

There is no way someone could take control of him.

Just now, Silent Blade recognised. The noises of battle immediately stopped, even the pleading crew of the stuffed cages nailed their vision of the demon leader at this very moment.

Now, only the faint moans and grunts of the demons and the souls imprisoned in their bodies can be heard.

 _"Come out…"_

The agent heard once more the distorted, soft speaking male voice whispering through in his mind. He tried to exclude it from his understanding, but he was unable to do _so._

Like puppets, the shamed assassination forces marched out, stumbling slightly, still trying to resist the ever calling voice.

As you may think, they failed to do so, stopping in a respectable distance from Jaldabaoth, offering themselves the demon like cattle for the butcher.

"Kukuku… How amusing. Did you really thought with such weak attempt, you can assassinate, me? How entertaining charade it is."

Announced the demon superciliously.

His tone was uppish but sounded entirely reasonable. Like the person who is uniquely capable of understanding his own superiority, but not because of his own blindness towards a weaker opponent.

Oh no, it was because of the clear understanding of the difference between his own and the enemy's capabilities.

A person who explicitly calculated every variable in his devilish design. The same person wearing a mask stood before the units.

Looking through them, the hypnotic voice called once more.

 _"Kneel…"_ and every person obliged to do so.

Bowing, giving a slight manly curtsey, Jaldabaoth turned to the Goth female standing on his side.

"Tsukiyomi-sama, what do you wish to do with them?"

She scoffed, brushing her hair quietly to the side.

"Do what you must, I trust your judgement. But leave a few of them alive, we will need them later."

"As you wish…"

Turning back to the person behind him for a moment, Jaldabaoth motioned him to stand his side with a simple wrist motion.

Silent Blade obliged without hesitation, his figurine moved without a word, removing his mask revealed his blonde locks spread through his face.

Eyes slanted upwards, giving the impression that he was continually glaring at others.

The dark circles around his eyes always made people think that he was the kind of person who hung around with criminals in shady back alleys.

Nodding Jaldabaoth cared not his appearance; he merely gave the order.

 _"Every second one in the row, step forward. Flay, your own face, then slice open your throat, slowly, bleed yourself…"_

The men and woman trembled, straining both body and mind to resist the urge to oblige the demonic voice in their head.

In the end, nonetheless, Jaldabaoth's [Command Mantra] won the tug of war.

The commanded mind slaves compelled, every second of them stepped forward. Pulled out whatever small bladed tool they had.

Then… Slowly, started to peel the skin off the surface of their bare flesh.

Under the whole event, everyone was aware what is really happening, even the ones who scalped their own flesh mask roared, cried in agony.

Meanwhile, Jaldabaoth, forced them, commanded everyone, even the caged slaves to observe everything attentively, engrave this very moment in their mind, never forget.

This is the fate everyone who raises hands against him and his master.

How could someone can forget such act of cruelty? I say, no one.

It took more than a half hour, but the last self-flaying royal guard died in excruciating pain and blood loss.

Collapsing on the ground, Agent Silent Blade shuttered incomprehensibly, looking at Jaldabaoth accusing, tears poured from his eyes.

Staring the demon's joker mask, staring at the hooded figure clutching on his twisted, dark staff, berating with his eyes the smirking Goth girl.

Looking at the agent, her face flinched in disgust.

Immediately, she pulled out her elegant looking pocket watch with a demon head figure on its backplate, turning away she walked abroad.

"Jaldabaoth, Eram, proceed as discussed. Initiate the Light's Downfall. Do not disappoint. Remember, retreat if necessary. Our goal is not to conquer the city."

Jaldabaoth and Eram obliged with a bow, and the Goth figure disappeared through the same portal she arrived.

The pseudo demon emperor gives a disgusted glare the agent one last time. Clutching his hands behind his back, walked away. But before that slightly looked back above his shoulders.

 _"Gouge out your eyes…"_

Silent Blade's eyes widened, uncontrollable, he reached for his hidden dagger, raising it, he prepared to destroy his greatest treasure, his tool of work, the thing he inherited from his great-grandmother; Neia Baraja.

He almost reached it, one more moment…

 _"With your bare hands."_

Came the last command before the demon spread his long wings from his back.

No, the so-called wings were more like tentacles, barely covered by sturdy looking dark feathers.

His dark elf attendant followed him, using [Fly] spell to levitate from the ground.

"Aaaaghhhh…. Aghhh…"

Horrific screams and the squishing sounds like an eyeball poops, those were the last things reverberated through the air as the duo descended higher and higher above the Imperial capital.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Imperial Palace (where we left Beelzebub and the band last time)**

The world is turning red, the moon seemed change colouration, gaining a new hue. Shadows are rising, and no one can stop them anymore.

The Imperial Palace in chaos as more and more shade appeared, taking the form of massive, horned, two dimensional looking, but not less monstrous beings.

Fingers elongating, suddenly bursting out from the shadows impaled several legionaries.

The crimson blood of the Praetorians gained a sinistrous tone as it poured down on the fingers of darkness.

The dark demon raised its corpse-littered fingers, and like some kind of nibble, chew, slurped the dead up from its claws, one by one, the thing devoured the impaled at the whole.

Praetorians are panicking, running left and right, the freshly recruited men don't know how to handle the appearance of such horrific creatures.

Piña searched help grabbing Beelzebub's armoured hand, the Emperor although sweated heavily, grabbed his sword raising high.

He was well aware, panicking only bring chaos if he starts to panic now, his subjects will lose their calm even more.

Sugawara trembled, pulling himself inside the defensive circle Itami, Tomita and Kuribayashi formed. He was not prepared such thing might happen tonight.

Itami and his group sweated profound, trying to figure out which one to shoot from the slowly appearing as well approaching 'things'.

The 'things' those according to Itami resembled mostly for the beings formed from pure shadows, directly stepping out from some kind of crazy RPG game.

If that's the case, then following the logic stands for the typical RPG games and fantasy stories he played and read before, these things can be only hurt either by enchanted weapons or light-based attacks. Unfortunately, he has none of them.

He really cursed himself sarcastically amidst his sweat, and at the same time tried to calm his pounding heart with his lousy humour:

'Why he left at home the sword of thousand truths tonight?' he thought to bite, trying to find a possible opening in the closing circle.

It would really help them out in the current situation.

He doubted mere lead bullets could hurt beings constructed from pure darkness, as well his group were low on ammunition thanks to the slight departure around the Capital and the sudden came demonic invasion.

Zorzal, as expected, searched for vault behind Eleanor who seemed completely calm, almost bored, her crimson eyes at least hinted such thoughts might be in her mind now.

Raising her hand held the fan, the beauty covered her lower jaw like a true geisha.

Serene showed a mad smirk, readying her cross-shaped double scythe.

Zero unimpressed, still showing his a discarding, bored look, tightened his butler gloves around his arms, ready to strike and protect his responsibility against anything and anyone who dare to close them.

Momon glanced at Tyuule and nodded at the frightened woman, assuring her it will be all right, then give a look in the direction of the first prince.

"Prince Beelzebub, orders?"

Beelzebub amidst his thoughts pondered hard; it would be not hard killing these, according to him weak [Shadow Monstrosities].

Their level, after all, moved around level 40-50. But their special ability was troublesome.

If someone manages to injure them, they can hide amidst the shadows and regenerate almost instantly, as well can use [Shadow Burrow]. In another word, change places practically immediately by travelling between shadows, using the shadow realm as a medium.

They needed to take care of them instantly or use abilities that hinder shadow type regeneration, most likely light based abilities. Unfortunately, he had no such ability.

Fortunately, his weapon enchanted to block the healing up to a certain level.

Also, even with the strength of the Royal guards, they will not suffice long against such monsters.

The strongest one amongst them in the scene was the orc Captain Dyel Gan Thro, around level 35-40.

Even with his strength, the numbers could overwhelm him under moments if he is reckless.

That left him, Momon, Serene, Zero, and Eleanor to protect a whole palace worth of people.

If we consider the possibility the creatures started to appear all around the palace at once, their number hardly suffice.

Waving a quick plan in his head, considering every variable he could manage to come up with, he opened his mouth to bark his orders.

But even before the sounds of plans could leave his throat, a shadowy spike ran towards Molt, aiming directly to decapitate him.

Time seemed to slow when a female voice rippled through the environment.

"[Brilliant Radiance]!"

Both the demon and the lance constructed from pure darkness disappeared under a blink without a trace.

Serene jumped in action as well as Eleanor fired her holy based spells, purifying the unclean beings one by one.

Despite the teasing nature of the two sisters' relationship, the two of them sparred together often, even participated in team games against their mothers as a training regime.

Eleanor was a talented magic caster, comparable to his father in his youth, although, she was not as good using lance type weaponry as her vampiric mother was. But she indeed had training with the weapon.

About Serene; if Eleanor was water, she was the fire.

Maybe her talent lacked when it comes to incantations and magic, the most potent spell she could actively cast was tier eight, but even then she needed to put a lot of effort into active magic casting.

Her real passion and expertise laid in close ranged combat and passive magic usage that she activated instinctively without any incantations.

All of this seasoned with mid ranged wind type attacks, the so-called [Wind Blades] that she could generate with just swinging her exotic weapon.

She was so proficiency in such type of attacks, every swing of her could generate a miniature tornado fuelled and waved through with her own supernatural energies, her own mana.

In such way, even if the enemy was an astral type life form like these Shadow type demons, she could hurt them with mere air she generated through her swings.

Shaking his head, Beelzebub regained his composure immediately, started to bark orders.

"Momon! Protect Piña, the Emperor, Sugawara-dono and as many people as you can reach!"

"Umu!" The dark warrior nodded, taking a defensive position.

Unsheathing his two, substantial black swords, the dark warrior form grows even more in the eyes of the guards.

Gently tossing Tyuule inside of the defensive circle of the JSDF, he prepared to secure his new responsibility.

"Royal guards! Defensive position! Don't let them close, use your items to strengthen your defence and mental resistances!"

The golden clad guards like a well-oiled machine moved at once, formed the second defensive line around the group.

In that time, Piña, Molt as well the still living maids and Zorzal retreated to the freshly circled preserving belt.

Piña watched Beelzebub's impressive armour clad form, clutching her hands together, her worry just radiated from her face.

"Beelzebub…" she shuttered sensually.

The man in silver armour just smirked back at her.

His smile was gentle, assuring, but once, the two horns protruding the two sides of his head cast a layer of shadow on his face, making his smile looks like he wore some kind of mask of kindness.

"Don't worry Piña; everything will be all right."

The princess nodded uneasily, just to the next moment her eyes widened.

"Look out!" she wanted to yell, but she was not fast enough, her throat can't bear the noise she sought to release.

The Shadow Monstrosity already raised its craving paw, seeking to plaster the first prince into a bloody pinch cushion, then devour it in whole.

A flash of white, and the sound of a cracking glass.

That's the only thing the people around them realised before the demon froze, Beelzebub still smiled at them, looking in their direction.

Only one thing changed in his form, his second until the now unrevealed sword was out of its scabbard, revealing the master craft blade entirely.

The weapon seemed brilliant and once strange.

Along the blade's body runes, unknown symbols running through, and its demon head like black cross guard seemed to emit a sinister red energy.

The blade part seemed to made from entirely glass, so fragile looking and thin it appeared that anything could shatter the mirror part with one weak strike.

Even so, one thing made the group attention divert from the strange, first clearly faulty design.

The spatial and temporal ripples running around the blade those hugged around the weapon, disturbing the very space around it.

The temporal billows borrowed the blade some kind of haze, the aura of nothingness you may say. Some kind of invisible spatial disturbance around the edge. Not visible yet visible at the same time.

After the white flash and the accompanying glass cracking sounds, a few seconds passed.

Then, like a cracking mirror, the demon broke, shattered into pieces, the falling parts evaporated into nothingness.

"Muu… the [Cracking Mirror]. I heard about the weapon of legends, but I never thought it is in possession of the royal family."

Mumbled Momon, his tone carried a slight surprise as well a faint respect towards the capabilities of the weapon.

"[Cracking Mirror]?"

Kuribayashi looked at Momon surprised, slightly raising her brow. Her example followed by every onlooker.

"Umu," Momon nodded approving and continued his explanation.

"The weapon is the theme of many legends in the Sorcerous Kingdom. According to the tales, it is forged by the Supreme Being, Warrior Takemikazuchi, destined kill and cripple the gods themselves, made to defeat the Paladin in white, Touch Me. Forged to able to shatter, ripple through the very fabric of time and space with ease. Shattering everything it touches, breaking them like a stone the glass. Forged to ignore and shatter even the sturdiest defence inside out."

Momon stood before the two-layered circle, forming the third defensive line, still holding his robust weapons answered.

Cutting down and shattering his third opponent lazily, Beelzebub gives a quick glance at Momon, meanwhile continued his massacre fending off the demons.

"Indeed it is the same weapon, although, according to father, Takemikazuchi-dono considered the weapon a failure, a half-finished product. Don't ask why he was always like that. He is constantly giving me enigmas to solve them. Saying; 'Kukukuku…It serves my growth...'"

Mimicking, he mocked his father's speech pattern slightly.

Sighing weakly, for a moment he looked down. "He was always like that."

Another demon appeared from the shadows, but before it could raise its hand.

Zero blinked before the prince, extinguishing the creature's false life with his scientific looking black gun, the weapon ran under the name; [Jackal].

Receiving the creature with a blank range shot in the face, then giving a deadpanned look at the royalty behind him, bowing respectfully.

"Prince Beelzebub, if I can kindly ask your Royal Majesty. Don't slack under the battle. You know what Creator-sama think about slacking."

A dreadful expression moved on Beelzebub's face, imagining the horrific punishment what he will receive if his aunt gets winds about his momentary spacing in the midst of the battle.

"Ah, please forgive me Zero-san, it seems I indeed slipped on a morsel of my old memories. Please don't tell her."

Like a child, he pleaded.

Zero lazily leaned away, just to let free passage the brick that travelled with hypersonic speed, and splattered on the first heir's face in the next moment.

Momon can't help just release a weak chuckle seeing the comical sight as his son's face get hit by a stone.

Knowing who throw the brick, Zero let it merely pass him; it is not his place to prevent the fight between royalties.

His only task is to guard their well-being, but don't hinder their growth.

As his creator and Ainz-sama formulated their command.

And according to his best experience, a little fight never burdened anyone to gain a new perspective on life.

"Baka! Don't slack or I will kick your ass!"

Shouted Serene wildly, scolding her older brother, tapping her feet violently on the body of a decomposing demon.

"Ahh… Sorry sister, it will not happen again…"

No starch visible on his impeccable face, after all, simple bricks can't hurt him. His passive nullification simple neutralised the threat.

Scratching his head, Beelzebub gives a slightly fearful, sheepish look at his youngest sister.

His forehead drenched in sweat, like a person who saw a demon descends from hell itself appear on Earth.

Serene just huffed, removing her cross-shaped scythe from the shadow creature's forehead, allowing it to disappear finally.

"You better!" Her nose released a slight huff of gust, giving her form an entirely another light.

"She is scary…" whispered Itami.

Although he meant this sentence only heard by Kuribayashi, even Emperor Molt obliged, gulped profoundly and nodded.

"Onii-sama, what about competition?"

Asked Eleanor teasingly as she killed, even more from the appearing shadow creatures with her magic.

As time passed, lesser shadow demons in great numbers also emerged, storming the royal guards relentlessly using their infinite assault.

"Hmmm?" Beelzebub raised his brow interested.

"Whoever kills the most will be gain a token of a wish, a wish that the winner can redeem any time for anything she wishes."

The prince gives his sister a curious look, then a weak crackle.

"You are saying this like you already won."

Giving a glimpse from her playful canines, her smile was radiating.

"I always win, brother."

"Hmph… So be it, I will happily prove you wrong." retorted the demonic royalty cheerfully, raising his sword.

"Don't count me out yet!" shouted Serene, cutting truce amidst the enemy.

Momon just sighed exhaustedly.

 _"Why can't they act mature at least once…? If this goes on, I may need to reconsider my longed resignment from the throne. My longed pension. My wives will be furious, even when they will praise me for my decision. I know them as much they will be dissatisfied deep inside. They will tear me apart slowly…"_

Groaning, Momonga under the disguise of Momon imagined how his three partners would treat him in a colder way after his decision, and honestly, it gave him shivers for a moment.

 _"Although…"_

He suddenly remembered the old times when he and his fellow guild members acted in a similarly childish way, and now he could really understand his descendants.

 _"A little competition never hurt anyone. Let them have some fun."_

A smile curled on his illusionary face.

"Please Zero-san, be so good and stay out from the fight now on. Go around in the palace and secure it as much as you can."

"Understood…" bowed the automaton assassin, obliging Eleanor's request, disappeared altogether.

Turning back his enemies, Beelzebub took a stance once again, jumped into the fray.

It took around five more minutes, but the last demon was purified crumbled in the dust by Eleanor's magic.

"[Javelin of Light]!"

Eleanor finished her last incantations, throwing the dart formed from entirely divine energy towards her opponent.

Smirking, the draculina covered her mouth once again, laughing superciliously, yet softly.

"Hahaha… It seems it is my win."

Serene clenched her fist around her weapon tightened; her grip was so tight, the exotic metal part of her tool cracked under pressure, heating up a little bit.

"That's not fair! I demand to recount!"

First, she pointed at her sister, then Momon.

"Momon-dono! You saw everything! Tell them it was my win!"

"I…"

Momon tone caught in his throat, knowing not what to do with the children suddenly.

 _"Why they had to include me in their mess?"_ He asked himself reluctantly.

Beelzebub lowered his head accepting, a smile curled on his face scabbarding his weapon.

"It is your win sis, so, what do you wish for me in return?"

"Hmm, I will decide it later," she answered merely waving her fan weakly.

"Everything is clear Piña, Emperor Molt, Sugawara-dono, and everyone else. Threat extinguished."

Squinting his eyes, Beelzebub looked around suspiciously.

"Momentarily."

Itami and the group breathed relieved, Dyel ordered his remained men to secure the perimeter as much as possible.

Being Itami lacked the JSDF personnel to do the same, they remained in the immediate vicinity of Sugawara and the princess. Providing covering fire if necessary.

Tomita raising his weapon surveyed the ceiling strictly, Kuribayashi stabbed the last remains of chaotic life of a lesser, still decomposing demon with her bayonet.

Itami just sighed nervously.

"Well, this was a hell of a fight…" quipped the First Lieutenant, scratching his face deadpan, looking around.

Momon walked to the little party, on his arm Tyuule like a snake, hung.

"Umu, it was some time I faced an enemy in such numbers.."

"What kind of hellish creatures your kind brought in my empire?"

Grumbled Molt nervously, wiping his forehead.

"Most of them was simple lower cast shadow type demons, the bigger ones are [Shadow Monstrosities] if I am right."

Came the female voice not far from them, looking in their direction. It was Eleanor who answered wisely.

"Lady Eleanor!" Zorzal stormed forward.

"You know about these creatures!?"

"Hmph, of course, I know."

She huffed uppish, hiding her face behind her fan.

"These are demon-like monsters called by the ability [Summon Mid and Low Tier Shadow Demon]. The ability is not rare and can be used by every demon with the adequate race levels. It is not surprising from Jaldabaoth using this ability, it is very effective and cost almost to nothing to use it."

 _"Holy shit! Race levels? Summons? This whole thing turned out to be a fantasy RPG come to life! It is awesome and scary at once!"_

Mumbled Itami to himself, did not even realising how close his guess and truth really is.

"Of course, if this so-called Demon Emperor the same who father defeated two hundred years ago. There is a high chance he might be just an impersonator using the villainous Jaldabaoth as a cover to conduct his devilish design."

Continued Eleanor.

Yes, the possibility was a real one, after all, according to the tales.

Ainz Ooal Gown defeated Jaldabaoth and took his masked maids after a decisive battle.

A clash, that was so widespread and destructive a whole country destroyed by it. At least, according to the legends.

"How strong this, Jaldabaoth exactly is? How can we defeat him?"

Asked Molt, seeking the solution of his backache immediately.

Everyone turned to him who was familiar with the matter.

"We only know him from the tales, but according to our legends. He is a god level threat; even father admitted when he spoke about him: There were moments when he needed to excel more mana and effort than he intended to do so, only to keep him at bay."

The one who spoke was Beelzebub, giving a worried look at the ruler.

"'The battle was long and hard fought, the very air died, really gained a new scar as the last rays left the world…'"

Serene quoted a line from the tale; her two coloured bangs dropped a mysterious shadow over her eyes.

"Don't be ridiculous! There is no way a creature like that can stand against a god!"

Scoffed Zorzal, on his face the expression of an unbeliever, disdain.

The first prince just glared at him, the stupidity of the man named Zorzal El Caesar really started to play Ping-Pong with his nerves.

A sudden malicious thought about;

'Simply disposing of him would be more effective.' Slipped through his brain coils.

It was just a small thought, an instinct like feeling.

Beelzebub felt this man will be the cause of great calamity in the near future.

But thinking it was a pure demonic reflex coming from his mother's side, he ignored, suffocated the sudden urge.

Instead…

"Think what you want, Prince Zorzal, the threat is real. We need a unified force to deal with it. I may even need to call father or aunt to help take care of him. Dagnabit!"

Cursing under his breath, the first heir bit his lips furiously, making his mouth slightly bleed.

"For now, I completely agreeing with you, brother."

Eleanor hit her hand with her folded together fan violently, squeezing the cooling tool slightly, that under the burden squeaked unpleasantly.

"Lady Elanor!" Zorzal gasped.

"You can't possibly…"

Eleanor gives him a stink eye, suddenly, her crimson oculars like glaring daggers flashed in an even more profound red, pierced Zorzal's soul immediately, shutting his big mouth for a moment.

"Prince Zorzal, please, may you be so good to shut your mouth for a moment. Adults are speaking. This is not the best time to dispute our differences!"

Biting his lips, Zorzal turned his head away, swallowing his pride. He felt, if he goes against the petite woman, he can only lose.

"So, brother, what do you propose?"

Turning back the second born asked the first, seeking the advice of her older sibling after such long time.

"Hah…"

Breathing deeply, Beelzebub thought about his options.

A sinister cracking disturbed his thoughts suddenly, everyone, even Eleanor stiffened hearing the blood churning distorted voice.

 **"Thinking hard how to stop me? Are you? Descendants of the Unliving One… Cursed children of a dawned era."**

"Show yourself! Demon!" spat Molt loudly.

The room darkened, and the projection of a Joker mask rippled through the air.

It was a vast pseudo face. Four meters in height and two and a half in diameter.

Every simple mortal backed feeling the unnatural cold the phenomena emitted. It was so dark, so chilly; even the brave Serene shrugged uncomfortably.

 **"Satisfied? Emperor Molt? Or I call you fallen Emperor? Killer of your own father? Betrayer of your own family? You let your Empire fall because of your own feeling of superiority, because of your own pride. How does it feel? Knowing you will lose everything you ever worked for, losing the Empire you shed so much blood to preserve. Just a little push, that's all you need…"**

Molt's eyes widened, gasping asked. "Ho-How…"

Dismissing him, the face continued turning towards the new delinquent he will skim.

 **"What about you, Zorzal El Caesar? You who think he is the master, but in truth, are nothing more than a puppet, the same doll-like everyone else. A controllable person."**

Zorzal just scoffed, sweating slightly.

"I don't know what are you speaking about, demon. But do not fret, when my forces finally cleared your stench from the capital and brought your broken body before me, you can beg for forgiveness. You will not gain my mercy. I will end your foul life with my own hands."

Hearing the announcement, even Molt sweat dropped on the ridiculousness of the statement of his son.

"Is he serious?" Asked Beelzebub from the princess with a deadpan face.

Piña just sighed and nodded. "I am afraid…"

 **"Kukuku… How brave, considering your position. I think it will be you who will beg for fast release. But don't worry, I know the way how to break children like you. If you want to know more, ask Prince Diabo or your father next time, Puppet Prince."**

"That's enough!" shouted Piña in a defiant tone, finally managing to gather her courage.

The head turned to her immediately.

"I demand you! Cease your attack and leave the Capital! There is no sense in what you are doing!"

Jaldabaoth's projection did not falter, instead took an even more glaring posture.

 **"Ah… princess, Piña Co Lada, the daughter of a simple handmaiden, a whore. Kukuku… you, really think so? Why should I leave when victory is in my hand? Please enlighten me, oh, wise leader of an ornament order."**

The demon asked, feeling a growing pressure Piña started to gasp for air, suffocating.

 **"Admit it; you always wished strength, always wished your father's recognition. As the fifth child, more importantly, a female member in a feudal society you will never gain that recognition. No matter how much you struggle. You will remain the cattle of your father's will. He will eventually marry you away to gain more political influence. This is inevitable in your current state. The strong always sought to gain more power, and you are only a tool in his greedy hands. You are only a breeding cattle for him."**

The redhead looked at her father horrified, searching the faint traces those could refute the ceaseless accusations left the Demon Emperor's fetid mouth.

Molt just lowered his head, with a sorrowful face looked at his daughter, then suddenly turned his gaze away, confirming, he indeed planned such thing.

 **"Fulfil the task I give you, and I may consider leaving the rest alone. Kill your father here and now, free yourself from his influence. If you complete this easy task, I will make sure to crown you the Empress of the Empire after I dealt with the rest."**

Tempted the demon flattering.

His honeyed words were so convincing, the Princess felt for a moment she will oblige, only Beelzebub's firm hand on her shoulder stopped her, brought her back to the reality.

"Jaldabaoth…"

Momon stepped forward, giving a constant glare at the demon's projection, and in answer, he could enjoy the creature's undivided attention.

"Stop this senseless game. Say the place and the time, face me, let's end this once and for all!"

 **"Ahh… Momon the Black. So we meet once again."**

The demon, slightly amused give a curious chuckle for the black warrior.

 **"How long since we last clashed? Two hundred years? I don't really know, in the Pandemonium, time is non-existent. But I assure you, since our last meeting my strength growth volumes. Flies like you are nothing to me."**

"Prove it then, clash with me once again. Let's our strength decide who will be the victor of the night."

 **"Tempting, but I am not here to play with your charming person's. I am here to lay ruin this world then proceed to destroy the Sorcerous King and his Kingdom. To pay back what he stole from me. To finish the unfinished business the two of us had."**

Beelzebub stepped forward, on his face a relentless expression settled.

"In that case, I will fight with you. If you manage to kill me, the city is yours, and you can have your vengeance on my father. If I won, you would be destroyed!"

Pointing at the floating face of Jaldabaoth, the first prince stated his wish. His tone steady did not falter even for a moment. In return, Jaldabaoth answered without hesitation.

 **"Tempting offer, but I have to refuse. You are not 'him', You are not sufficing."**

"Hmm… it means you still fear father. Hearing the rippling tone you release, I can't think anything else."

Quipped Beelzebub sarcastically, pointing out a possible weakness in the demon's seemingly impenetrable defence.

For every onlooker he seemed a slightly crazy individual, challenging the demon Emperor in such reckless way, he is either confident of his victory, or downright crazy.

 **"You speak nonsense, either way, you have a half hour. After that, everything will come to an end. Let me leave one last gift to you. Farewell, use your remaining time well."**

The demon mask still floated, space cracked, air grizzled, from multiple direction and places, nail-like spikes shoot through, aiming the people directly around them.

Most of the surviving Praetorians and the lackeys Zorzal brought with himself bleed out instantly, tore apart by one of the numerous shadow spikes.

One of the nails like elongating shadow almost reached the redhead princess, when…

Time seemed to slow for a moment, then it abruptly stopped.

Like the people in the room stuck in a thick substance, glue, they can't move anymore but were completely aware of their surroundings.

The effect of the ability, [Partial Time Stop] come to life.

The ability allowed one to stop the time partially, in such way, the people without immunity of the time-based techniques can't move or act but are entirely aware of their environment.

The temperature dropped once again, for a moment the freshly lit torches flickered, darkness returned.

The field distorted, churned as a new black portal opened, edged with orange edges.

Stepping through it, death incarnate, wearing a royal white robe with golden lining. Several runes and the crest of Ainz Ooal Gown adorned the chest.

Gripping his golden staff, a similarly coloured halo floated behind his skull.

The figure's head like a skull, two evilly dimming light lit on his orbits.

He was accompanied by a towering warrior, with the enormous body size of 2.5m. The bipedal insect-like being towered above everyone else.

With a tail twice as long as his height, the insect-like creature was covered with sharp spikes like icicles and has a strong jaw that can easily snap people's hands.

Two of his hands hold a silver halberd, while the remaining two hands hold a mace emitting black light and a crooked shape sheath which seems to be for a broadsword.

With a breath-taking cold air, the pale blue, hardened bone armour oozes out diamond dust like bright light. His shoulders and back look like uplifted icebergs.

Behind the cyan warrior, several dozen undead creatures wearing dark, spiked bulky armour stepped out. As well gown wearing ghostly woman floated, and Elder Liches followed them.

"Kukuku… It seems we come just in time…" quipped Ainz amused.

Cocytus, as the cyan coloured warrior called released a gust of cold air, resting his halberd on the ground, he seemed relaxed, cracking his mandibles happily.

"Father!" gasped Beelzebub, immediately kneeling before him.

Eleanor and Serene followed custom. The others unable to move, still stood motionless.

Ainz just nodded, turning to the still silent floating projection immediately.

"Jaldabaoth, long time no see. How was the vacation I sent you to ponder your wrongdoings? Hmm?"

The king's tone was solemn, a little bit too cherished if you can imagine such sound can leave the fleshless skull of an undead being. Yet, the slight traces of sarcasm also appeared in his tone.

 **"Ah! So the king finally came out from his hiding. I wondered how long it would take for you to show your skull in the open. For moments, I thought you simply chickened away, king. Do you come to die once more? Or even more, came to offer your allegiance to me? Don't worry; I will be a generous host, I will break you only a little bit after what you have forced me to endure. I will be gentle, don't worry."**

"Muu…" Ainz raised his hand protesting.

"I assure you, this is not the case, demon Emperor Jaldabaoth. This time, I will end you for good."

 **"Kukuku…"**

The demon laughed, the moon received an even deeper crimson hue.

" **Free to try, King. You have twenty-seven minutes to catch me before my plan reaches its critical state. Consider your steps wisely, or someone precious to you may not survive the night."**

The projection disappeared, and like a crack, the shadow spikes shattered with the [Partial Time Stop] duration expired.

Molt and everyone else gasped and fallen on their knees, vomiting out their stomach's content. Breathing heavily, still feeling the strain their bodies burdened by the technique.

"What… wheeze… was this?"

Breathed Piña heavily, cleaning her mouth from the nibbles remained after her regurgitating experience. Still unable to process what exactly happened under the short time.

Strangely, she was aware of everything that happened under the frozen time accident, but it was like a dream, different, extraordinary, blurry.

Like someone submerged her in a strange substance. Like an out of body experience. Like she froze in a block of ice.

It was not an entirely unpleasant feeling, but at once, she felt herself infinitely small, immeasurably meaningless after the experience. She thought felt herself somewhat cold.

She can't breathe, she felt her very existence ceased to exist for long moments. Yet, she was aware everything that happened around her, no, under the short out of time practice her senses keened even more.

"Are you all right?"

Offered his hand Beelzebub, Piña looked up at him with a pale face, disoriented.

"Father's [Partial Time Stop] can be a little disorienting to those who never experienced it before. Please forgive his hasty step."

Explained the Prince.

"Ta-Thank you… It is not a problem."

Piña's face flushed, turning her usually pale skin in a new hue of crimson, accepting the prince's hand.

This was the first time she saw Beelzebub's face from this angle, and she could not help it, but the lower part of her stomach fluttered like she swallowed butterflies.

The rest of the Royal Guards immediately saluted or kneeled, giving the proper respect to Ainz.

The Overlord simply waved, urged them to stand up.

"Sorry for my late coming. It took me a while to find a safe way around the [Dimensional Lock]. Kukuku…"

Ainz seemed to cherish despite the grim situation, looking in the direction of Momon, the two of them exchanged a quick, respectful nod.

"Father, uncle Cocytus. May I ask why did you come here? The city is under a demonic invasion. Not a proper place to you."

"Hmm, why do you say that?" asked Ainz innocently. His tone carried a slight interest.

Both Sugawara, Tomita, Kuribayashi and the imperial royalties just watched Ainz flabbergasted, waiting for the result of the conversation between father and son.

Itami already saw Ainz up close before, more precisely, back in the diet, he appeared in the same way. Suspecting the King's habit of popping up in the middle of meetings uninvited, he was not even surprised anymore.

Beelzebub breathed heavily, glared furiously in the two, dark holes that served as his father's eyes.

The air seemed to ripple around him as his sinister demonic aura started to manifest.

"You are the king of the country! Did you gone senile!? What did you think of coming here?! It is just too dangerous appearing under such dire circumstances!"

He roared, almost losing his head over his father's reckless act, breathing slowly he managed to calm down massaging his forehead after a moment

"Now you already here, I humbly ask, no… I order you! Until my forces arrive, remain put! We can solve this whole situation."

Molt, Piña and even Zorzal froze hearing Beelzebub's daring, scolding tone against the King of the Sorcerous Kingdom.

Usually, such behaviour was unacceptable, even from a royal heir considered treachery against the ruling authority.

Punished by either execution or lifelong sentence, even in the Empire.

Of course, only if the ruling party deemed such punishment necessary.

Ainz remained utterly calm, waiting patiently until Beelzebub stopped his berating.

Although he had neither had skin, flesh or any muscle to constructs facial expression. His tone sounded slightly amused, satisfied hearing his son's reaction.

"Ah… about that. I recalled your forces; they will not move from Fortress Gown."

"What!?"

Molt, Piña, Sugawara and Beelzebub shouted at once, flabbergasted, they don't want to believe the offered reinforcement recalled so easily.

The redhead princess and his father both give Beelzebub a killer gaze; then their eyes turned in Ainz's direction.

Seeing their dreadful look, Cocytus gripped his halberd, even more, cracking his mandibles, hissing out a freezing air dangerous.

"Hm… Typical…"

Mumbled Zorzal, throwing his hands dismissing in the air.

Molt just give his first heir a stink eye. He already realised why Ainz recalled the promised reinforcements, and he completely understands the reason why he did so.

After all, he did not manage to keep his throne more than three decades out of pure luck.

He earned it, through numerous political shadow play and by subtly eliminating every relative, enemy and governmental who stood in his way.

The Empire's system of inheritance worked just that way. You either climbed the mountains of corpses you left behind, or others stepped on you.

Clenching his fist, Beelzebub faced his father, he was furious.

His aura of malice now visible billowing around him. Dancing, forming a radiation of crimson and deep violet.

What will they do without reinforcements? The few dozen summons his father brought with himself can't possibly get rid of the infestation in time.

Their forces are failing, with each passing seconds the demons killing more and more people.

He and his relatives might be even able to dispose of the enemy, but that will take hours, under that everyone will either die or become the slave of the rampaging creatures.

"Why did you did this father?! Why did you call back my forces!? You know without them we have no chance to stop the demonic invasion in time!"

Shouted the prince once more, stepping closer to his father, glaring at him with strict eyes.

"Prince. Beelzebub."

Cocytus stepped forward slowly, hitting the ground with his halberd perilously. Cracking his mandibles, giving out a threatening cracking.

"Show. Some. Respect. To. Your. King."

For few long moments, Beelzebub just gives a dangerous look at his father, then bowed his head in apology, ashamed of his unbecoming behaviour, still angry.

"Please forgive me. Your Majesty."

His spiky, dark raven bangs dropped a shadow on his eyes as he bowed his head in submission.

"Muu… It is not a problem. You need to understand Beelzebub; I have the right reason calling back your promised reinforcements. You can't inspect the battlefield as a two-dimensional thing; it is more than that."

Explained Ainz wisely.

"Care to elaborate, father?"

Asked Beelzebub, raising his head uncomfortably slowly, still angry at his father. He just can't find the right reason why he let the people of the city suffer and die without reason.

"So, you still don't understand. What a pity."

Turning towards his daughters, the lights in Ainz's orbits flared for a moment.

"Serene?"

The heterochromatic girl pondered hard for a moment, strained her gears, but she unable to find the right reason, in the end, she just guessed.

"Maybe to preserve our forces for the incoming battle? I think…?" she scratched her head clueless.

Ainz pointed at her appraisingly.

"You are partly right, Serene, very good…" Serene blushed looking away.

"Tha-Thank, you, father…"

Ainz gives a gentle look at his vampiric daughter.

"Eleanor, care to further elaborate for your brother and sister?"

The vampire girl nodded satisfied.

"Of course father."

Turning to her relatives, she started her explanation with a happy, disregarding expression.

"They are not the citizens of the Sorcerous Kingdom, simple. Sacrificing, risking the life of father's precious vassals are completely unreasonable and unacceptable."

"What!?"

Everyone aside Eleanor, Ainz and the royal guards yelled out of indignation.

"But the adventurers and the forces of SKEF in the city…"

Beelzebub pleaded, mumbling almost incomprehensive.

"I already sent a few eight edged assassins and a few higher tiered summons to secure the zones where they stationed. They will protect them, but no one else."

Molt sighed tiredly; he already suspected the same reason. Why would you sacrifice more from your forces to save an enemy you intended to conquer?

It is easier to let the enemy force bleed out the opposition then conquer the weakened force.

It was a primary battle tactic.

"Still with more forces we can…" Beelzebub voice cut immediately.

"Do you really think father not thought of this?" asked Eleanor once more, scoffing huffishly.

"You are really short-sighted, brother."

"Your sister is right, I have a second good reason indeed." pointed out Ainz.

Now Molt interested, raised his brow, turned to the undead ruler.

"May we know the reason, your Majesty?" Stepped forward Sugawara, giving an honest look at Ainz.

"Ah, Kōji Sugawara from the Ministry of Foreign affairs. It is good to meet you finally."

Sugawara's eyes widened, stepping back for a moment, he can't do anything just gasp in surprise.

He simply can't understand how Ainz knows him but thinking back at it; it was not surprising and entirely sensible.

Ainz was royalty; he most likely receives diplomatic reports daily base. Albeit, he was surprised a King like him took the effort and read those summaries those speak about him. He was just a dull bureaucrat, after all, no one important.

Sugawara did not meet many royalties under his time of service, but he knows from his colleagues who meet many of them.

Aristocracy is prone to forget about simple diplomats like him.

"Likewise your Majesty." he nodded, shook hands with Ainz.

It was a strange feeling gripping Ainz's hands constructed entirely from bones.

Sugawara's instincts screamed to flee and ran from the creature.

Gulping his bitter feeling down, he endured and gave Ainz his perfect mask of a gentleman paired with an impeccable smile he practised so many times during his career.

After the fast exchange of courtesy, Ainz turned his face to the Emperor.

"Emperor Molt, I feel there are matters to discuss after the invasion is over. I feel my son promised things he should not in his sudden feel of…"

Leaving out a small, non-existent breath, Ainz glanced at Beelzebub for a moment.

"Chivalry…"

His gaze returned to Molt immediately.

"Youngsters used to give empty promises and act without thinking."

Pandora's Actor who hid under Ainz's disguise felt himself miserable saying such things about the young heir, humiliating him. But it was his creator's wish for him to do so, and as the original Overlord explained.

'You need to fall first to learn how to pick yourself up. Rising even stronger than before.'

Beelzebub turned his head away, gritting his teeth ashamed.

Molt quietly bowed his head obliging.

"Indeed they do. And you are right, we will have a few things to discuss after this nightmarish night will be over, Your Majesty. Hopefully, we can converse under more…"

Gazing around suspiciously, he continued.

"…delicate circumstances. Please forgive me I can't receive you with a feast fit for royalty. As you see, we have a slight demonic infestation. As one royalty from another, I humbly request your help."

Molt slightly bowed his head; he finally realised his helpless situation after the attack.

It is either the demons or this Ainz Ooal Gown fellow who he can negotiate for a better outcome. And he doubted the demons would be willing partners if it comes to compromise.

Even if his plan fails, he sent agents to sabotage and incite hostility between the Sorcerous Kingdom and the JSDF. He only needs to give the sign, and his agents will act.

If he forced to fall, he would be damned leaving the two sides feasting on the corpse of 'his' Empire and at least not try to pull them with himself into oblivion.

"Umu… Don't worry; until dawn, I will take care of Jaldabaoth. Although, I will ask heavy price for my help."

Molt's face flinched in anger, closing his eyes, perspiration poured from his forehead.

"Name it…"

"Kukuku… gentleman doesn't discuss business under the pale moonlight. Conditions will be discussed later. Under more delicate circumstances as you put it."

"Sigh, so be it."

The Emperor's stomach churned. He wanted to break the neck, slice to pieces, and destroy this thing. No, the demon would be the more fitting title for the skeletal being standing before him.

Humiliating him, forcing him to choose between total annihilation or become his vassals, pushing him into an inescapable debt.

This Ainz fellow was a crafty bastard he must admit.

Molt was entirely sure, the skeletal ruler will request not less, but total vassalage in exchange for his help.

He could even imagine the situation when it comes to light that Jaldabaoth fellow might be one of the subordinates of Ainz, and he just sent that demon here to incite chaos, push his Empire in the verge of extinction.

Just to accept vassalage in exchange for the protection of the Kingdom, only to spare resources.

Considering what he saw tonight and experienced in the past months since the invaders appeared.

The possibility of Ainz commanded such mighty beings as this 'Jaldabaoth' sounded more and more of an option.

Still, he can't accuse the ruler of the enemy Kingdom with such rude and unproven accusation.

It was indeed an offer from a king who may display false generosity towards them with the intention to take over his country.

But it was also the offer he can't refuse no matter what, a helping hand in exchange for some 'compensation' without risking of the possibility of a total annihilation after such insult.

He needed to admit, Ainz just gives him an inescapable checkmate, outplayed him by just appearing here tonight and merely calling back the offered reinforcements with a simple word.

If Molt refuses his help, the Empire will end, if he accepts it, they became the slaves of a monster. If he accidentally offends him…

Ainz might march in the heart of his Empire and execute everyone who displeased him, then enslave everyone else after the night.

And even if Molt accidentally manages to prove Ainz's guilt in some way. He merely disregards the accusation by shrugging, then execute everyone in the country; he only needs to wave his hand.

It was an inescapable situation; he would do the same in his stead.

No… He already did it a few times against weaker countries in the past.

Ordered the execution of whole cities worth of people just to set an example and upkeep the stability the Empire managed to preserve for hundreds of years.

A necessary evil, yes, he called it like that.

But now… Standing the other side of the blade, it was a bittersweet feeling.

Watching Ainz for a few moments, Molt figuratively dismantled Ainz to essential components with his eyes.

From his movements, his mannerism, and the way he treated the situation.

The Emperor recognised immediately; he did not deal with an amateur like he did many times in the past.

This 'Sorcerer King' he heard so much about from the reports, indeed an old player, like himself.

A sly fox who handled the situation with the delicacy and relaxed fit for royalty.

He needs to be extra careful, considering every step of his not to gain his ire, and in the process fall out from his influencing radius.

The only thing he could do now is damage control.

Hoping at least his family somewhat can keep the Empire and the ruling power intact until they regain their former glory.

Albeit, he doubted his idiot son, Zorzal, will suffice without his subtle control from the background after he became the new Emperor.

He could only pray for the gods of Falmart.

Only hoping to Zorzal remain calm and do not do anything stupid while he is around Ainz or the heirs of his, or do anything that may incite the infinite wrath of the Skeletal Overlord.

It was painful to admit, but his firstborn indeed was an idiot.

He was sure Diabo and Piña would suffice even without him.

Diabo was like him, a fox under the soft skin, he just needs some experience, and he could use his talent adequately in the political playfield. Not that a few years spent in the political maze of the Empire would not fill.

Like a weathered pot, he needs some clobbering that's all.

As well his redhead daughter was smarter than she looks.

He already recognised the small traces how the two youngster look at each other.

The soft motions, the stolen glances what two people give to each other when they are in love?

Although, from what Molt saw, the two youngsters did not even recognise these feelings yet. In time they will, he was sure of it.

He as well passed such period with his daughter's mother who has initially been his concubine. Although first, it was only a physical attraction, later it became a little bit more.

If he manages to bring the two of them together, maybe he can even clobber together an alliance with the Sorcerous Kingdom, if he plays his card's right, not as the Kingdom's vassals, but true allies.

Yes, that would be the best outcome for both parties, but most importantly for him.

After the events take place tonight, he was ashamed treating Piña as livestock, using her for his own and the Empire's end. But he had no other choice. Either she or the Empire, and the Empire never fall.

If he mixes his cards right, the heir Piña will give to Beelzebub might even could inherit the throne of both Imperium.

In this way the Empire could merge with the Sorcerous Kingdom, creating an even more significant, more powerful authority, guaranteeing the survival of his bloodline.

Even if he had to mix his blood with nasty demons, it was better than dying, leaving an empty legacy no one will remember.

Or worse, they will only remember him and his family as a conquered small print in the pages of history.

That's the worst outcome Molt could imagine. His ancestors most likely will spat on him if he let such thing happen.

These mind-bending thoughts ran through Molt's mind for a moment, accepting Ainz's hand, the two rulers sealed the deal.

"So be it, I will personally deal with Jaldabaoth and his lackeys."

Announced Ainz using his business tone.

"But father!" gasped Beelzebub, protested heavily, stepping forward his expression for a moment turned grim.

"You cannot be serious! Let us deal with him! It is too dangerous for you to go and fight him toe to toe!"

Cocytus knocked his weapon once again, hissing threatening. Ainz simply fluxed his worry away with a simple glance, turning back his son.

"Umu… I am completely serious. Please understand, you and your sisters might be strong, but you are not at the level of Jaldabaoth, yet. Maybe in the future, you can handle such threat. But you need to grow not only in power but learn the craft of war to beat such crafty enemy as him. If you stand against him now, he will eat you alive under a few moments. Even if you attack him at once from different fronts, he will use your tactic and numbers against you."

"But…" Beelzebub bit his lips.

Ainz stopped him abruptly by placing his hand's on Beelzebub's shoulder gently.

"Do you remember, I said there is a second reason why I bought only a few summons with myself and resigned your promised reinforcement?"

"Yes…" The prince angled his head towards the dust, giving a contemplating expression.

"You know about Demiurge's [Command Mantra] right?" asked Ainz once more.

"Yes, according to mother, he can exert and force his influence on other beings by using his passive. Of course, only up to a certain level. He can take control of everyone who had no protection or will to resist his voice."

His eyes widened, the realisation why Ainz did not willing to bring further forces in the city dawned him.

"You don't say…!"

Ainz nodded.

"Yes, precisely. Jaldabaoth has the same ability as Demiurge; I learned it first hand. Bringing further low-level forces would be pointless against him. He could simply turn our own power against us, then laugh as we kill each other, it would make no sense. Instead, it is more sufficing bringing a few higher level servants. I felt his power level increased since our last clash, tremendously I may say. Calculating the new variable, I brought summons adequate to resist such control, being they are all undead and commanded by me they will not turn against us."

"Crafty, as always father…" huffed Eleanor happily behind her fan.

Turning to Sugawara and Itami's group, Ainz continued.

"I also took the liberty to send a fast messenger back to hill Arnus about to not send jets, helicopters, infantry or tanks against Jaldabaoth and his forces. His anti-air and infantry prepared against such attacks. They would tear such brunt assault to pieces under mere moments, or Jaldabaoth himself would take over them using his [Command Mantra], sending back them against your base."

Itami nodded with a serious face.

"Thank you, your Majesty."

"Umu… Although, they insisted the usage of artillery to clean the demonic infestation at least a little bit. Because of this, I already sent a few divinator units those will help them to guide the projectiles as well a few units to fend off the stray forces of the enemy. So, be prepared for further explosions in the immediate vicinity."

As Ainz give the warning, a few explosion shook the nearby ground. Molt and Zorzal flinched. Piña already started to acclimatise of such deafening blasts after the weapon exhibition last day.

Itami and the JSDF personnel were utterly calm knowing the sound of the weapon.

"Well, time is short, I need to deal with a Demon Emperor under..."

Raising his wrist, a holographic clock appeared above his hand.

"Nineteen minutes. Emperor Molt, Sugawara-dono. If you excuse me…" he bowed apologetically.

"Your Majesty…" Molt and Sugawara returned the courtesy.

"Cocytus, please take command, make sure everything is in order while I am away. Organize my summons and send rescue parties through the city. I entrust you this task."

"As. You. Wish. My. Lord." releasing the freezing air. His mandibles cracked.

Although, for everyone else, it was a dull Darth Vader like sound. Anyone who knows Cocytus knows the meaning behind these happy sparkles he occasionally releases when Ainz entrust him something important.

"What about us father?" stepping forward Serene kneeled subserviently.

"Protect the civilians, accompany one of the searching party. Herd the survivors into safety."

"Hay!" she obliged immediately.

"Eleanor, I entrust you to form a defensive barrier around the palace, nothing can get through."

"As you wish father."

"Beelzebub, you are the last line of the defence in the palace, protect the VIPs in the room."

The first prince said nothing, just nod a few times understanding, still giving his father a grim look.

"Momon, you will accompany me. I am sure Jaldabaoth will appreciate your appearance. The two of you have a past after all. Kukuku…"

Cracking, Pandora's Actor under the disguise of Ainz clearly remembered his master's majestic presentation as he clashed with Demiurge in the past.

Even thinking about it made a shiver ran through his flexible spine. He needed to exert serious effort to not burst out into a German song praising Ainz.

"Kukuku… Indeed, although, my partner was also present at that time. I hope we will suffice without her."

Bit back Momon immediately, remembering the good times when he and Raidyn adventured together.

"Huh…" giving out a weak sight, the Overlord lowered his head.

"Indeed, unfortunate. I also would feel myself a lot safer if Esdeath could come with me for this mission. But both Raidyn and she are busy with their appointed projects. But, I suppose It cannot be helped, is it?"

"Esdeath…?"

Itami looked around clueless, searching for any kind of confirmation, pondering hard.

"Her name is the same as the certain cold-hearted general from the anime; Akame ga Kill. I wonder it is only coincidence or they are the same. I would be not even surprised after all of the things happened under the past month."

"Yeah, I as well remember that anime," confirmed Tomita quietly with a sharp nod.

Despite the Otaku theme, his always collected demeanour remained.

"Oh! A fellow Otaku! I would never suspect you walk in the same boots like me, Tomita-san."

Giving a friendly smile, Itami was happy he could finally find a common trait with the always grumpy and severe Sergeant First Class.

Finally, there is something the two of them could chat under the dull moments of service.

Tomita just blushed slightly, turning his head away. He was not an avid manga and anime consumer, but time to time he felt the urge to watch and read such art.

Their short talk immediately disturbed by the stocky Kuribayashi who forthwith started to protest the unneeded theme of the chat angrily.

"Sergeant First Class! First Lieutenant!" she grumbled angrily, glaring at them.

 _"Kukuku… that was indeed a good anime, although, I like the build and the ending of the manga better."_

Mused Momonga in his head, disregarding everything for a moment.

Waving his staff, Ainz summoned the same portal as before, turning back to the heirs, Pandora's Actor in disguise cracked a short last quote.

"Good work, Serene. By the way, you won the match…"

Everyone stood clueless as the undead king in white, and the black-clad warrior left the scene through the spatial-temporal hole, the tear that immediately closed as they stepped through on it.

Eleanor huffed diligently but deep inside clenched her teeth in anger.

Beelzebub gives a thumbs up to his sister.

And Serene, well, she just smiled satisfied, convinced her father finally pleased with her achievements.

"Thank you, father…" she mumbled, so softly no one could hear her out.

Cocytus take command, started to order and organise the defence.

* * *

A few minutes later: Main Square: Capital of the Saderan Empire:

The portal opened on the main square, revealing the dark warrior and the undead king stepping out from it.

Jaldabaoth, his dark elf attendant, as well several masked maids like figure descended on the ground, giving a slight bow to the king.

"Kukuku… I see you are lively as ever, Jaldabaoth-san. I take you enjoyed your long vacation in the limbo. Oh, and look at that, you even managed to recruit some new allies. Congratulations."

Momonga seemed happy seeing the demon amidst the living once more as the undead king conversed with an old friend instead of his old nemesis.

"Supreme One, Dark Warrior. I may say it is a joyful event receiving you two on this beautiful night. Please, forgive me my ruder demeanour. I certainly look like a penniless host accepting your appearance under such poor circumstances. Unfortunately, my lady is quite busy tonight. If you allow us, let our humble self-entertain you in her stead too."

Looking around, Ainz indeed was disgusted watching the ramshackle, bombed surrounding. The mutilated, piled up corpses and the people trembling naked slaves in the nearby cages.

But gulping down his displeasure, he continued his act.

Ruining his precious friend children's hard work would be just a waste.

"Muu… don't think about it, Jaldabaoth-san, please don't be bothered by us. Instead, please care to elaborate why did you came here in this pleasant night and stained the sky with this distasteful colour? I liked the old moon better. If you allow me, I will fix that."

Raising his staff, he cast his spell.

"[Maximize Magic: Clear Skies]!"

The skies emptied, the clouds retreated from the heavenly domain entirely. However, a slight pink hue still remained on the moon.

The spell either was not strong enough or Ainz just not put enough effort to eliminate the full effect of the item called by the name; [Call for the Blood Moon].

Using the item the user can significantly strengthen the environmental bonus of Lycanthropes, demons, every chaotic aligned and cursed beings, as well weaken divine beings such as angels.

Unfortunately, undead did not fall into this subcategory, thus gained no bonus from the item.

The only drawback of the item was it's more than one week long recharge time, and effects surpassing its strength can overwrite its impact.

So, you may say it was an entirely balanced item.

The demon Emperor folded his hands behind his back, leaning forward calculative.

"Kukuku… My-my, to ruin the scenery this much. You are really a cruel King." teased him Jaldabaoth softly.

Ainz just shrugged as an answer before bit back.

"Please tell me, why are you playing the same game again like back then, Jaldabaoth? It's starting to get boring after the second time."

"Hmmm… Aren't you curious, Lord of the Supreme Ones? Please forgive me saying this. But curiosity killed the cat. And this charade is just too entertaining to kill the cat at this stage."

Ainz amused, covered his lower jaw giving away a soft crackle under his breath.

"That's may be true, please forgive me, it is my fault this time. But I ask you, is life indeed worth to live without curiosity and bravery? Without daring to explore the unknown, there is no advancement; there is only stagnation."

"Hmmm… There is truth in your words, just be aware not to fly too close the sun like Lord Icarus. Or the wax keeping your wings together may melt, and you will fall."

"I ask you then, why do we fall?" pointed out Ainz directly, re-joining the spar of words.

Jaldabaoth titled his head curiously, Ainz waiting a moment answered.

"To learn how to pick ourselves." Pointed out the Overlord wisely after a few moments of waiting, then continued.

"That's why I don't fear fall. Each time I fail, I learn from it. Emerging more powerful than ever."

"'More powerful than ever', you say? Kukuku…"

Giving one last blood chilling chuckle for the warrior and the magic caster, Demiurge angled his hand into a higher orbit.

The demon's hand changed shape, his wrist swollen multiple times, changing both in colouration and texture. It took a rougher, darker form.

His nails elongated, reaching more than eighty centimetres, their sharpness able to cut even diamond or the most durable metals.

The hooded figure raised his staff before himself, taking a defensive battle formation, the air started to ripple around the four men.

"Allow me to prove you wrong, the thing I originally come here already fulfilled. I will not need this little town anymore. But considering I still have time before departure. Please entertain me."

An artillery shell exploded not far from them; the blast scattered deadly shrapnel that the little group simply ignored.

"So be it…" Ainz waved his staff.

"[Maximize Combine Magic], [Dimensional Cancel]! [Maximize Magic: Targeted Mass Teleportation]!"

The cages contained the captives' teleported in a safe distance, inside of the assigned safe zones Ainz's summons already reached.

"Now, let's start the fight. Do not disappoint this time."

Raising his thick wrist, Jaldabaoth half covered his masked face.

"Oh, don't worry, this time, I will win. I may even leave a gift for your majestic self. Unliving one."

Sprouting his tentacle wings, Jaldabaoth started his assault, Eram supported him.

Flashback end:

* * *

 **Scene Change: Around a week later: Camp near Forest Swartz: Where we left Itami and the group: Night-time:**

Drinking from the gourd, Itami just stared the blazing fires before his vision. Pondering about the mess and the restorative project happened afterwards. Finishing his long story, finally.

"So that happened…"

Nodded Julian the bard with a pondering expression, caressing his goat beard.

"Whoaw…"

Lelei and Meguminoi who joined not long after the story started, awed in unison.

"I heard a battle take place in that capital, but damn. Jaldabaoth! According to the legends, even the Sorcerous King had problems dealing with that guy."

Muttered the Beastmen Slapstorm uneasily.

Clinging to his biceps even more, in the meantime, the awakened Rory slightly trembled.

"Do you think this Jaldabaoth is Hardy's servant? His name did not ring a bell at all, and I know most of Hardy's highest ranked demons by name."

"Why do you know such things!?" Itami raised his voice almost yelled in surprise at the demigoddess, giving a disturbed face.

"I dunno, maybe compulsion. I need to protect myself from Hardy, or she will kidnap me."

The Goth priestess of Emroy shrugged diligently as explained the reason.

"Is that demon really that strong?" asked Yao fearfully.

Everyone nodded with a grim face. Gaping for a moment, Yao shut her mouth, turning her head away.

"What about the battle? How the clash went?" Asked the dwarf of the group, Merryforge huffing his pipe.

Sighing Itami showed a flat face. Ashamed, but he had no information about the battle.

He was not present; he only felt the after wind as the two sides clashed and only heard the gossip that started to spread after the dawn finally come.

According to the buzz that started to spread, it was the battle of the gods, shook the heavens, the realm of mortals and even the underworld.

"Unfortunately, after that Ainz guy left with Momon. We only heard the huge, deafening explosions, saw as the sky changed colour a few times and felt the ground trembles under our feet. If not Eleanor-dono's protective magic wards, the whole palace would be nothing more than a rubble by now. As well, the demons would overwhelm us long ago and destroyed everything."

"Hmm… I see…" the rough, veteran tracker Beastmen, Alalog Slapstorm nodded understanding.

"Strong magic." said simply the explosive maniac lolicon from the background.

"Indeed." Lelei nodded and added.

"Sigh… I know only one thing. That Jaldabaoth guy threw a huge rock as a goodbye gift. It was more like a flaming meteor what we saw through the window. It covered the whole capital and even the moon with pure darkness for a few moments. I don't know how Ainz-dono managed to neutralise it. But if that thing would hit the ground, I am sure everything would be destroyed within a few miles radius, if not more."

Added Itami heavily sweating, remembering the last part of the nightmarish parade.

"Ohhh!" gasped the little group around him.

"That's him! The God of Death of the other side indeed a magnificent being. I am sure he and Emroy would like to meet each other one day. Maybe my god even offers me to him as a tribute."

Stated Rory, happily.

Just thinking back the aphrodisiac feeling that she felt in his presence, made her moisture her pants even more. She wanted him; she wanted clung to him like a toy, she wanted him to be hers.

Giving a flat face to her, even Lelei can't cover the slight unpleasant feeling that she felt, her face flinched, looking away.

Although, she indeed interested in the unknown magic the newcomers used.

Ral and Elange, her patron gods, would surely support her decision learning more about this new kind of power.

"What happened after that?" called Julian once more, drinking distillate alcohol heavily.

Itami sighed, leaning his head down.

"Honestly, damage control. After the remaining demonic threat cleared and the area secured by the joint effort of the JSDF, the SKEF and the Empire. The humanitarian forces of the two sides arrived, helping the restoration of the city. Being I am not part of the Engineering platoon and the command repositioned the Third Recon and me back to Arnus. I stationed there and did mostly paperwork. Only recently I gained this task that according to the command 'I volunteered.'"

Showing quotation marks, Itami's tone was sarcastic.

"Itami you are so mean! Why did you leave me home!? Why can't you bring me with yourself!? I wanted to fight with those demons! I wanted to be with Ainz-sama once again!"

Like a small girl, Rory pouted, batting Itami's arm continuously. Although for her, the hits seemed weak, they let the First Lieutenant in a bruised state.

"Au! Hey! Rory! That's hurt!" he mewed.

"You said you want to remain in the base. Referring your apostle duty is more important than mingling with boring nobles."

Crossing her arm over her small chest, she pouted angrily, remembering she indeed said such thing. Still, Itami at least could use his strange device to send her a message about the happenings.

"You are still mean, at least you should send a message for me to come. A few demons for me is nothing; I wanted to fight with that Jaldabaoth person. What if something happened to you while I am away? Your soul is still mine, don't forget."

"Uhh… When my soul became your property!?"

Yao as everyone else sweatdropped, giving a flat face to the pair who now looked like a married couple espoused since decades.

Angling her head towards her new 'property', the apostle of Emroy give the First Lieutenant a playful wink, cutely sticking out her tongue.

"Don't you remember when I licked down your blood before we departed? That's sealed our deal. When you die, your soul will be mine."

Remembering Rory indeed did such thing after he managed to cut his hand back in Arnus clumsily. Itami can't do anything just groan.

Why he let a little girl, (even when in truth the said girl is way over nine hundred years old) to lick him. He felt himself like a pervert allowing such thing.

Turning to her with a begging expression, Itami inquired with a flat face.

"Can't you just remove this 'My soul is your property thing'? I want to rest in the afterlife, you know…"

Rory shook her head, smirking childish.

"No can do…"

"Huh… That's my luck…" mumbled the first Lieutenant with a grumpy face, staring the dust under his feet.

Everyone laughed around the fire; even Lelei gave a small smile to the group.

A few more short story changed owner around the hot light, but soon everyone retreated to have some well-deserved shut-eye.

Then… Soon the first lights of the yawning sun greeted the little group. And they proceeded with the hunt.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Near Fortress Gown: Guest Rooms: A few days later:**

Laying on her bed, the apostle of Flare, Granham, seemed dissatisfied.

Despite the luxurious circumstances her hosts provided her. She still did not receive an audience with these newcomer gods from the other side.

Her bed was soft, comfortable; she never slept so well under her long life. The food was even better, comparable the ambrosia the goods consumed.

Even so, several days already passed, but no one came to instruct her how to proceed.

That idiot undead (that she can't stand) just waved her away like she would be no one important.

Saying:

'Please follow the servant in the guest rooms. We will notify you when the Supreme Beings will be able to receive you. Until that, wait in patience. If you need something, ask a servant, and you shall receive it. You can walk around freely in the meantime.'

Pointing at her dangerously one last time, the being's last sentence made her shiver.

'Don't try any funny business; we have well-established methods to deal with troublemakers.'

Scoffing she was upset you may say. How dare a simple undead order her? She was the apostle of Flare, the god of the Sun!

If not her diplomatic mission and the strict orders of the Pantheon, she already ended the existence of that foul being. She would already raze to the ground this hallowed, unholy place, cleansing it in the name of Flare!

Although, she was a little scared.

Last day, her God speak her through a dream, notifying her about the appearance of a demon, a chaotic being, a creature that maybe even able to rival the power the gods.

Ruining the capital of the Saderan Empire in his wake, calling down the stars to destroy everything before departed.

Only thanks to the appearance of a mighty being from the other side the demon failed.

Unfortunately, the vision of Flare as well the other members of the Pantheon blocked above the city in that time.

They only received a faint borderline what really happened through the prayers of the believers.

Flare as well was clueless like everyone else. They have only the faint idea who was that powerful being who saved the people as well the city.

But if his guess was right, it was the being they seek to contact.

The new god, the believers, only called by the name; Sorcerer King, Ainz Ooal Gown.

Because of Ainz's personal appearance and intervention in their stead, the survivors waved his name into many prayers those directed towards the other gods, thinking he is some kind of new member of the Pantheon.

In the last few days, people started to build small places where they can worship the new deity alone.

Of course, Flare as well the other gods have no idea what happened as said, everything was just too chaotic and blurry to be able to puzzle together something reasonable from the small morsels left behind.

Several more god-like being appeared at that time around the human settlement. Most likely escorting and monitoring their master's progress.

If this thing goes on, if the divine beings of the other side just keep walking through on the territory of the Falmart Gods without invitation, kidnapping their worshippers like flypaper catching flies. There will be a massive problem between the two sides.

Turning on her side, Granham quietly grumbled to herself, giving a sour face.

"Stupid undead…" she mumbled, trying to sleep.

When…

'Knock-Knock. Knock-knock.'

Come the knocking sound from the direction of the door.

"What!?" almost yelling, she sat up.

A maid opened the door. Her hair brown, bob cut, her eyes yellow, you may say her beauty exotic.

"Lady Granham, please forgive us. But due to the increased traffic and the current construction works, we need to put someone else in your room. I hope you understand; there is no free room."

Grimacing the demigoddess released a sight and nodded.

"I don't care…"

The maid bowed, leaving, returned only a few minutes later with the said 'person'.

Knocking on the door once more, the maid let themselves inside.

Granham only glimpsed her new roommate's appearance, not as she cared, her state can't be worse than it already is. Or is it…?

That little glance was enough to fill her with anger and spite, making her jump up immediately.

Blue skin with yellow tattoos on the face, silver-white hair.

Granham immediately recognised her nemesis, under a moment jumped up in surprise and horror, grabbing towards her resting holy artefact.

Eyes widened, pointing accusing the appeared individual as well, in return, the seemed to be new roommate returned the somewhat indecent act.

""YOU!""

The air froze as the two apostle's sight clashed.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Merry late Christmas for you all! :)**

 **Unfortunately, because of the family (typical), I can't write in the last few days as much as I would like. As well the page and my word processor malfunctioned. Thus I can't publish my work as soon I would want to.**

 **Albeit, I could only release the chapter just now. I hope you all enjoyed it despite my lateness! :D**

 **Anyway… As said, I hope you enjoyed the episode as well the end of the act.**

 **Next one will come when it is ready! Don't be a grumpy, impatient Grinch! XD**

 **Be patient and…**

 **RNR!**

 **(Reviews are the life essence of the authors, feed poor author-san, or he will starve!)**

 **In the next chapter:**

 **Dragon hunters V2!**

 **Will Itami and the adventurers will be able to defeat the Flame Dragons? Or they need some help?**

 **The burden of the apostles.**

 **Stay safe! Safe Winds!**

 **Until next time folks!**


	19. Aftermath, Politics of the Mountebank!

**Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There**

 **by oblivon2991**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.**

 **I don't own the _Overlord_ (** **オーバーロード** ** _Ōbārōdo_** **?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **Please review it. I know I will make mistakes that I intend to correct and will try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

* * *

 **Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There:** **Chapter 19: Aftermath, Politics of the Mountebank:**

Several days passed since the horrible demonic invasion of Jaldabaoth. The demon emperor and his servants brought great calamity upon the capital of the Saderan Empire.

Even now, the rogue demonic forces the Demonic Emperor left behind in his retreat roamed through the landscapes, terrorising, consuming and killing everyone who they could reach.

Scattered, right, but not less deadly and even more dangerous without their master's leash around their neck. If angels were hard to control, demons were even worse. One little slip and they could go berserk or worse, turn against their own summoners.

Burying themselves deep in the ground, using their wings to fly far away, hiding in the shadows. Some of their ground speed reached more than one hundred km/h. With such physical capabilities and now controlled by their own bestial instincts of self-preservation...

They either banding together in smaller packs under the leadership of a stronger demon, hiding, waiting the best moment to stalk an unsuspecting prey or merely raiding caravans using their superior strength and agility.

Even now, the hunt still ongoing. All three sides participated in the raid. The Sorcerous Kingdom, the JSDF and the Empire as well did it's best to contribute the cause, defend the home soil from those vicious creatures.

More and more adventurer teams started to flow in the direction of the Capital, hearing the news of the great destruction in the wake of the beast, seeking to find fortune.

A demonic invasion meant free targets, free fledgelings to hunt, and most importantly, secure money for the professional adventurers.

Easy money that hard to come by nowadays as less and less area remained uncovered in the map of the Sorcerous Kingdom, less and less threat and treasure lies uncovered.

The Adventurer's Guild in the Kingdom offered a vast amount of money for trophies, and such decorations usually brought fame and prosperity for the hunters who recovered them.

Naturally, professional hunter units also roamed the ground and the skies. Trained directly to seek and eliminate dangerous opponents like demonic beasts. Wearing both heavy, medium and light cloth armour.

One of these militarised units consisted the order that was specialised the hunt of the demonic elements. The Paladin Order of the Sorcerous Kingdom, the order only called; Dawnblade.

The Knights of the order rigorously trained and equipped by heavily enchanted gear just to find and exterminate demonic entities.

The order of Dawnblade back in the kingdom quite famous, its Highlord possessed great power, trained by Shalltear and the Supreme Highlord itself by the Sorcerer King's orders.

The organisation also owned several fortified forts and a great deal of financial support. Although, in the recent years this support seemed to diminish a little bit as less and less threat started to appear on the radar.

As the high brass said; they needed to reorganise the resources elsewhere... usual excuse to rob the order of its rising power.

Although every member of the organisation received training to able to ride at least one kind of ground or flying mount, they received an order from the Highlord himself to help out the JSDF and the Empire if needed.

Namely, the brass of the JSDF decided to send reinforcements to help with the hunt. Because of this, the JSDF requested the help of the experts from the Sorcerous Kingdom.

The decision to seek the opinion and the help of the professionals those dealt with such Supernatural threat was reasonable. The percentage of demonic encounters back in Earth closing to zero, even less when it comes to the self-defensive division.

At first, sending here the unexperienced forces of JSDF was reckless, but there are good reasons behind the higher-ups decided to send reinforcements.

Firstly, the brass most likely did it for political pressure.

The men and women behind the desk most likely thought it would be a sign of generosity in the social media. Either way… the media would most likely dissect the higher ups back home if they at least not send some humanitarian support.

Several jets, Ah-1S cobra attack helicopters, Komatsu LAVs, Type 87 AA (anti-air) tanks, another kind of vehicles and infantry arrived on the scene to secure the zone, bearing the insignias either the JSDF or the UN peacekeeping division.

Each unit accompanied at least one expert from the Sorcerous Kingdom that helped to coordinate the hunt. And of course, several so-called 'exorcist' also attended them from different religious organisations from Earth, filling the role of the neutral consultants.

The higher-ups most likely thought it would show good in the media if they give such kind of support for the operation.

Proceeding forward…

The second so-called good reason why Japan and from now on, the UN (United Nations) are willing to risk the life of their peacekeeping units in open combat against demonic entities. Was to gain the opportunity to capture lesser demons for further study and fetch the corpses of the bigger ones.

True, they might just smuggle out a few from amidst the ruins of the capital, and they most likely already did so. But when it comes to experiments, one sample is never enough.

The shady individuals behind every government already started to pull strings to gain more footholds in the new world, as well to gain technology and advantage over anyone who stood in their way.

The Empire as well sent a few units to support the cause, although, because of their tremendous losses against the SKEF, the JSDF and the demons, their number was less than expected...

Back in the capital, the restoration project just started, but proceeded fast, thanks to the arriving construction forces, and the modern technology of the JSDF.

The tireless undead and golem labour and the magic casters arrived from the Sorcerous Kingdom worked day and night. The mages mostly conjured up building components and restored as many buildings as possible with their creation type magic.

Because of the roaming demons in the city, the project could only start after two days passed and several areas secured for the work. Even so, several beasts might still stick under the rubble; every excavation unit accompanied with a heavy escort that further hindered the work.

Several native residents already left the capital, seeking fortune elsewhere. But most of them remained to have no other place to go. Currently, they seek shelter in the secured sections of the city where the humanitarian forces of both sides did their best to help those who are in need.

This is where the restoration started and finished under record time. The residents although a little bit crowded but found a safe, well-guarded heaven against the creatures still haunted the city. Ainz left enough forces after his departure to make sure everything goes as intended in the capital, secure his superiority, but not in a margin that would be suspicious.

Above the capital, the remained wyvern riders of the Empire, the newly arrived gryphon knights from the Sorcerous Kingdom, and dreadful looking Nephalem Guards skid across, hunting the occasionally appearing flying creatures.

For the outsiders, all of this seemed a simple show of compassion, a simple act of kindness towards unfortunate residents of the Empire. But for the politicians, it was all part of the grand scheme.

The Capital became a new battlefield where the UN and the Sorcerous Kingdom measured the gap in a passive-aggressive way. The place where they could either won essential supporters or lose a substantial foothold.

Both sides did their best to won the most important thing, the support of the simple people and the nobles. Securing their loyalty towards either party was the most critical step when it comes to conquest.

When it comes to negotiations from the higher ground, you can't just barge into the enemy territory and take it with force.

No… that would only end up with chaos and the uproar of the masses. The turmoil that may lead to unnecessary causalities, a civil war that may influence the mishap of all sides.

When that happens you need to use further pressure, further forces to equalise the chances and keep the control. In another word, weaken yourself by rearranging your troops and resources, remove them from on another hand important front. Making the future operations harder and more dangerous for your agents.

But by merely winning the backing of the aborigines through a simple act of kindness… well, that meant a great deal of support and considerably eased the process of the future operations in the said zone. It cemented the loyalty of the people against the oppressing government who tyrannically ruled over them.

In the Capital, not far from the Imperial Palace, the fifth child of the Emperor, Piña Co Lada rode on her horse through the ruinous scenery of the streets. Her face mirrored her current feelings, the mix of horror and disgust.

The countless dead still laid on the ground, rotting, releasing their especially recognisable odour. Most of the dead only covered by a thin layer of white blanket.

The occasional patrols those trotted away in her side only giving her a slight salute. The ruinous state of the city really made her heart as well stomach churn. The scenery was more disastrous than the city of Italica was after the siege.

No matter where she looked, she only saw death and demolition. The previous sight of the prospering heart of the Saderan Empire gone, replaced by the look of a ruinous ancient city.

Two knights from her faithful Order of Rose rode on her side. A tomboyish looking girl with grey hair, and a blonde beauty with curls, namely Panache Fure Kalgi and Bozes Co Palesti in order.

The burgundy princess was also accompanied by the massive escort force Prince Beelzebub offered them, a few Praetorians her father could spare, and of course, Serene, the third born of Ainz.

Not as Serene liked to be here, no… in truth, she would prefer to be elsewhere, hunting the enemy, chasing after Jaldabaoth for example.

She is only here because of her brother asked her nicely and used 'that' technique to forcefully convince her.

It cannot be helped; she could never say no to Beelzebub when he gives her his puppy eyes.

 _"Damn that idiot! It should be me, who use the puppy eye tactic, not him!"_

Gritting her teeth, Serene showed a sour face as she looked around, thinking back how her brother swindled her.

 _"Ser-chan! Please do this little favour for your great Onii-san, pretty please!"_

Shaking her head slowly, she just wanted to banish the memory as her older brother folded his armoured hands and asked her help most embarrassingly. She will inevitably suffer from nightmares for weeks after this trauma.

Looking at the redhead princess, Serene can't do anything just a shiver as the cold ran through her spine.

She had no clue what kind of relationship her brother and the girl shared; it was not her business. She just wanted to stay out of it. Stay out of the little game what her sister and brother played since they reached their father's waist.

Yet, she knows they will inevitably hustle her into their stupid power game, as always.

Not as it matters, she won the bet back then; her father recognised her skill and talent openly. That means more than anything for her ego.

Naturally, when Ainz inspected her training sessions he always praised her skill, but never openly. She suspected it was because that may ruin his image as a wise leader and dignified ruler.

Still, until now, one fort remained unconquered. One person, she could never make to praise her for her expertise. Maximum out of pity to point out her flaws.

Making her aunt recognise her skills and approve her effort was the most laborious task she ever faced.

Serene and her relatives tried to beat her many times under the battle games her father sanctioned to keep in every week. Even under the open training sessions where everything is allowed, be it a dirty play or asking others' help against her.

As you may suspect it, their effort always failed. Not once Serene managed to hit her aunt correctly.

Esdeath was not gentle with them when it comes to training, no… she was brutal! And Ainz approved this brutal honesty. Sometimes scolded his friend to go a little more easy on them, but that's all.

After each lesson, Serene and her siblings ended up beaten so badly they could barely move for hours, and that was when she was gentle with them. It was a hell of training they went through since their childhood. But it was well-earned suffering from visible results.

Results that made the three siblings end up in the list of the deadliest individuals on the planet.

Fueled by her new momentum, Serene stepped up in her wish list.

Her new goal was… Beating her aunt in her own war game, beating her but in a real fight without restriction, only relying on their pure skill and wits to decide the battle in the end.

Serene know it was an impossible goal, defeating a Supreme Being in her own battle game… impossible at least. Still, a worthy goal to reach for, at least, for her it was.

Twitching a small smirk, straightening her posture on the saddle of her bicorn, the cross-shaped scythe and her sturdy looking armour clanked. The armour despite its sturdiness did not hide her excellent figure.

"Princess Serene…" called for her a young, feminine voice, disturbing her thoughts.

"Huh… yes?" Serene turned to Piña with a raised brow.

"I thank you for escorting us in these dire times, and of course, to saving so many citizens, risking your own life."

"Don't mention it…" the descendant of Zesshi waved away the praise with a humble hand motion, turning forward.

Piña gulped nervously, not knowing exactly how to dissolve the awkward air that started to accumulate in the atmosphere.

The aura of the power of the dual coloured woman was terrifying for her enemies, calming for her allies, dignified for everyone who saw her. Radiating the atmosphere of an authentic battlefield commander, similar that Piña felt when the veteran Grey accompanied her under her travels.

Galloping through a safe zone, many people ran through Serene, praising and thanking her vehemently her rescue action.

"She is here!"

"Oh my lady! Thank you! You saved my son!" came the cheer all around.

The people tried to get closer to express their gratitude personally, but the tight ring of Royal Guards don't let them, blocked their way immediately. Clasping their armoured boots on the ground heavily.

'Thud!' The sound of danger made the people back immediately.

Serene just smiled and waved to the crowd. Immediately, the present forces of SKEF recognised her sign. Straightened their postures saluted.

Waving once more, the ring of guards eased, and she dismounted from her saddle, walking to the citizens casually. Changed a few kind words with the people as her father recommended, laughed on the silliness of the situation, acted a little bit carelessly. Still, her style mirrored her heritage of a royalty.

According to her father and her teachers, appearances must be maintained, but easing the tension by exchanging a few kind words with the ordinary folk was not a hindrance either. It was the necessity of a good ruler.

'A good ruler always had time when it comes to his/her subjects', her father said it once, and Serene agreed with the sentiment.

Although, Serene did not converse because she tried to build a power base. No, her reason was her own.

In truth, she rather chats with the ordinary folk or sparred with her friends that participated in those parties her sister liked so much. It was somewhat refreshing seeing regular people instead of the bootlickers of the palace.

Piña just recognised, but several people around her give her a stink eye, glaring at her as she betrayed them. The kids holding stones in their hands, ready to throw at her. Only their parents and the intimidating presence of the guards made them keep their swing.

Gulping, she knows why they looked her like that…

Maybe they were right, after all, it was not her, it was not the Empire, neither was it her father or his soldiers those mostly come to their defence. It was not her people who provided shelter, protection and aid for those in need. It was the enemy who provided all of this…

Of course, most of the Praetorians did their best and died honourably in the battle. Even so, it was the strangers from across the two gates whose secured the city and saved the people from the demons abusing nature.

If she guessed it right, most of the counts and the nobles most likely immediately recalled their own elite guards to escort them into safety instead of staying and fighting, protecting the civilians.

Looking around, even more, she saw several small altars, quickly constructed from the rubble.

They cannot be compared the magnificence that the churches provided to the worshippers those seek the guidance of the gods. No, instead, some of those small statues were even comparable to grotesque figures, which were more offensive towards the deities than flattering.

She still managed to recognise most of them, although, there was around five or more character Piña was unable to identify. The most conspicuous one was the robed deity with the face of the death, holding a great staff made from some kind of precious metal.

The burgundy haired princess can't help, but the small statue made her remember the strange deity appeared before them under the storm. The same that drove the demon away. That according to Beelzebub was no other than his father himself, the Sorcerer King, Ainz Ooal Gown.

Biting her lips, she can't help it but feel fear.

If this goes on if her father doesn't or can't do anything to change their fortune urgently, then he will not only lose the complete control over his country but the aid of the people as well.

Piña suspected her father already lacked the last one. Without people, he will soon lose the assistance of the Senate, which means her family will be dethroned and the whole Empire will be forced into vassalage by the Sorcerous Kingdom.

Although, at this point, she suspected it is inevitable. After such loss there is no way her country could win or barter out an agreeable solution, keeping their independence intact without some kind of 'heavenly intercession' from the side of the gods.

Shaking her head, she dismissed the idea altogether.

No, after hearing and feeling as the Demon Emperor and the Sorcerer King clashed, she was not even sure the gods willing to try their luck against such foe. It's just not worth their time to risk their power base to stand against him, to save mere mortals like her and her fellow's Imperials, to preserve the integrity of the Empire.

Admitting, she suspected, after a certain point the thirteen chief deities will not just stand idle and watch as the newcomer gods syphoning away their worshippers. She was sure, in the future, the heavens will crumble as the divine beings will crash into each other. Shaking the very foundations of the world in their wake. Deciding the fate of the world once and for all.

Destroying then recreating everything after the dust settled. Even thinking of this made her shake in her saddle.

Massaging her forehead nervously, Piña recognised as Serene finished with her chat session. Turning around and mounted her armoured bicorn once again, waving farewell the peasants one last time. The little group continued their way towards the still standing domed building of the Senate.

After around fifteen minutes of riding, the little group finally reached the shambled building. The look of the construct seemed barely hold together by the hastily placed beams. On the roof, a colossal hole gaped. Walking through the corridors of the building the situation doesn't improve.

Many servants and architects tried to save the building and boost the situation by cleaning the rubble and placing more logs under the cracked marble.

"What a mess…" Serene commented subtly, irked as she looked around.

The burgundy princess did not want to admit, but the situation of the Capital was indeed dire.

As she glanced around, suddenly a familiar person stormed through her vision. A man with an impressive stature. Her brother, Zorzal.

"Ani-sama!" Piña stopped her track when she saw her elder brother walking with a clenched fist.

The man did not even willing to recognise his sister, merely shrugging her off, proceeding with a sour-faced expression without also looking at his sister.

"Nii-sama?"

Not far behind Zorzal, one man with a long blonde hair followed. His face resembled of Zorzal still differed. Wearing stylish noble clothes blue in colouration.

"Diabo-nii-sama… what's the matter? Why Nii-sama is so disturbed?" Piña asked panicked, having no idea why her brother was so angry.

On Diabo's face a panicked frown, his forehead heavily drenching. Looking around, then giving a look of Serene he bowed his head.

"My lady, please can you give my sister and me some room? I need to discuss a few things with her, urgently…"

"Sure…" the heir of Ainz simply deadpanned. Walking around inspecting the building a little bit more. Several Senators approached her in the meantime, trying to initiate a chat with the strange, fully armoured woman with the double coloured eyes and hair.

In the meantime, Diabo leads Piña into a small room to avoid prying ears. This was one of the less damaged places in the Senate Building; it still had three walls standing. This was enough for privacy.

"Nii-sama, what happened?" Piña asked in a severe tone, glaring daggers at her brother.

Perspiring, Diabo looked away slightly shocked.

"The Senate just finished discussing the vassalization clause the Sorcerer King handed to father two days ago, fifth time since last day. They are farther from the solution than ever… Zorzal almost jumped on the Emperor's throat when father denounced the possibility of a new assault, either against the JSDF or the SKEF."

Piña's eyes widened, Diabo continued after a momentary pause.

"Naturally, our dear brother, Zorzal openly blamed father and every present noble, scolded them because their coward attitude to do anything. Blamed them for their helplessness."

"He really is?" The princess gasped, looking at her brother in disbelief. Who in the answer just bit his lower lip and nodded cringing.

Piña could imagine many things from Zorzal, but she could never believe him attacking Molt. Maybe that's why he was so disturbed and did not even greeted her when he stomped away. He undoubtedly still furious because his proposal has been shoot down immediately by the Emperor.

In another hand… If what Diabo said is true, then that means the end is closer than ever before. That meant Piña and her father had less time to solve the dire situation than she ever suspected or hoped.

"Wh-what was their decision this time…?" her throat dried, forcing some gob from her glands towards her throat, her knees slightly trembled.

Looking away and frowning, on Diabo's face a disgusted expression drawn.

"Father and his advisers denied even the possibility that they already accept the terms and the demands of the Sorcerous King, be they no matter how generous in our current situation. No matter what father will do, it seems the time rapidly close when the Emperor had to voice his honest opinion and choose between fighting and accepting the terms. I think he already knows what to do just trying to win us some time…"

"I see…" nodding Piña was more worried than ever. She never saw her brother in such direful state. Something terrible happened to him, something direful that pushed Diabo in his current state.

Several dark circles under his eyes signed Diabo's lack of relaxing sleep in the last few days.

Naturally, Piña did not blame Diabo. The only reason she could still sleep because she requested some medication to help her fall into her dream world from the court alchemist.

"Frightfully, the voices of opposition grows stronger and stronger after each session. They are still the minority, but vote after vote more and more Senators express subtly their desire to accept the clause as it is. Voting either to make a lasting alliance, releasing a peace treaty that would guarantee privileges for the Sorcerer King and his vassals."

Piña's eyes widened in disbelief. If that's the case, the situation failing from grace faster than she ever implied.

"Until now, no one dared to raise voice against father, but the tension is rising after each passing day. The terrible demonic invasion and our helplessness under the siege just gave a huge push the Senators who're a desire to accept the terms and push us under the heel of the enemy. I suspect several of them have been already influenced by the either the JSDF or the Sorcerous Kingdom. We are soon out of time. In another hand, the pro-war faction seemingly also gained some momentum after our loss. Maybe they are just desperately trying to protect their own wealth and privileges…"

Mumbled Diabo the last part, looking away embarrassed.

"What do you say!?" shouted Piña questioning her brother's sanity.

"Piña, understand! I suspect the two sides will not wait forever. After a time they will act and enforce their interest and demands. With military force, if it's necessary! No matter how I see, how I measure our chances, I see no light in the darkness!"

Whispering angered, like a maniac, Diabo looked around suspiciously, searching any sign or trace of a possible espionage attempt.

Trying to collect herself, the burgundy-haired princess swept together her remained courage from the farthest corners of her heart. Asking her question boldly. Looking inquiring at her brother with sharp eyes. Searching the fragments of light in the dark.

"You said the stipulation is generous towards the Empire, what do you mean, Nii-sama?"

Gulping a deep, Diabo nodded with a dishwasher look on his face.

"Yes, I asked father about the terms, and they are…" clicking his tongue Diabo looked away uneasily.

He doesn't want to say it out loud, but the terms that the king named Ainz Ooal Gown offered for the Emperor was generous, at least, noble if you looked the current situation of the Empire.

"Please forgive me…" taking out a handkerchief and wiping away his sweat, Diabo eyed his sister.

"I drafted my words poorly. I wanted to say, considering our situation and comparing the conditions we used to give our vassal states, the clause is generous. Although, I suspect there are a few catches in the small print that may make them able to take complete control over the Empire if it's necessary."

"What about the JSDF? Are they delivered a similar contract to the father? What if we seek their help?"

Shrugging and looking away, Diabo's face flinched into a grimace. Hitting the wobbly wall not far from him, making several patches of losing paint fall on the ground.

"According to my best knowledge, not yet. Although, I heard father complaining about the newer and newer enemy forces those arriving in the city. He even received a letter from the Japanese diplomat that contained a serious threat if we ever try to subjugate even one Japanese citizen once again. I would not expect them helping us anytime soon."

Looking worried, Piña simply nodded. Did not even want to imagine what kind of threats Molt had to read in that letter. Looking up at her brother, her heart hoped the best, although, her sense of logic whispered otherwise. It whispered that everything that Beelzebub promised was false.

She did not want to believe the logical accusation her mind crafted, of course, the unclean thoughts of hers dictated by her logic.

Fortunately or unfortunately, a person chooses, most of the times, she tuned in the wavelength of her heart, as her mother did so in the past when she wisely advised the Emperor.

Gulping hard, she eyed her brother gravely, trying to gather her boldness. Trying to use the reason of her heart to solve the situation.

"Bu-But those forces are only here to protect the citizens from the possible demonic threat and to help with the restoration after the Earthquake!" she protested vehemently, forcing her hand closer to her chest, occasionally waving them in the air.

"I don't know what are you thinking, sister, but please don't be naïve! The number of enemy forces arrived in the city in the last few days, be it quantity or quality, can subjugate the Capital whenever they desire so, easily in our current state. At least, according to the funny tales, the commoners speak amongst each other. This is not a humanitarian effort; this is an invasion under the guise of restoration!"

"Bu-But…" Piña shuttered, looking left and right, searching for a sensible explanation.

No… Diabo was right. She had to realise.

True, the Empire would not do the same in the current situation, they instead leave the enemy to fend for itself after a disaster, if not a generous sum offered to help with the project of rebuilding.

But after seeing the amount of opposing, soldiers arrived and patrolled around the Capital last day. The whole city starts to look like a scene where a lion and a wolf circling around a bleeding lamb, waiting the best moment to strike.

Not wanting to worry about the current situation, Diabo sharply changed the spokes theme with a shrug and a grimace. He did not wish to worry about the newcomers today.

"Do you know about Zorzal?"

Looking up, the princess pondered.

"Mm. Father decided to make Ani-sama his heir. I can breathe a sigh of relief since he had settled on the official succession. So, what's happened now?

"I don't know what that idiot is thinking, but he wants to compete with Father. I don't even dare say whose side I'm on."

Diabo narrated what had happened in Zorzal's room previously.

However, Piña needed some time to digest it.

"...Well, isn't Ani-sama always like that? Maybe being named the heir went to his head. Something cunning like that sounds wrong for him."

"I agree… what's this all about, anyway?"

"Could it be I've made a mistake? Since Ani-sama is going to be Emperor one day, it's only natural that Father would want to supervise him. Why compete with him? What's he trying to do?"

"Right now, he just seems to be watching and waiting."

"Which means he won't keep watching forever?"

Diabo looked like he was about to spit out a grain of sand in his mouth.

"There are two kinds of idiots in this world. Some idiots know they're stupid. The other idiots just think they're smart. That fellow sounds like the latter case."

"Father is now planning to advise Zorzal, and when he dies, he hopes Diabo-nii will take over for him so the Empire can carry on… at least, that's what I think?"

"He wants me to be that moron's counsel? Nobody told me anything like that. Why the hell do I have to advise him!? Shit, Father gave up too soon!"

Filled with anger, Diabo punched the broken wall. The fragile paint layer shattered under the impact and turned into dust which drifted away.

"Ani-sama. In most cases, the eldest son has the most convincing claim to the throne. The people won't care about his personality or talents (or lack thereof), only that he's the eldest son. The same thing applies to the army. If we disrupt this natural order and try to determine the succession of the Emperor with pure ability, there may be other ambitious people who think 'I can do it too' and make their bid. If that happens, the country will be plunged into chaos."

Diabo spat hearing the reasoning. He already knows that much; he just saw no sense in the method in the current situation.

Piña just raised her brow funnily at him and continued by bowing her head

"Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. This is why Father will worry about his decision right up until the end. However, the country is now in danger. If Father selected you as Emperor, Zorzal would oppose you, and the country would be in even greater danger. With that in mind, it was the most sensible decision to let Zorzal take the throne. Diabo-nii-sama, not many people like Zorzal-nii-sama, but there are many in the courts who support you."

Piña's calm and logical words cleared Diabo's head. She had grown while he wasn't looking. Her words were very persuasive.

When Diabo compared himself to his elder brother, he felt that he would be better at administration. Thus, he had worked tirelessly to make himself the next Emperor, but he had forgotten that his uncle, little sister and little brother were also his rivals for the throne.

What would his little sister do when she realised this?

Zorzal did not treat his sister as a rival because he believed that one's enemies would not try to get close to you. Therefore, Diabo had to think about how to make use of her connections and influence. Her rumoured relationship with the first heir of the Sorcerous Kingdom was not a drawback either.

At this point, Diabo looked at the flip side of things; that if the enemy army worked with Piña, she would be a frightening foe. He needed to make use of her as soon as possible.  
As he thought about it, a chill ran down his spine.

Diabo suddenly realised that Piña was the closest to the throne.  
A common tactic the Empire used was to help a noble who was most aligned with the Empire's interests become king of his country, then signing a formal alliance with the nation which now had the Empire's interests in mind. Both the Sorcerous Kingdom and the country of Japan possessed overwhelming military power, and they were in an excellent position to make use of it. His father, the Emperor, could not possibly have overlooked that.

With that in mind, Diabo tried to see the situation from the Emperor's point of view. Emphasis on 'tried'.

He had too little information to work with, but after adding Piña into the equation, and considering that Zorzal would become the Crown Prince, he could see the outlines of the future taking shape.

 _"Japan is too soft as an enemy. As long as you do not fight them head-on… About the Sorcerous Kingdom… they are a different kind of beast. You need to be careful when you put in your head in the mouth of the lion, or it will swallow you at the whole. We need to treat them with caution, using their weakness against them. They are too overconfident when it comes to their superiority and can be easily manipulated using their pride against them."_

As Diabo recalled the Emperor's words, he realised that his father implied both the Japanese and the Sorcerous Kingdom could be easily manipulated. One of the sides loved their people too much, they were friends of justice, and they were overly trusting. The second bloated by their own pride and overconfidence of strength. How did one make use of enemies like that? No, how could one make allies of them?

In other words, all one needed to do was change the current antagonistic relationship between the Empire and the two different sides.

But how to do it? The key person for that plan was… Piña.

He needed to create a situation where Piña would end up opposing the Crown Prince.

The best way to do this was to have Zorzal wage war on either Japanese or incite him against the Sorcerous Kingdom. Zorzal would play the role of a warmonger. For that to happen, they needed a military advantage, however temporary, and then the initial victories and misconception of the situation would lead to confusion. That would require a set of skills that were completely different from politics...

If he could put this plan into practice, he could have either Japan or the Sorcerous Kingdom as an ally, if he plays his cards right, both. With Piña for the just cause of ending the war. The forces of the invading military would eliminate Zorzal and Piña would take the throne.

In this way, one or both sides, who were their enemy up till now, would become Piña's ally, or in other words, the partner of the Empire. After that, both sides would help support the Empire's authority, and they could absorb the culture and knowledge of the outsiders at a faster rate than the other countries. In a sense, Zorzal would be a sacrifice for this future, while Diabo could stay in a safe place.

As for Piña, she could not overlook her father even if she became Empress. In addition, she had nobody skilled in national administration on her side. All she could do was use the people Father gave her… which meant there was a chance he could call the shots from behind the throne.

"Umu~" Diabo nodded pondering.

After thinking about the matter calmly, he decided to abandon Zorzal's plan of 'the retired Emperor versus the current Emperor Zorzal'. Instead, it would be more practical to turn to either the Sorcerous Kingdom or Japan for help, which was one of Pina's hidden cards, into an ally.

Although Zorzal wanted to compete with his father, the fact was that his imagination was far behind his father's. More importantly, he lacked the power to make his will become a reality.

Diabo felt like he had suddenly woken up from his older brother's lies.

If this went on, it would be dangerous to be Zorzal's ally. And even if Zorzal became the Emperor and Diabo became his ally, his life would be uncertain too… In the end, all he could do became an advisor to Piña, his father's puppet.

Since Diabo was eying the throne, he began considering how he could put himself in Piña's place. In other words, he had to catch up in his relationship with the two invading forces. In that particular field, he had fallen far behind.

Diabo continued thinking.

Once again, he tried to think as the Emperor did.

He added Piña, Japan and the Sorcerous Kingdom into the simple plan of the Emperor opposing Zorzal, and then thought about how to make himself the fulcrum on which all their relationships would turn.

That being the case, what Diabo could do was become a fifth faction. Then, when the time was right, he could throw out a casting vote to make himself the next successor.

The question now was who he could ally with.

Perhaps he could ally with the Empire's vassal nations. Naturally, since he was going to join the battle for the throne, he would undoubtedly want the power that could fight against the Imperial Army. If there were no forces like this, what if he looked through the Gate, within Japan, or at countries beyond Japan? The Sorcerous Kingdom, or other countries in their world? There should be a faction that was powerful enough out there, right?

Pondering all on all of this, he did not even recognise that he is just standing, staring out of his head without saying anything for long seconds.

"...? Nii-sama, are you thinking too much again?"

"Ugh…" Diabo gasped in surprise.

Anyone would find it strange if someone else stood in thought for so long.

"Although I understand that Zorzal-nii-sama's thoughtlessness is troubling, Diabo-nii-sama is also overthinking the matter."

As he realised Piña was looking at him, Diabo concealed his schemes and replied that Piña was the one who was confused.

"Who was it, anyway? Who was the one who put that big idiot Zorzal up there?"

"Well, if you're calling him an idiot… actually, don't you think Zorzal-nii-sama might actually have the ability to succeed, but he was just hiding it until now?"

"Impossible! He's an idiot. Just consider the following. If he was afraid of Father, then he should have hidden his talents until Father passed away. But he exposed them at a time like this; doesn't that make him an idiot?"

"Well, nii-sama, don't you think that's a bit much? Perhaps he was simply stressed because of the events of the past weeks so that he couldn't control himself for a moment."

"In any case, he's a real idiot! That can't be helped! And if he is really as much of an idiot as we think, who knows what foolish things he'd do! The fact was that while pretending to be an idiot and doing foolish things, Zorzal ended up believing that he was a true genius when in reality he was, in fact, a big idiot!"

Glaring at his sister, Diabo's expression filled with determination and the intent of worry.

"Listen, Piña. That big idiot is very scary. The worst part of that is his petty intelligence! There are a lot of idiotic merchants who are penny wise, pound foolish. Who knows, they might just be a hair separated from geniuses. The problem is that big idiots drag down everyone around them. It's no longer just his problem. It also involves you, Piña. You'd best think of what to do after this."

Those last words might well have been a warning to Piña that said, 'The Empire will revolve around you in the future. The people behind you (including Diabo himself) will be watching to see how you move the Empire.'

 **Meanwhile somewhere else, night time:**

The room was dark, only the dimming full moon provided some light, shining through the thin gap that left open by the two curtains covering the window.

* * *

Royally furnished, in the chamber three-person resided.

The first one was a man, wearing butler like clothes and a mask, standing near an elegant chair.

The second was a woman with petite stature and porcelain skin. Her blood red eyes dimmed brightly in the shadowed environment; two playful canines peeked out under her perpetual smirk. On her body a masterfully weaved long nightgown.

About the third person… Well, he kneeled near the woman, or more like rested his head on the girl's lap. His eyes are brimming crimson as he muttered something, something inaudible for the naked ears. The droll is dripping from his mouth.

"Did I did good, my dear? Did I do good, my dear? I did what you asked, please praise me. Please praise your faithful subject…"

Drooling, the man's oculars were glassy, showing an empty look. Staring the walls from the laps of the bleached-haired girl for a moment, then looking up at her with a hopeful expression.

The draculina just beamed a smile, caressing the man's long hair gently. Her smile seemed heavenly for the man. But in truth, only a grand scheming, malicious intent hid behind that smile.

"You did well… my faithful servant. You completed your task masterfully. But…"

"But…" The man asked a panicked expression sit on his face suddenly.

The vampiress looked away a little bit sad, staring out through the small gasp that the covered window allowed her. Thinking hard…

The servant's eyes widened, searching the reason behind his lady's sudden bitter expression. His body stern, his hands trembled, only feeling he will lose his lady's support.

"Pl-Please, my lady, tell your faithful servant your heart content, and I will obey!" The servant bowed down, his forehead dirtied by the dust from the ground.

The queen of the room glanced back at him, but only lazily. Beaming one steadier smile.

"Don't worry, my subject… in time; all will come to light. Until that, I have one more important task for you…"

The glossy eyes of the slave disappeared. His vision filled with the glimmering hope of the tomorrow opened his jaw and smiled wild, his droll slowly dripping from his mouth.

"Oh! Thank you! Thank you!" the servant pleaded and praised. Kissing, licking the naked feet of the female.

"Zorzal…"

Shaken, the man previously named, Zorzal El Caesar looked up, staring his queen with a glassy look. In return, the girl smiled at him gently.

Zorzal just stared blankly, enjoying the beaming presence of his lady. The spit is pouring down from his jutting jaw as he tried to devote his very being the woman before him.

Reaching towards the masked butler, the assistant fetched the female a handkerchief that she used to mildly remove the slaver from the side of Zorzal's mouth.

"Choo-Choo, keep yourself together a little longer. You still have a task, remember?" she whispered, pouring honey into the man's ears.

The scene started to blur suddenly as Zorzal's eyes suddenly popped open. Finding himself in his bed once again, he roared in pain.

"Aggghhh!"

Jumping up immediately, Zorzal's his half-naked body drenched in sweat, breathing heavily. His heart pounded like he was chased by horses previously.

Grabbing his face, shaking his head painfully, the man tried to banish the images of his nightmare. The exact same dream is haunting him since days. The exact images did not leave him alone to relax a little bit.

Standing up for a moment Zorzal searched for Tyuule or any other slave to relieve his stress, only to remind himself, all of his slaves disappeared several days ago.

"Damn…" he cursed under his breath.

He really doesn't want to say it out loud, but he was furious at the Sorcerous Kingdom and the father of Eleanor, cursing the invaders and their dare to rise against him.

"How dare…" clasping together his jaw, he almost bit his tongue out of his sudden anger.

Zorzal, of course, did not blame the lady of his interest. No, he can't even imagine she would participate in such malicious things. How could he accuse his future Empress with such unseemly accusations and schemes?

It was the fault of her father; it was the fault of the invaders that he and his Empire found itself amidst such dire circumstances.

She was pure; she was beautiful, she was smart, she is everything he ever wished for! She is his perfect pair, his other half. Now, he knows it… Zorzal knows it. He finally felt it… He found his Empress!

She shielded him; she protected him. She was his equal both in body and soul.

After conquering these barbarians, he will make her his, finally.

Beaming a smile, remembering his grand plan, Zorzal the conqueror just recognised as the first rays of the sun appeared on the horizon. The light of the new day welcomed him through the window. Signed him his soon coming success, his rapidly arriving conquest.

Hearing a knocking sound from the direction of the door, the man immediately know who it was. It was a maid that usually helped him prepare, waking him when the sun rises.

"Come in!"

The maid entered, following the order, bowing, curling forward shyly, cutely before the heir of the Saderan Empire.

"Prince Zorzal, good morning. Are you alright, my Lord? We heard a scream from the direction of your door."

Zorzal simply nodded, smirking.

"I am fine. Prepare me my finest guise; I will have an important meeting with Lady Eleanor. Quickly, I don't have time to waste!"

"At once!" The servant obliged and started her work hastily.

Yes, this will be indeed a beautiful day, he felt it in his bones.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Hill Dalnus: Not far from Fortress Gown: Settlement Dreamscope:**

Noriko Mochizuki, a Japanese citizen, the former slave of Zorzal.

She is she still alive, she was rescued, she was saved, and most importantly... she survived.

Noriko did not know how long since she has been captured by those horrible people, she did not know how long her captivity held. Worse, she had no idea where most of her fellow Japanese are, or even where is her great girlfriend who has been kidnapped with her under the Ginza incident.

She only knows, the strange people whose rescued her brought her to safety, give her new clothes, and plenty of food, give her medication, placed her and several survivors in comfortable, furnished rooms.

Mysteriously every injury of her disappeared when she woke up after the first night.

But most importantly, for her great joy and relief, these rooms had every comfort facilities that a modern Japanese house contained, with the exception of TV and internet. She was completely satisfied. Except... she was deeply depressed.

She has no idea who these people are or where are they come from.

When the dark armoured agents appeared out of nowhere and started to rescue and extract her along with every slave who was willing to go with them, they answered no questions, just urged them to stay quiet and follow.

Since then, a few days passed. Only the thought of she doesn't have to endure the abusive nature of 'that' man anymore give her a slight relief. Staying in one room with her fellow survivor countrymen also helped her mood. Thought, not a lot, she was still depressed.

During her stay, she started to read, walk around, and know a little bit more about the place. Admitting, the area was still a birdcage directly built to them; it was a lot better than the mines she was forced to work previously.

She knows not what kind of people her current captors, saviours or whatever they are…

The only information she had about them from the pamphlets she found in the room and the information she managed to extract from the masked nurses those occasionally inspected their health.

In both cases, the traces implied the people who've saved her from her captivity came from a country called the 'Sorcerous Kingdom.'

Most of the information she heard sounded too good to believe. Thus she urged herself to consider the facts as fairy tales. Both the leaflets and the masked nurses stated the Kingdom ruled by an undead, named Ainz Ooal Gown, and inhabited hundreds of different races lived with each other in harmony.

Even Noriko raised a brow hearing this surprising outcome, and under the past month or so, she managed to gain some experience with strange things. Such as getting kidnapped by a civilisation from another world that scarcely resembled to the Romans from the ancient times. Meeting races, she thought only to exist in fantasy tales. Experiencing the adverse effect of magic when one of the mage guards whipped her with a force whip.

Finding a small sum of the Kingdom's history, politics and policy in the papers. She recognised the similarities between modern society and a monarchy that still had a parliament. In another name, it was a Constitutional monarchy.

Her heart eased a little bit when she reached the part that stated the Kingdom's policy. It said the Sorcerous Kingdom strictly prohibited slavery in any form or kind and had a Racial Equality Clause that made sure every race under the banner of the Kingdom treated fairly and equally according to the laws.

Albeit, she can't place anywhere the fact that every label, the books and even the pamphlets in the room written by perfect Japanese, English or the language of the Special Region. (That strangely resembled the ancient latin with some words borrowed from other languages…)

Turning a page in the current book that she read, she exhaled tiredly. It was a biographical work about the life of the Great Sage of the Abelion Hills.

The opus really helped to ease her depression, and since she read it, her hopeless demeanour started to fade page by page.

The book was a truly astonishing work that described the everyday struggle and joys being a sage and the path that led someone to become one. If she had to classify the book in a genre, it would be an adventure novel combined with a lengthy a biographical work and instructor novel.

"What do you read, Noriko?"

The voice who asked belonged to a girl. Young, around her early twenties, Matsui Fukui in the name.

She barely survived a mine collapse before she was saved. Her coal black eyes still mirrored her perpetual fear going in tight places ever since the accident that killed her sister.

"Oh…" Noriko looked at her roommate suddenly.

"It is called the 'Great Sage of the Abelion Hills', pretty exciting."

Turning back her book, Noriko had no mood to converse, now the only thing she wanted is to be left alone with her thoughts and the writing.

"And? What is it about? Care to tell?"

Pried further the theme her relentless roommate, poking her even more.

The brown-eyed teen just looked back at her mischievous roommate, who, although was older than her still carried enough wit to make her frown.

"It is a biographical work…" she stated blandly.

"That's it?" asked appalled the woman with coal eyes. Noriko just nodded merely as an answer. Smirking, Matsui grabbed after the book vehemently.

"Let me see!"

"Uwaaa! Stay away!" yelped suddenly Noriko when a sudden knocking sound could be heard from the direction of the door.

'Knock, knock.'

The two girl looked at each other astonished, they had no visitors outside of the masked nurses and the silent maids those arrived daily base to either inspect their health or to bring them food.

Right, they could walk around and even could leave the room to explore the surroundings. They are also allowed to meet the other residents of the site. But all they found outside was endless acres of plains.

With the exception of a few black armoured guards who's answered no question just stood blandly in silence and the previously mentioned service staff, they meet only former slaves who are still healed and were just as clueless as them.

Nodding, Noriko put down the book, making sure to remember which the last page she read was, then opened the door.

Before her, a girl in a maid uniform. Her skin was brown; the girl was the epithet of beauty with an athletic look and red hair tied in two long braids. Although her maid uniform was indeed strangely designed, it was like she stepped out from some kind of anime.

The maid uniform had short sleeves and long black gloves with a skirt that has a long slit on its left side, revealing thigh high white stockings.

Under her black cap, it seemed two ears peeking out only hidden by her headwear.

"~Good morning! I hope I did not disturb anything! su~"

The cute 'su' sound that left her lips made her even more adorable, making Noriko blush and turn her head away.

The maid nodded, immediately, leaving no space to Noriko or even Matsui to answer.

"~Good, I was afraid for a moment. Ainz-sama would be angry at me if I let anything happen our esteemed guests. My name is Lupusregina Beta by the way. I will be your guide. Please take care of me. su~"

Bowing the maid carried the charm of an authentic lady, every move of her was impeccable. For long moments, Noriko just stared at her red-faced, gulping a deep. Glancing up the embarrassed Noriko, a wild smile curled on the werewolf maid's face. Straightening herself dramatically.

"What, what, what 's that look? Oh no~ My heart's beating so fast. But please don't confess to me. I'm not a lesbian; I like the opposite sex. Noooooo~ Let me go~ I'm going to be raped su~."

Lupusregina acted like she was on the verge of fainting. Covering her forehead and chest with her hands softly, dramatically.

"Uwaaa!" Both Noriko and Matsui backed, gasping after hearing the sudden announcement. A flustering colour filled their whole face.

Lupu just chuckled realising her plan worked as intended.

"~Fufufuf… Just joking! Su ~" she exclaimed happily, winking at Noriko. The two residents of the room nodded sweat dropping, gulping nervously.

Looking around in the room, Lupusregina nodded satisfied.

"~Please follow me, your questions will be answered in the 'room'. Su ~" she made quotation marks after the word, 'room' left her lips. Painting the 'room' as a malicious, dark place in the mind of Noriko and Matsui.

"Where are we? Why do you hold us here!?" Noriko burst out, immediately. Asked, despite the maid said not she will answer even one's question.

The tanned beauty just smiled, turned around and waved to follow. Being no other choice, Noriko and Matsui followed her happy dance.

The maid accompanied by two agile and robust looking guards wearing a dark leather trench coat. What can two helpless girls who've barely survived the harsh conditions of their slavery could do under such circumstances?

It can't be worse, right? Right…!

The little group reached the section of the compound where several black armoured guardsmen stood guard near an impressive, fenced building. They saluted before the simple maid like she would be the superior of theirs.

The tanned girl just smiled, waved happily at the guards. Shooting a few teasing jokes that the guards accepted with a flat face behind their closed helmet.

Reaching deeper into the building, the interior just as royal as the outside with several flags and pictures hanging from the walls.

Finally reaching a vast double door, the maid gently knocked, and the doors immediately opened, giving a glimpse from the darkened exterior. Only a few magical torches provided a faint light.

Behind a massive desk, a crimson-robed figure sat, his head was a skull with two evilly diming red lights.

"Ah, Lupusregina-sama, what do I owe the pleasant surprise?" asked the skeletal creatures pleasantly with his darkly booming voice.

"~I bought two little birds for questioning! su~" she chirped happily.

The elder lich behind the desk was disturbed for a moment.

Why is she bothering with such simple things as taking care such trivial task? She is the personal servant of the Supreme Beings, after all; she should not be disturbed by two simple humans. Lupusregina is here to oversee things after all.

No, Ciz'que as the creature called should have already get used the sudden mood swings of his master's servant.

"I thank you, Lupusregina-sama. Although it was unnecessary, as the personal servant of the Supreme Ones, you should not be bothered by such trivial tasks. Please, let the simple servants handle such unbecoming tasks."

The girl just sticks her tongue playfully.

"~Don't be such a spoilsport! Ainz-sama permits me to work if I want. Su ~" the maid complained, making her smart remark with a playful wink.

Ciz'que just nodded uneasily as an unnecessary sight left his nonexistent lungs, staring the Pleiades with a blank stare. That thought indeed was an empty stare, was not visible due to his skeletal appearance and lack of flesh.

Meanwhile, Matsui and Noriko still stared, tremblingly glared at the undead creature, shaking, grabbing each other's hand to gain some courage.

"It will be all right…" whispered Matsui, recognising Noriko edged between breakdown and her already messy state.

Not one of them before saw undead creatures similar the one sitting on the desk walking around in the encampment. All guards were covered by a black uniform that consisted a helmet identical in the design of the ones that the motorcyclists wore, paired with a knee long leather trench coat with a strange emblem that resembled of a pentagram with a reverse cross inside of it. On their side a short sword scabbarded.

Even the maids who've served the needs of the residents were masked, their appearances wholly hidden from the naked eyes.

Lupusregina is finishing her conversation with the Elder Lich sticks her tongue playfully and winked in the direction of the two female who's winched out of sudden surprise. Like a careless girl, she hopped out from the room, leaving the parties alone.

Ciz'que just shook his head and sighed once more, giving a look at the two girls.

"Please forgive Lupusregina-sama, she can be rather…" looking around carefully, the Elder Lich made sure she is out of hearing range.

"She can be rather childish. Please come closer. I am Ciz'que, the servant of his majesty, Ainz Ooal Gown."

Matsui and Noriko looked at each other flabbergasted. Until now both of them speculated that this is some kind of dream, nightmare or the purgatory itself. Neither of them could believe they are still alive after spotting the skeletal figure sitting behind the furniture.

True, they read about the undead king in the leaflet left in the room previously as well conversed other people who were saved from the Empire. But until now they only meet purely humanoid looking guards and beings.

Seeing an actual undead sitting just before them must be a very frightening first experience for the two. This is most likely why they trembled like jelly.

"Pl-Please, Shinigami-sama, don't take us with you…" shuttered Matsui trying to soften her face as much as possible.

'Thud!'

The sudden loud noise made the two female jump out of fright, grabbing each other and looking around frightened.

"Yeep!" shouted the two in unison.

Ciz'que just facepalmed.

Why this is happening all the time, he had no idea. Since he received the assignment from the brass, everyone who was not accustomed to the existence of the undead reacted him in a similar way.

"Not again…" he sighed covering his eyeholes tired.

He just doesn't understand, why? The leaflet supposed to contain all the information the survivors need to get accustomed to the existence of the undead and the various races of the Sorcerous Kingdom. The same paper that the servants left the rooms before the arrival of the survivors.

Although, Ciz'que was still confused why everyone is mixing him with his master? The two of them might be both undead, but there are distinct differences between Ainz and Ciz'que when it comes to appearance.

Ainz had a sharper, more extended chin, manlier, rectangular bonier features. As well in his eyes, the light is a brighter red than in his. There is no way someone can mix him and him… The only common in them was the fact that they were both skeletal type undead. Hard to mix, right?

"Please calm down, ladies. No one will hurt you." Ciz'que raised his hand as well his voice slightly. Making Matsui and Noriko turn their attention, the frightened expression still on their faces.

"Good…" nodded the Elder Lich taking out a paper and a pen. Motioning the two seats before his desk.

"Please sit down, and we can finally start."

Gulping, Noriko and Matsui looked at each other. Sweat is pouring from their foreheads. The comfortable new clothes that consisted well-made pants and shirt seemed to wrinkle a little bit as their movement slowed for a moment.

Finding no other way out, knowing the guards waiting for them outside, it was actually Noriko who made the first brave step.

"What are you doing?" Matsui asked her hesitant but followed her nonetheless.

Finally, Ciz'que could start his introduction.

"Umu… welcome, Noriko Mochizuki and Matsui Fukui from the land of Japan. Please forgive our unneeded hospitality in the last few days. I am Ciz'que; I am the proctor his majesty, Ainz Ooal Gown appointed to take care of this operation. "

Matsui as well Noriko's eyes widened, hearing the creature mentioned their homeland. For a moment, worry started to surface their mind, worrying about the impossible possibility that either the Empire or these unknown people reached their loved ones.

"So… are you not the Shinigami? Are you not here to judge our souls?" asked Matsui hesitant, watching the two dimming light in the creature's eyes.

"Oh, I assure you. I am nothing like that."

Waved away the sudden title the lich with an amused crackle. A laugh that may sound malicious because of the creature's dark nature, in truth it was innocent.

"I am a simple Elder Lich employed and created by his majesty, my master, Ainz Ooal Gown. Although many people call him by that name nowadays, he thinks the name is very unpleasant. I myself find it fitting, worthy of his grand self."

The two girls just nodded, hearing out the flattery of the skeletal man. Knowing not what to think about the man as he leaned back in his chair and sighed, staring at his side for a moment. Then looking back at the two before him.

"Ah, please forgive me. I am speaking too much, again, about my master. Sorry, I cannot help it, a bad habit you may say." apologised Ciz'que turning back the two females, lowering his tone.

"Ca-Can you tell us why you are holding us here, Ciz'que-dono?" asked shy Noriko, squeezing the two arms of the chair she sat in.

"Oh, yes. There are several reasons why we separated the freshly saved slaves. First, there is a high a chance that some of them may carry dangerous diseases that even our priests and medics won't able to heal. This why we stationed all of you in a so-called quarantine zone. His Majesty doesn't want to carry unknown diseases and curses through the gate."

"Did you found anything, if you allow me to ask?" Seeing the courage of Noriko, Matsui as well asked, leaning forward.

"Fortunately not, outside of heavy malnutrition, dehydration, blood poisoning, stomach rot in a few cases and the usual diseases those come with working under inhuman, dirty circumstances. We found nothing dangerous. Although a few of your fellow captives were the verge of death because of the inhuman circumstances, some of them almost not made it. We needed to handle a few of the imprisoned to the adequate personnel to treat the psychological trauma coming with the burden of years of mistreating."

Explained the Elder Lich thoroughly, making hand motions.

Noriko was still disturbed, the mentioning of the circumstances of her slavery just made her remember the conditions of her enslavement once more, thus made her feel depressed once again.

She was so depressed when she first arrived she wanted to kill herself. But since she and Matsui sharing a room, she felt herself much better; it is easier when you can share your burden with others. Sharing the experience with someone really helped ease her mind.

"What is the other reason, why are you holding us there? Are we captives once again?" the one who asked was Matsui, she seemed a little angered.

"No, of course not. Please let me continue, the second reason why we kept you in the quarantine zone because his majesty wanted to make sure no possible spies from the Empire found their way through our network. And of course, to make sure everyone treated properly before the choice is offered and released back to the society."

"What choice? What kind of choice is his majesty offering us? He should simply hand us back to our country to take care of us immediately."

Glaring slightly at the Lich, Matsui looked at him slightly squinting her eyes. But… the creature being undead was immune such intimidation tactics, in the answer, it merely tilted his head.

"Handing back to you immediately as you were would cause a war. Please understand, his Majesty's priority was to control the situation the best possible way."

"It still not explains why not our government is here to explain all of this to us…"

"I understand your concern. Please allow me to continue my explanation."

Noriko and Matsui nodded, letting the Elder Lich speak, although just reluctantly. Their fear started to overcame by their anger that they felt in their helplessness.

"Think about it, I explained before, but I say once again. Imagine a situation where you or any other former captive contact an infectious, incurable disease while you held captive by the Empire. What if this so-called disease lays dormant in you until now?"

Thinking of it, in the two girl's mind started to surface the possibility of such thing might indeed happen. They were raped under their enslavement multiple times, who knows what kind of diseases they contacted.

"You can't expect a fast examination made by your doctors in Hill Arnus is enough; they simply don't have the necessary equipment for it. Think about it, what if this disease is triggered then activates right after you return? It can easily cause a pandemic outbreak. An epidemic, which may spread without stopping. Imagine it like a Bioterrorist attack. The Empire has mages as well alchemists; they could easily make up a magical virus that cannot normally be treated and triggers right after you passes the other side."

Hearing the explanation, the two female gulped nervously. Even imagining such horrific picture was terrifying. Both of them saw films where many people died because of an outbreak, Matsui especially liking the series, Resident Evil, had a few ideas how things would go down if the scientist can't stop the epidemic in time.

"Why would they do that?" asked Matsui with a little bit trembling tone.

"Think about it. The forces of the Empire beaten, scattered. Their Capital is full of the forces of both sides. Cornered people turn into desperate animals if their life or property is threatened."

"Our government as well have units to treat diseases and outbreaks if I remember it right."

Announced Noriko in a steady voice, glaring at the lich defiant, still angry why they held her captive. She knows, she should be glad for these people taking care of her. Always, she felt a little bit upset not telling her the reason behind her stay.

"That may be true, but the Sorcerous Kingdom have specialised tools and magic to draw out and treat such viruses you may never encounter, mostly magical in origin. Tools your country did not have currently. This is the reason why we did not send you back immediately."

The two girls looked at the skeletal man flabbergasted, not able to muster a word.

"We made contact with your government previously. After a thorough explanation, showing them proof of our suspicion and allowing them to send a few experts to oversee the operation, they agreed, this is the best solution for both sides."

"I see…" Nodded Matsui a little bit pale.

If this is true, then why she did not saw any people of her own under her stay here?

"What is the offer you mentioned?" the one who asked was Noriko, her eyes flared up with determination, giving the Lich a steady glare.

"That does not really stand for you, being you are Japanese citizens. But I had to offer you nonetheless. It is in the protocol."

Silence descended for the room for long moments as the two sides stared each other. Ciz'que started his explanation.

"Every former captive we recovered under the action and deemed them clear, gain the opportunity to become a full-fledged citizen of the Sorcerous Kingdom. Of course, with the citizenship comes all the privilege and duty our laws prescribe."

Thinking a little bit, the offer was not bad. Living in a world where magic existed along with many, different creatures, where peace reigned under the reign of an incorruptible king.

(At least, according to the pamphlets they found in the rooms.)

Albeit, considering the fact both girls had close relatives waiting for them at home. Their answer was unequivocal.

"I would like to go back to Japan…" voiced her opinion, Matsui.

"I would like to as well," Noriko replied as well.

The lich nodded, scribing something in the paper before him.

"Then it's decided." Nodded the lich. "Please wait…

A sudden knocking sound can be heard in the direction of the door that soon followed by the soft swing of the entrance.

"Ah, Major Ichiro. I just finished with the interview of the two ladies. Care to share with them the part of yours?"

"Of course…" the appeared man nodded, showing a confident smile.

The Major was a thin man, from his lanky appearance and the dark circles under his eyes the two girls would never figure out he was an officer, less he is serving in the JSDF. Only his green uniform the familiar symbols, marks on his guise and the Japanese characteristic of his face made them recognise the man's origin.

Stepping inside the man bowed slightly.

"I am Major Ichiro Musashi from the JSDF. I apologise for my lateness; an urgent task delayed my arrival. I hope the citizens of ours give you no hard time, Ciz'que-dono."

The question of the Major was playful, making Matsui and Noriko smile a little bit.

The Elder Lich shook his head denying.

"No, on the contrary. The ladies were very polite and apt. Even more than a few of ours. You should be proud of your country able to produce such well-behaved individuals."

"Indeed we are proud…" nodded Ichiro looking at the two women interested.

"Well then…" Ciz'que is standing up, made his way towards the door. Just now, Matsui and Noriko only soon recognised how much the Lich is towering above them.

"I pass the stage to you, Major. From now on, they are your responsibility. I have a few more interview for the day. You know the necessary steps and the forms to fill."

"Umu…" nodded Ichiro glancing at the undead office worker.

"I take care of them, don't worry."

The creature left the room, and the girls sighed in relief.

Naturally, they were still shocked a little bit after meeting an actual undead and relieved after he left.

Ciz'que presence was a little bit repulsive for them being the evil nature of the undead assured the negative feeling of the living around them.

But outside of that, two females did not hate him; it was just his negative aura that made them cringe.

Fetching the second chair, Ichiro replaced the one Ciz'que sat previously.

He as well every JSDF personnel stationed in the zone warned thoroughly.

If it's possible, do not seat where powerful undead takes a seat before. Such powerful unliving beings were the Elder Liches for example. Because of the remains of the negative energy, sitting where they sat may injure the living, in extreme cases, even kill and raise the victim who's contacted the negative life force.

Sitting down the Major accepted the two survivors with a smile.

"It is good to have you back. We need to run through a few more questions then we can transport you home in a few hours. If it's acceptable to you, of course."

Both Noriko and Matsui looked at each other. Their eyes filled with light once more, expressions brightened. Both of them had the same thought, the same carving urge.

"Home…" both of them whispered inaudibly under their breath.

They have so moved that the tears flowed freely down their cheeks.

Ichiro just smiled, not hearing, but suspecting what the two girl really thinks and feel.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Geneva: Switzerland: UN closed meeting between the Sorcerous Kingdom and the UN:**

This was a meeting of the Foreign Ministers of foreign affairs from America, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, China, Japan and the Sorcerous Kingdom.

Auriel Michalis, the Arch Seraphim and the diplomatic attaché that Ainz left to oversee the negotiations with the UN massaged her eyes exhausted, flipping her pen amidst her delicate gloved fingers to make time go faster.

It was since several hours the ministers could not agree on the same thing.

Namely, how to handle the situation of the 'Special Region' (as they called the area). After a while, she found no meaning listening to them attentively anymore, most likely because she knows the correct answer, the only solution…

Naturally, she still heard them somewhat with one of her ears. But her real focus, her train of thoughts circled around her last few days and guessing the time when her master finally arrives as Ainz promised.

Since her time here Auriel ran in circles, visiting meetings day and night. Her timetable always full.

Practically, she visited almost every major country and even a few lesser ones in the passing week. Escorted by the two maids on her side, Yuri Alpha and Entoma Vasilissa Zeta.

Under her time on Earth, she chatted, made alliances and deals in the name of the Sorcerer King. Thanks to her diplomatic skills and the detailed instructions of Ainz, Albedo and Demiurge, her work was somewhat comfortable.

Moreover, thanks to her ability to open [Gate] after seeing the area visually where she wishes to teleport, her travel was instantaneous. Thus she does not need to tire herself to use the inefficient transportation method of Earth.

She just announced what place she would visit next and given time the people prepared the stage for her arrival.

Now, Auriel really felt like a spoiled princess and because of this, she felt herself really bad knowing this went against what her creator made her.

About the people of Earth…

The people of this world heavily resembled the ones she read about in the archives of Nazarick and found information about in her creator's private library. Even their history for a specific point was the same. And the Sorcerous King already confirmed he visited Earth before.

Is that means her creator as well found her way here? She needs to inquire about it later. When she finally arrives, Auriel had so many questions she had to ask her mother.

Only one thing is sure; the Arch Seraph adored the monuments these people raised to worship their deities.

Those thought nowhere near in design the ones she usually sees in the Sorcerous Kingdom, even less grandiose compared to Nazarick. They are respectable in size and momentum to be worthy of the praised ones.

Albeit, Auriel did not agree on the policies of a few religions those found their way here, and she would already make a few correction if Ainz is not ordered her strictly not to do so. With force if necessary…

As Ainz said, 'It is not our task to show them the way…'

Most of the times Auriel's visits was pleasant, especially when she visited the Vatican and the Queen of England. In England, only one thing bothered her. A blonde woman with blue eyes who's always glared at her under her conversation with the queen. The exact woman with an eyepatch that covered her left eye, and always smoked a cigar. If she remembers it right, she introduced herself as Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing.

Strangely, Auriel saw this exact name previously amidst the notes of her creator, and G.O.L.D.I.E also confirmed the appearance of the name amidst the records in the archives. Thus, she asked her artificial AI sister to data mine the woman and found a few exciting things in several closed servers. Things those can be linked to a knight order that specialised in hunting supernatural beings…

One thing Auriel realised under her short stay in this world.

Although the people of this realm vehemently stated that they had no idea about the existence of the Supernatural before the appearance of the edifice in Tokyo. She as well G.O.L.D.I.E found many traces of the Supernatural World all around, even in the Buckingham Palace and in the Vatican she felt like someone trying to spy on her, using magical methods.

All of it was quite obvious once she started to investigate things, and she found it funny that the ordinary people had no idea how much different race walked amidst them day by day.

The spying attempts after her always failed, still left a sour taste in her mouth.

The worst event happened when she visited Jerusalem. The meeting almost failed because a few rogue elements found their way to her and wanted to blow her up.

Fortunately, Auriel found a way to dissolve the situation peacefully. Neutralizing the bombs with one of her abilities, saving poor souls in the process those wanted to throw their life away because they most likely misinterpreted the text.

But she showed them the way of the Supreme Beings; she fulfilled her task. She gives them miracles to reignite their faith in her creator.

Under her travels, she showed the power of the miracle for the people. Healing, saving those in need on a several occasion, giving them hope once more.

Although, she either suspected or not. She just hinted the seeds of a new religion on Earth. Now with only a few followers, but later… later the seeds will grow into a huge tree, a tree that may even surpass the world tree of YGGDRASIL.

"We cannot accept a request like that. Ginza is situated in the heart of our economic district in Tokyo. We cannot accept an unconditional stationing of foreign armed forces there. Not to mention, our country has no reason to trust Russia. After all, was the invasion of South Ossetia in Georgia, not a recent occurrence?"

The one who spoke was Kanou; he talked to Russia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, whose name was Vladimir.

It took some time for the translators to render Kanou's words in Russian. And the man named Kanou took the opportunity to raise his bottle of mineral water and rehydrate his mouth.

Being the man did not spoke Russian, just blankly waited until the translator finished with his work.

Auriel wearing a translator item did not need a translator. She perfectly understood everyone as well could speak in every language thanks to the translator medal hung in her neck. Being she was not the resident of the New World previously, she needed such methods to translate different languages she did not learn previously.

"We will not tolerate your malicious slander of our nation. My country's actions in South Ossetia were taken to protect our people. The ones who should be censured are the Georgians, who wanted to perform ethnic cleansing. My country's military actions were justified and are above criticism!"

The same old prattle again, sigh… The Arch Seraph started to get bored by all of this. Still, showing no traces of her tedious nature. Keeping her perfect mask of calm.

Kanou shrugged and said, "I was kidding," and the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs turned to look at him. The Vice-Minister would not show his skill here… in other words, he would be handling the secret negotiations behind people's backs (in other words, under-the-table talks). After receiving the approval of the American, UK and German representatives, he scribbled it down on a notepad and showed it to Kanou.

The notepad read: "Broad agreement. Details TBD."

"Well, all I saw was Russian soldiers pointing their guns at members of the press…"

"Well, all I saw was Russian soldiers pointing their guns at members of the press…"

As the translators did their job, they somehow managed to convey Kanou's tone in a very aggressive manner.

Vladimir pounded his table and rose his ear tips red.

"These are lies from the Western media!"

The Russian foreign minister glared at the representatives of the other countries, clenching his fist.

This G8 summit was convened to discuss economic and political problems. Naturally, the Gate which appeared in Tokyo, Japan, and the political connection with the Sorcerous Kingdom was one of those topics.

The incident happened in Japan, so it should be Japan's problem. And the managing the Gate should also be Japan's responsibility.

However, once they learned about the vast resources hidden beyond the Gate, they ignored the drawbacks the Gate brought with it — in other words, war — and focused entirely on its benefits.

Each country was basically saying the same thing, 'Don't hog everything, share some with us.' In addition to the G8 countries, there were other countries who were interested in the Gate, like Korea, India, Taiwan, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, Singapore, among others.

Auriel sighed, looking around.

"Please, gentlemen. Be a little civilised. We are not here to discuss the past, but to speak about the future cooperation of ours."

Looking at her, everyone agreed with Auriel's statement and continued the meeting.

"Then, what do you propose to solve the situation, Ambassador Auriel? As you see, we lack the agreement in the situation." Asked Kanou is staring the woman.

In any case, Kanou had the perfect diplomatic solution to fright the other G8 members away from the further intervention of the Japanese interest. Still, he was curious what the woman could come up with.

"You seemingly can't agree on the ownership of the new lands you discovered. Seemingly, you just want to use these new lands to spread your influence and gain resources. Although, it is impossible without directly sending armed forces through Tokyo which is under Japan authority. Am I correct?"

Kanou nodded.

"That's correct, Ambassador. And we are not willing to let any armed forces pass our borders without any good reasons. It was bad enough we forced to let a few units of UN peacekeepers pass the object. Any more would be too much."

Kanou's statement was firm, making everyone around the table grit their teeth in anger. Scrabble a few words in their notepad.

"Partly, I agree with you, Kanou-san. His Majesty himself would not agree to bring someone's muddy shoes in his domain and roll out the red carpet for them; compensations had to be made. Be it monetary or political. One should draw the lines between an invasion and peacekeeping effort. But…"

"But…?"

One of the Cabinet members asked, looking suspicious at the woman with the halo floating above her head.

"You speak about the area like you already owes it. In truth, you only oversee the area around the gate in 100 leagues in radius to ensure the protection of your country.

The members of the G8 looked in the direction of the Japan representatives, eying them suspiciously.

"This is stated in the agreement you made with the Empire. Until now, you made no deal about the exploitation of the resources of their territory.

"That means, your mining efforts illegal in a point that produces profit instead of spent war reparation. As well, his Majesty expressed his grave concern about the environmental damage your mining methods may make. Ruining a garden type world that rich in resources as well taking advantage over a civilisation that not even reached the first stage of the Kardashev scale considered war crime according to the Sorcerous Kingdom's laws."

"We are all aware of that, Ambassador Auriel. Be assured; we are not trying to exploit the residents of the Special Region. The forces of the UN and the JSDF only here to do humanitarian work and to prevent accidents like 'Ginza' ever happening again. Of course, such operations comes with a price that also adds to the war reparations. I hope you understand."

The one who spoke was the American minister of foreign affairs. He was a well-shaved man with strict, grey eyes and blonde hair. His name was Joe.

The American still smiling, the TMCSUSJ already permitted American soldiers to bear arms on Japanese soil, so the above conditions were mostly irrelevant to them.

As for the deposit money that required to pass the Gate but did not yet stated by Kanou, yet. There was no need for the US to worry about getting it back, given the relationship between the US and Japan. Also, the sum was a pittance compared to the potentially vast benefits the Americans could gain from the Gate.

"Indeed I am, only one thing concerns his Majesty."

Auriel elbowed the table, tenting her glowed fingers on each other. An expression that gave her the aura of danger surrounded her, despite her pleasant appearance everyone felt the end is here.

"What is it?" asked back the American man in a pleasant tone, it seemed he still can't feel the pressure.

"His Majesty Ainz Ooal Gown already handed the vassalization clause to Emperor Molt. He will most likely accept it in a few days. From that point on, your request for war reparations will be decided by his Majesty. I hope you understand; the Empire sought our help, our protection against the invading forces of your world. And we sought to protect the interest of Ainz-sama, no matter what it takes. I hope you understand why we inspect the activity of the UN soldiers in the 'Special Region' with doubtful eyes."

The Chinese minister stopped his writing for a moment, glanced at Auriel behind his glasses. Adjusting them slightly with one of his fingers.

Being the world of Falmart and the Sorcerous Kingdom, both laid and connected by different gates. This either made the work of China harder or much easier when it comes to dealing with the sides. Future decides witch.

The first plan of China was to move their people on the other side; they could take control of the region with military forces under the pretext of protecting their people. However, Japan would undoubtedly demand a ruinously colossal deposit to move their people over, so China would not agree.

Only after considering the tactic of the new player made China realise it will most likely not work.

The Sorcerous Kingdom's approach was quite aggressive when it comes to an unknown armed force trying to invade them. And after hearing the sudden announcement of the Ambassador, that stated, they are on the verge of transforming the Empire into a feudatory province and attach it to the Kingdom, it was a hopeless undertaking.

Reading the reports beforehand, the Chinese representative was sure; the third player will not allow the newly acquired resource-rich territories out of its grasp without some kind of deposit or in exchange of something worthy goods to trade.

In truth, most of the representatives as well the Chinese one suspected what kind of tactics Auriel is mixing.

'Penetrate Their Minds: Communication Strategies', 'Occupy the Moral High Ground: The Righteous Strategy' and the 'Dominate While Seeming to Submit: The Passive-Aggressive Strategy'.

All three strategies based on a long-term victory over the opponent. All three was flexible enough to change from defensive to offensive immediately if the enemy is trying anything funny.

All of this one moment to another. All three tactic ensured the loyalty of the citizens of the Saderan Empire in the long term. Making the forces of the UN seem as the offenders if they initiate an offensive movement against the Empire or even against the Sorcerous Kingdom.

Against this kind of tactic, the best defence was to use the tactic of; 'Seem to Work for the Interests of Others While Furthering Your Own: The Alliance Strategy'.

That means China needed to build up a steady relationship, ally itself with the Sorcerous Kingdom if it wants to assert its interest through various means.

The plan was set, China only needed to implement it in practice.

All around the table the various agents just stared the Arch Seraph surprised, for a moment no one could say anything. Then… the whole room burst out in a roar. Trying to explain why the Sorcerous Kingdom could not vassalize the Empire by various means.

The board set, Ainz only needed to wait and harvest the fruit of his hard work.

The UK and German ministers remained impassive, but they were scribbling notes to each other in some form of discussion.

In truth, these two countries had long given up on gaining any territory and benefits from the Gate. Much like the US, they realised the difficulty of sending and supporting a large army through the tiny conduit of the Gate. Therefore, they decided to provide support for Japan in exchange for other considerations. After hearing the new variable, the plan became even more far-reaching.

The room slowly calmed, and the first one who spoke was Kanou.

"Ambassador Auriel, I hope you are just joking. Taking over a whole civilisation based on some senseless accusation may lead to war." barked Kanou raising his tone slightly suddenly.

"The negotiations already set, Kanou-san. We offered our help to Emperor Molt, and he accepted it. Transforming the Saderan Empire to a vassal state is necessary to preserve the integrity of the country and the culture of its people. It allows us to use our forces most efficiently to protect the interest of the people of Falmart. His Majesty seeks no further gain from the accident. He merely seeks what best the common people of the 'Special Region is'. Until further notice, please notify us if you wish to send armed forces outside of your 100 league radius surveillance zone. Neither of us wants war because of a misunderstanding."

As Auriel said these words, the day's deliberations ended. Grumbling descended on the room as the representatives started to chew on each other.

At the same time, the Ambassador of the Sorcerous Kingdom felt a pinging feeling from the direction of her golden bracelet. Looking at it, the item indeed pinged. Signing her master needed her to prepare the things she specified in the protocols.

According to the colour code her bracelet showed, the time has come to carry out the order that Esdeath only called by the name; 'Protocol 66'.

Auriel naturally did not understand why her master always giggled when she mentioned this exact order, and she was okay with it. After all, she was a servant; it is not her place to question the rules of her creator.

Smiling she looked at himself, standing up.

"Please forgive me; I need to prepare for my master's arrival."

"What do you mean, Ambassador Auriel?" asked Kanou surprised.

The Arch Seraph only smiled angelically before she answered, announcing the arrival of the Supreme Being.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Capital of the Saderan Empire. Emperor Molt's office:**

In a grand room, Emperor Molt Sol Augustus sat behind his desk, reading the clause the Sorcerer King handed him by himself. Ruffing and grumbling as he read the points over and over again, drinking his wine from his golden goblet.

 **'Vassalization Clause:**

 ** _'In the name of his Majesty, Ainz Ooal Gown…'_**

The first part mostly described the reasons behind the Empire's covert annexation and integration of the Sorcerous Kingdom. That, according to Molt was full of ridiculous, groundless statement that unfortunately he could not deny, neither confirm with one hundred percent accuracy.

The second part stated the points of the thralldom of the Empire.

 ** _Head of State Clause:_** _His Majesty, Ainz Ooal Gown, will be officially recognised as the monarch of the Saderan Empire. The emperor of the Saderan Empire will be considered to be a representative of Ainz Ooal Gown; managing the affairs of the Empire on his behalf._

 ** _Impeachment Clause:_** _Ainz Ooal Gown has the right to remove the current Emperor from the throne if there is evidence of misconduct or a violation of the terms of vassalage committed by the Empire. The offender will then be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for the crime of treason by the courts of the Sorcerous Kingdom._

 ** _Oversight Clause:_** _To ensure that all the terms of vassalage are followed and upheld by the Empire, an oversight committee will be created by the Sorcerous Kingdom to be stationed in the capital of the Saderan Empire. The oversight committee will be given full unrestricted access to all levels of government, which includes the right to observe any government meetings and having access to all the documents and records that they require._

 ** _Tribute Clause_** _: The Saderan Empire must pay an annual tribute of a certain percentage of their national tax revenue to the Sorcerous Kingdom. The percentage to be paid will be determined each year by Ainz Ooal Gown or an agent commissioned by himself._

 ** _Legislative Powers Clause_** _: Any new laws, agreements, treaties, etc. or any alteration or repeal of existing laws, proposed by the governmental body of the Empire must receive the approval of Ainz Ooal Gown or a trustee approved by his Majesty himself before they can be implemented._

 ** _Defensive Pact Clause:_** _The Saderan Empire relinquishes the right to declare war. If the Empire is attacked by another nation, the Sorcerous Kingdom will come to their aid and join them as an ally. If the Sorcerous Kingdom declares war or is attacked by another nation, the Empire is required to join the Sorcerous Kingdom as an ally._

 ** _Racial Equality Clause:_** _The Saderan Empire must adopt the Sorcerous Kingdom's "Charter of Rights and Freedoms for All Races", which dictates that all races, whether human, demihuman, or heteromorph, be treated equally under the law. No law may exist that discriminates against an individual or group based on race. An individual of any race is eligible for citizenship. In addition, the practice of slavery is to be considered unlawful. No law may exist or be passed that guarantees the existence of slavery._

 ** _Occupation Clause:_** _The Sorcerous Kingdom has the right to construct and operate military bases and other infrastructure within the territory of the Saderan Empire, provided that the land is unoccupied. Unless otherwise stated, these facilities and the land which they reside on will be considered to be the property of the Sorcerous Kingdom; therefore the Sorcerous Kingdom has full jurisdiction within the aforementioned territory._

 ** _Citizenship Clause:_** _Citizens of the Sorcerous Kingdom will have citizenship status within the Saderan Empire, and vice versa._

 _..._

And this was only the peak of the berg, further down more and more points followed those although allowed free reign for Molt and his descendants amidst the frame of the laws of the Sorcerous Kingdom, they made it impossible to the Empire to function as before without the authority of the Kingdom.

The Emperor already consumed two pint worth of wine as he wrecked his mind relentlessly, trying to find a way to change his fortune. Find a faint light in the darkness.

Marrying away Pina would solve the situation immediately, making the Sorcerous Kingdom an ally instead of an invading force. But even Molt know it was far from the ideal solution he seeks.

Gritting his teeth, he called for a servant.

"Send for Senator Cicero!" he barked in an unpleasant tone.

* * *

 **Omake:**

 **Warning! 16+ or more like the 18+ content! Cringe theme! Read at your own risk!**

A black-clad figure encased in a peerless full body armour walked amidst the grand corridors of the freshly built building.

This exact building finished approximately two days ago and served the purpose to house the freshly arrived diplomats of the Special Region. Positioned right near Fortress Gown in an enclosed fenced zone. It was a neutral ground where each side could discuss things without disturbance.

Momon walking forward his room looked left and right, searching for possible sources of danger. Be it he strolled amidst the walls of a natural diplomatic building; one can't be cautious enough.

Not when fangirls all over the kingdom, and from now on in Falmart, want to seduce him just to impregnate them.

It happened before, and he barely escaped with his private parts intact, without his cover blown.

Typically, the black hero did not use to reside in such fancy building as this.

No, in fact, according to the tales and the collective knowledge it was just not his style, he preferred a more humble approach and accommodation.

In truth, he is only here because of the Sorcerous King commanded him to oversee the safety of the Ambassadors until further notice.

The dark warrior finally reached his door, and fortunately, no women jumped on him from the corner.

"Sigh…" he was relieved, sometimes it was tough to be a king and an adventurer at the same time. Even harder to keep the appearances of two utterly distinct personas.

Before grabbing the knob his hand stopped, feeling the dread pouring behind the door. A sick feeling ran through his spine for a moment, but after a moment of consideration he gathered his courage and opened the door.

First, he only peeked inside but saw nothing. Just after entering, closing the door and reaching his bedroom he recognised the 'thing' or more like a 'person', laying comfortably on his bed.

Long waist-length silver hair, bright red eyes, bunny ears, long legs, a cute bunny tail above her buttock, and a figure every woman would envy. Laying naked in the bed, sensing his presence, the woman slowly raised herself seductively.

"Ah, Sir Momon. I expected you earlier…" Tyuule, the queen of Warrior Bunnies, raised herself, posing seductively.

Momon was still calm, although, only thanks to his years of training and his years of experience. His undead nature was not a drawback either.

"Queen Tyuule, may I ask what are you doing in my room?" Momon's tone was calm; his posture showed no hesitation or fear.

The woman just smiled seductively, walking to Momon, swaying her hips all along. Hugging his armoured biceps, she made her snaking dance around the man, grabbing the scotch of his. That he barely felt thanks to his thick armour and most likely his missing member, but the sudden act made him cringe nonetheless.

Tyuule hugged him behind, pressing her soft chest against his cold shell.

"Hmmm, Lord Momon. You know, my people are very prolific and fertile, with each female capable of bearing several babies per pregnancy. Because of this, we have no concept that supports the traditional roles of the family you humans adore so much."

"What do you imply? Tyuule?" asked Momon, facing the naked woman suddenly.

Freeing himself from her tight grasp, grabbing her shoulders with his massive armoured hands the two red dots glared at her behind his helmet.

The Queen of the Warrior Bunnies just smiled warmly, feeling her 'man's gaze and strong hands on her. The metal gloves of the warrior although chilly, even so, she felt them unnaturally warm. The butterflies in her stomach started to dance, even more, flaring her breeding instinct instantly.

"You saved me; you freed me from that villain. I am yours, my body and soul. Let me bear your child. Let me carry your legacy."

She whispered seductively, pulling Momon's head closer to her lips. Pushing his closed helmet down from his head, revealing the man's coal eyes and scarred appearance.

"Tyuule I…" Momon hesitated, trying to get away.

"Shhh…" Before Momon could say anything more, the Warrior Bunny softly placed her soft index on his lower lip.

"Don't say anything… enjoy the moment." she kissed him, her lips were soft and warm.

Momon tried to back out the same way where he came, trying to get away from the female's tight hug. But it seemed the woman know her game. Cutting the dark warrior's way shepherded him towards the bed. Pushing him down, using her strength appeared seemingly from the nowhere.

Be it Tyuule succeeded due to Momon's sudden weakened knees his sudden flaring passion evoked, or the strength Tyuule gained from Miritta, the Goddess of Fertility to breed with the man.

Not as it mattered, Tyuule managed to trick Momon into the bed...

Meanwhile, under the layers of armour, under the disguise of Momon, under the guise of a changeling. Pandora's Actor screamed in fright. Calling the help of his creator, begging him to save his artificial son.

 _"Mein Schöpfer, rette mich! (Creator Save me!)"_

At that moment, elsewhere a cold feeling ran down on Ainz's spine, feeling as something dreadful happening somewhere far away.

Tyuule softly pushed Momon to the bed, starting to unbind the straps of his adamantine alloy armour, like a professional she know what to do, where to start the removing process.

The night was still young, will Momon (Pandora's Actor) will be saved? Or fall prey the carving woman who is trying to reverse rape him?

This is what I entrust to your imagination… dear readers. :)

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Phew! This chapter was extra hard to write.**

 **Sorry for not posting so long but personal life comes first. :) I hope you understand.**

 **In the next chapter, I will really start the Arc with the Flame Dragons and the Dark Elves of the** **Schwarz Forest. As well I will begin to prepare the chapter or chapters (later will be decided how long I can pull the visit) that will be about the visit of the Sorcerous Kingdom.**

 **As well the 'Dark Star' that eat up Esdeath finally reaches Earth.**

 **I promise there will be many surprises in the next arc and many more chapters come in the future!**

 **(I wanted to devote only around five thousand words to describe what I managed in 17k+.)**

 **(It seems I overdone it a little bit. XD)**

 **Sorry about that... -.-,**

 **Note: Lengthwise** **the story halfway through.**

 **(At least according the sketches I made. As I write and develop the story I may change a few things those come to my mind.)**

 **Until that, safe, safe winds, eat your vegetables!**

 **RnR!**

 **(Seriously, review! Authors like myself filtering the essence essential for their living from reviews, don't let Author-san starve or he will die!)**

 **In the end, I would like to thank everyone who took the trouble and visited my story. Even more for those 742 people who clicked on the follow button and the 614 members who favourited my story.**

 **(Despite my terrible grammar and the somewhat jumpy tale I was not able to frighten them away... yet! XD)**

 **I appreciate all the 519 reviews and their writer who commented my story, be the comment positive or negative. It is still a worthy opinion. :)**

 **It feels terrific when someone recognises the effort I put into the story, and I try my best to satisfy your hunger towards a fantasy story by my design! :)**

 **Thank you all! You are all awesome! : D**

 **Sniff… Now I am crying… :,( Please don't look down at me… Now, look what you have done!**

 **Be good, oblivon2991 out!**

 **(PS: Sorry for the whacky publishing, the site has been bugged and did not show the chapter normally for a whole day. I posted and deleted it multiple times. Hopefully, the administrators of the site did something that fixed the problem.)**


	20. Dragons, Warriors' Magic!

**Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There**

 **by oblivon2991**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.**

 **I don't own the _Overlord_ (** **オーバーロード** ** _Ōbārōdo_** **?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **Please review it. I know I will make mistakes that I intend to correct and will try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

* * *

 **Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There:** **Chapter 20: Dragons, Warriors' Magic!**

The day when the prophecy came to life was like every other day, the sun brimmed brightly, crowning the heavens with its magnificence smiling down her people. People went on their way and did their daily work. Just like every other day. The central building of the UN in Geneva brimmed with life. Preparing for the arrival of the Supreme Being. Yuri Alpha and Entoma Vasilissa Zeta full with vigour, making sure everything is in place. Currently, Yuri served tea to Auriel, as usual at this time of the day.

Being the Vice-captain of the Pleiades and the most orderly member of the group, Yuri Alpha was the perfect picture of an academy teacher, like her creator Yamaiko, nothing avoided her attention. She raised a beautifully made spoon, critically measuring it, adjusting her glasses squinted her eyes strictly behind her oculars. If it were up to her, she would use the cutlery, plates and table provided by Nazarick, not the one gifted by the queen of England. Only because of Auriel's request she and Entoma arranged the desk using the cutlery provided.

The flatware made from pure silver and lined magnificently with gold. The plates and the cups formed from first-grade porcelain. All of them handmade and hand painted. The tablecloth hand sewn, embodied with beautiful with flowers. The table made from Ebony wood.

The room well lit, neatly arranged, spacious with a few Picasso on the walls.

Yuri felt both the place and the arrangement inadequate not only for Lady Auriel but a Supreme Being as well. She complained about it a few times, but Auriel just shoot her down merely saying;

 _"It is okay. I know Creator-sama. She always complains about overly neat places. She always says to me; 'see the beauty in chaos, Auriel. Perfection is imperfection.'"_

Confusingly, Yuri had no idea what the Lady is speaking about, nor understand the train of thought behind the Supreme Being's thinking. ' _Perfection is imperfection'?_ That just makes no sense. Usually, she considered herself one of the most intelligent maids. But even now, she was unable to comprehend why Auriel quoted the sentence.

Why a perfect being like her or Ainz-sama wants to see imperfection instead of perfection? Maybe because Yuri was an undead she was unable to comprehend the line behind the thought? Or it was because a simple servant like she failed to see things the same way as her masters'? She was frustrated not knowing the answer…

When Yuri asked Entoma what the quote should mean, the insect maid just snickered, hiding her plastic mask-like face behind her long sleeves, quoting; _'that's easy you silly…'_

The sentence provoked the Vice-captain's ire in the highest level, and once, it embarrassed her. How Entoma understand things she was unable? It was confusing and embarrassing…

In Nazarick, servants like herself used to eat with such tableware she is holding gingerly. If you asked her, it was not worthy of a higher being. Further stunning poor girl why she is allowing such thing happen.

Auriel watched her cautiously, wondering what is in poor maid's mind, sipping her tea like a true lady. She used to see that expression currently Yuri bear under her subtle mask. She knows that expression. It made her remember her master's sour expression when Albedo, Shalltear and just usually the women's branch of Nazarick invite her and shares tea. When they start to speak about more sensitive themes, you know, things girls talk about when boys are not around.

Auriel could only sourly willing to admit, but her master time to time, no, almost always act very tomboyish. She loved her and all; she was her creator after all. But… If you asked Auriel, Esdeath should act more like a girl instead just showing a horrified expression whenever someone asks her about the things mentioned above. It just not suits her. Maybe it was her past that made her like that, or it was in her nature? Even Auriel had no idea. When she asked about it; she always started to divert the topic.

Things started to accelerate in the past days. In the last day, the leaders of the Supernatural forces of this world approached Auriel somewhat 'directly'. It seems the so-called goddess named 'Amaterasu' who asked Ainz's help was not the only deity level being resided on Earth and the nearby star systems. No, she was just the representative and the last member of her pantheon. There was many more supernatural being who resided and worked behind the curtains for a long time, operated without the knowledge of humans.

Surprising or not, many more races inhabited this world. Despite this, Earth was not the centre of the universe. Oh no, the only reason so many supernatural factions choose Earth as a so-called puffer ground because it resided near one of the seven pillars of the creation. Here they can manifest their abilities and powers more directly; here they can collect the life essence bleeding from the pillar freely.

Higher Celestial beings such as gods, titans and high tiered astral creatures such as fairies, angels and demons could use the essence to regain their flesh form for the time being. It was strange, the beings of this universe differed significantly from the ones in Auriel's world.

When they lost the ability to materialise without help? She had no idea, but it must be frustrating depending on the stuff bleed from the strange crack in the time-space just to be savour life the fullest. Maybe the Supreme Beings knows a way to give back the freedom of these beings. Yes, she will ask her masters later. It will gain the trust of these people and a useful ally for the Sorcerous Kingdom for the future.

The essence poured from the pillars worth a quite sum in the market, and the creatures used it for many things. For example, conducting magic, rituals, fuel their devices, create items. Its healing properties was without par. There was much more further uses not listed here. Only one thing counts, who controls the pillars control the market and the people. Because of this, in the past, many wars fought just to gain control over them. Bloody, almost infinite battles where many died. The sides fought thousands of years, even before humans came. In time, the parties made peace and shared the essence. Nowadays most of the market owned by mammoth companies whose refine the stuff for further use.

Strangely, these parallel civilisations well acclimatised for the Earth of the 21st century. Countless Angelic, demonic, vampiric and other otherworldly being walked amidst humans day by day without them realising it. Doing business with them or just living in peace. Hell, some of them even married humans. In the early days, humans only used as slaves, in time, the outer civilisations realised humanity is more useful if they let them develop. Thus, humankind thrived.

Auriel asked the Supernatural Leaders why not reveal their existence, and why not sent forces to the other side when the gate opened. The leader of the demonic faction, the man, named Lucifer Ördög Dominus answered simply.

 _"Lady Auriel. Humans are different than us. They are violent and unpredictable. Sometimes even worse than us, demons. Just read their history, and you will understand. Skin colour, religion or even their nationality. Does not matter, people always find a reason to hurt and kills each other. They are just like that. Our existence once well knows, long-long time ago, but our alliance decided it is better them not knowing we are here. Most of them just can't bear the existence different than theirs. If they go extinct, that is bad for the business. I hope you understand."_

Auriel thoroughly understands the reasoning, and she agreed. Humanity time to time indeed troublesome. A dubious race is theirs, with both positive and negative qualities. Capability for both good and bad deeds. The answer to the next question; 'why not sent forces to the other side when the gate opened?' Really surprised her.

 _"As for why not sent forces to the other side? Easy. That's only a temporary hole; it will disappear in time. If not, we will make sure it will disappear. We rather not want to stick on Falmart, neither others to come here just to cause trouble. I know the deities of that world personally. They are not pleasant ones. No, please excuse me, I drafted my words poorly. Let's say they profess a somewhat conservative approach. Deities like Hardy or Flare does not share the idea of the shared market and the free will of the mortals like us. Deities of the other side still stuck in the outdated system of the Hellenic pantheon. Last time our forces set foot on the other side and offered a trade agreement; they attacked us. You are lucky. I wonder why they hesitate in your case."_

Somehow Auriel understood what the leader of the Infernal faction implied. But once, it saddened her. Both world still needs to see the brilliance of Ainz and see the light behind his wise leadership. In the New World it worked a charm, why not here? Thinking of this, she looked in the far, thinking.

All along, Yuri just watched her subtly. She can't help but ask. "Is something wrong, Lady Auriel?"

Auriel just looked at the maid, shaking her head, although, in her eyes a tired light present. "It's nothing…"

Looking up at the ceiling once more, be it she suspected or not, the dread passed the frozen edge of the solar system. Killing, destroying and transforming countless otherworldly creatures who tried to stop the spread.

Around 540 km above Earth, the Hubble Space Telescope completed its mission relentlessly. Seeking the unknown, making photos about the endless void of the space. Most of the time, the telescope immediately conveyed the gathered information towards one of the few ground control centres. Just like always, it found an anomaly, an anomaly that may changes the face of Earth forever.

President Darryl, the president of the USA. One of the most influential men on Earth. Yet, even he was not aware what kind of dread infested his home Solar System.

Standing in the famous oval office, the man just stared out from his window. Inspecting how the numerous suited agents are trying to protect him, patrolling the nearby area.

He was a troubled with many things, most importantly, how he could build a good relationship with the Sorcerous Kingdom and gain the resources of the other side.

Sending an invasion force and conduct an aggressive military campaign out of the question. The USA may be a Superpower, but even it had a limited yearly budget. The military budget still stuck with fighting the War on Terror in the Middle East so they cannot spend more on the invasion force. Based on his statement, Darryl's strategy for the Special Region considered quite aggressive according to his peers. First, he suggested conducting aggressive military campaigns against Special Region to occupy a vast amount of land and resources.

As a result, he would allow the US military to supply the JSDF with material and gives his support for the JSDF's excursion into the Special Region. He already stated that his intentions in this are to allows the JSDF to clear the Special Region quickly, and then to support bids by US companies to develop the oil and other natural resources, allowing the US economy to benefit from the resources of the Special Region.

He already knows the plan failed. The Sorcerous Kingdom is closer than ever to vassalize the Saderan Empire. If that happens, they gain full control over the Empire's vast territory and resources. _"Those bastards!"_ he cursed inwardly. If that happens, he will be forced to deal with them personally, through peaceful methods. If possible, ally his nation with the kingdom. Gain technology and resources. He was sure, China, Russia and every other government doing the same just now, trying to gain favour or some blackmail material.

There must be a way to exchange goods. There must be a way to exploit the loopholes!

A trade agreement would benefit both sides. Darryl was sure of it. The moment when the appointed diplomats visit the Sorcerous Kingdom ever closing. In a few days, they will pass the other side. If his sources are right, a few leaders participate the meeting personally. He will need to do the same. The first impression was the most important thing when it comes to business. Unfortunately, because of the accident in the resort, his nation made a sour impression on the Sorcerous Kingdom.

They are well aware which countries participated in the raid. And they made the president know early, back in Geneve. They know the CIA was present. He needs to change the overall picture, and the visit was his chance to improve his fortune for the better, gain the upper hand over his rivals. This was his time to be recognised by the history!

'Knock-Knock' someone knocked on the door. "Yes? Come in." His eyes are tired. President Darryl barely slept an hour last night. Concentrating on solving the political shitstorm his country pulled in.

A suited agent stepped in, holding a tray with a white phone. "Mr President, General Curtis is looking for you."

Raising the phone, he accepted the call with grace befitting of a president. "Yes?"

The four-star general started to speak on the other side of the line, communicate the situation.

For the first glance, the president was the statue of calmness, but everyone who knew the man recognised the concerned expression behind his carefully managed façade. Gulping, Darryl nodded cornered.

"I see, I will be there soon."

Handing back the phone, the president ordered the agent, arranging his tie carefully. "Prepare the presidential plane."

Nodding, the agent left. Darryl leaned above his desk, breathing heavily, on his forehead heavy perspiration poured. His eyes hollow, a dreadful feeling churned his stomach.

"How it come to this?!"

Later…

A few days passed, back in Geneva, everything was prepared to accept the arrival of Auriel's master. The preparation that Auriel personally supervised to see everything is in place.

G.O.L.D.I.E., the artificial intelligence made by her master, already feed Auriel with the information she managed to collect from the network. As well, showed her the drawings, the animations and other digital content the people of Earth made from Momon, Raidyn, Ainz and the other newcomers. Most of them were flattering; the others were 'somewhat' offensive. You may say pornographic in nature... Content Auriel ordered to be erased immediately.

In the meantime, Cocytus also arrived, sent by Ainz himself to make sure everything proceeding as intended. The stature of the cyan coloured insect warrior may be imposing, his aura of a true knight is undeniable. Still, his appearance of a crystalised towering insect with four arms and a long tail just frightened poor diplomats and the security staff. Hearing his name, Cocytus, made the more clerical staff tremble and pull away from his immediate vicinity. He most likely made them remember the frozen lake of the ninth circle of hell and the betrayers resided in the chilly pond.

The recent events are spreading out of control on Earth, events Ainz already notified of. It started a few years back, now the crisis peaked by a cult gaining more and more foothold in every region.

It all started in the Middle East, Africa and a few more impoverished regions of the world. A malicious cult appeared, popped out of nowhere a few years ago, spreading its influence far and effective, worshipping the old ones, but most of all, the 'Dark Lord of the Woods'.

The cult is ever growing. According to G.O.L.D.I.E. who found faint traces in the logs, the clan is present in almost every nation's leadership. Concerning news, Auriel may even need to step in if the prophecy Lucifer mentioned comes true.

"Auriel." Cocytus bowed his head reaching the angelic creature, breathing out a gust of cold air. The Arch Seraph just nodded affectionate, her smile angelic. "It is good to see you, Cocytus."

"Likewise. Is. Everything. Alright?" The warrior asked fragmented, cracking his mandibles, seeing the slight sourness on her face.

Auriel was concerned, looking in the far, near the draped crimson carpet, her expression eased immediately when her creator came to her mind. She was well aware her master hates such fancy fanfare she prepares, but it was Ainz's command to receive her this way.

If you would ask anyone who knew the two Supreme Beings for a more extended period of time, you may say it was just a way Ainz wanted to tease his friend. But for Auriel, this was an absurd idea. A mighty king like Ainz would surely not do something so childish just to ridicule his friend and embarrass her in the open.

"Ah, it is nothing, Cocytus," she said sombre. "It's just…" She turned to him with a gentle shrug. "I feel uneasy."

"What's. For?"

She just smiled, looking at her friend affectionate approach. "It is nothing. Let's proceed with the preparation."

Cocytus found her behaviour strange but went with her will. He also felt something dreadful will approach. But he was always prepared; he was as calm as the frozen lake he received his name from. And… If she doesn't want to speak about it, she can keep her thoughts. The cyan warrior was not a man who inquired about other's private matters. In all honesty, at least she was not the one teased him with the nickname 'nudist', embarrassing and confusing the cyan warrior greatly.

(Cocytus body covered by a hard exoskeleton, because of the fact, he doesn't wear any kind of armour or clothes. Practically, the insect warrior was always nude. Aura liked to tease him because of this.)

The two sides started to chat, when the Secretary-General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon passed the duo. On his face, a dreadful expression sit. His old eyes behind his glasses filled with a haunted visage of destruction.

Auriel, of course, recognised the concerned visage of the leader immediately, calling after the senior man. "Secretary-General-dono. Is something wrong?"

Ban turned to them, sighing fearfully. "I-I fear we need to delay the arrival of the Supreme General, Auriel-dono."

"How so?" Auriel raised her brow confused, staring the man. Her anger started to surface. The rage she soothed immediately.

Looking around warily, Ban started to speak. "Several things happened in the past hours. Things require our undivided attention. Please forgive us." The Secretary-General bowed as custom, profoundly expressing the grievous situation.

Several more diplomat cuts away surrounded by a suited agent like figures, heading somewhere.

Looking around, Auriel just raised her brow, critically measuring the situation. "Is that so? I assume it is a problem connected to the military."

"Yes. Unfortunately, I can't offer you any more information because the data is classified. I could only hint one thing. Stay close to a bunker if possible, there is a chance sirens might goes off."

Cocytus was a little annoyed by the cowardly behaviour of the man standing before him. Ban was the person who supposed to lead his coalition, a warrior. A leader should stand proud and lead their people in dire times. Not cower in fear like the man before him. Naturally, the cyan knight said nothing; it was not his place to judge. But he can't help but release an unpleasant gust of cold wind, crackling his mandibles dangerous.

"Ah, it cannot be helped. I will notify Creator-sama about the delay when I can. Thought, she will be very disappointed. She wanted to go around and, visit a few places, maybe give a few lectures to the young generation. She is a scientist, did you know? She adores her art as she used to say…" Auriel chuckled with a little bit of pride in her tone, covering her mouth softly.

Ban nodded still sweating. "I see… Please give your master our regards and regret about the unfortunate circumstances."

"Can we help somehow?" asked the Arch Seraphim immediately, offering her help.

Cocytus liked the bravery of the woman standing in his side; she was like her creator. Courageous, relentless and willing to help who had potential, possessed the qualities he admired.

"Everything is under control, Lady Auriel. Please don't bother with it. The task of protecting this world from our own people is ours. It is our burden we need to carry alone. I only ask you to stay safe and stay inside the embassy for the time being."

"As you wish…" Accepting the reason of the Secretary-General, Auriel gently bowed. "Still, if you need our help with the evacuation or stopping the incoming rockets. Don't hesitate to ask us. I am sure Ainz-sama is more than willing to help his allies when the time comes. As well Cocytus and I have anti-missile capabilities. So we can repel a few if not all of them before they hit the target."

For a moment, Ban froze, he had no idea how the ambassador knows about the nature of the crisis. He can only sight and nod, his face eased. Now, Ban looked a lot younger, less worried. "Much obliged, Lady Auriel. Don't worry; we will call his Majesty's help when the time comes. Until that, please be safe. I need to take care a few things."

Bowing deeply once more, Ban said his goodbye, preparing on his way. "Lady Auriel, Lord Cocytus." Then left the scene.

Cocytus looked after the man worried, turning back his gaze to his friend. "Trouble?"

Auriel obliged with a hard face. "Trouble."

Just now, several suited figures approached the insect warrior and arch Seraphim. For the naked eye, they were simple diplomats. Only those who were able to discern Supernatural beings were able to distinguish them from simple people.

"Lady Auriel. Lord Cocytus."

Turning them, the little group already bowed. "We would like to ask your, and your masters' help. We are in dire need of it."

* * *

 **Scene Change: Falmart: Lordom Valley:**

The Schwarz Forest was a vast domain that was often called "a sea of trees".

It was far more profound than anyone could have imagined. In its furthest reaches, fallen tree trunks were covered in piles of rotting leaves, and over them grew the branches of gigantic trees. The roots on the ground overlapped each other, so thickly one could not see the field, while above them the sky was blocked out by the spreading tree canopies. It was like stepping into a different world.

Of course, walking through here on foot was a difficult task, to say nothing of actually driving a vehicle in. They had no choice but to go around it, leaving Hamusuke behind to guard the HMW. After making some progress toward the South, the group decided to rest for the night. The next day, they followed the edge of the forest westward, before finally reaching Lordom Valley.

The Dark Elves were hiding in the caves here.

At a glance, this looked like pretty suitable terrain for a fight.

Like the name 'valley' would suggest, the flat land was sliced open by the flow of a river into a narrow, twisting ravine. If they could get the sizable, fattened hatchings to descend into the bottom of the gorge, they might be able to carry out an ambush on them. However, this place was far too narrow for the Dragons to squeeze in.

Come to think of it; this place was a place for the Dark Elves to hide. If the Flame Dragons, even in hatching state could fit in here, they would be done for.

The bottom of the ravine was quite narrow. The river had scattered large and small rocks all around, and it looked like a right spot for fishing. However, there was no way for the Dark Elves to gather enough food from this place. They would need to leave the Valley eventually, and the two Dragons were counting on that.

In addition, the sudden, torrential rain would raise the level of the river until it seeped into their caves. They had to struggle every day so their possessions and food would not get washed away. It was a hard life.

"If you want to find the Flame Dragons, head south from the Schwarz Forest to the Lordom Valley. The beasts hunt in the same place. We can ambush them there." Yao said once more. Explaining the situation more clearly before the group reaches her people's safe haven.

The perimeter guards and the group headed towards the Lordom Valley, where Yao's tribe was hiding. Eight dark elf men and women holding bows escorted them back to the elders. It was since a few hours the group left behind their mounts and the LAV, since then, the progress was steady.

The little group. Itami, Lelei, Tuka, Rory, and of course, Zeno and his adamantine class group; The explosive mage Meguminoi, the beastmen tracker Slapstorm, the engineer dwarf Merryforge, the druid healer Ephade Medhirth, and the bard of the group Julian Alfred Pankratz followed the dark elf scouts close behind, listening what Yao said. The mysterious elf contractor remained close to them, keeping her eye on the team, or more likely on Zeno's impressive form.

Yao clearly remembers the dreadful day when the two flame dragon hatching appeared out of nowhere; it happened just a few months back. Their size may be lesser than their mother's, but when it comes to destructive capabilities, they are just as grim as the parent animal.

After the Third Recon Team, with the help of the adventurers called Momon and Raidyn had killed the original Flame Dragon. The the two since matured dragon took refuge in the nearby canyons and mountains, grieving their mother, preying on the elven kind. The Dushi Clan forced to flee their village in Schwarz Forest when the creatures started to raid their villages. The lands which had been the hunting ground of the Dushi clan became the hunting ground of the hybrid Flame Dragons.

Burning, destroying and ravaging everything in their way. The two creature's appearance was surprising, unexpected and destructive. No one expected it; even the wisest sages said such animals should not appear fifty more years. And it was unheard that more than one appeared at once. Something unnatural taken place after the death of the original Ancient Dragon to make the creatures grow so fast.

It only took around a month for the two beasts to ravage and almost obliterate the previously proud Dark Elf clan, force them into hiding.

The elders of the Dushi clan saw no other way out, the only solution was to ask for help, and the god-like newcomers provided the perfect solution for the problem.

Looking around, Itami remembered his true goal being here. Help Tuka recover. Help her realise her father is dead. Only then she can gain some rest and stop calling him her 'father'.

"Humph… Fighting against two dragons. Troublesome…" fondling his long beard, Merryforge's hum was troubled. His group was famous for their ability to hunt mid and lesser dragons. Aside from a few selected group, the direct vassals and creations of the Supreme Beings, very few could do the same.

As in this world, in the Sorcerous Kingdom as well dragons were fearsome creatures, varying in size, ability and kind. Animals according to the legends unable to die out of old age and with time only grows stronger. Some of them completely immune to fire, cold, lightning, nature and similar elements.

Most of them were not beast in a sense, most of the dragons of the New World were rational, wise creatures, conscious beings who could think, speak, plan and implement on a whim. Some of them even able to learn and use magic. And just like them, this magic only grows in time.

According to the legends, the ancient Dragon Lords of the old even had their own particular kind of magic. Magic, called Wild Magic that started to deteriorate when the Six Arrived and begun to spread the tier based magic system. Of course, outside of the tales and the legends, Merryforge had no idea it is true or not.

He knows only one thing. No matter what kind of dragon. They could sniff out the worth of an item with high accuracy. Hunger, the dragons of the New World were obsessed with treasures. The more it worth, the more they wanted to claim it. No matter what they had to do to claim the said treasure. Most of the dragons and the remained few Dragon Lords only stopped resisting after the death of the Platinum Dragon Lord, the strongest of his kind, terrified by the godly powers of Ainz and his servants, the ancient, proud race just bowed down and swore fealty. Only a few rogue elements remained who still rebelled against control.

Hearing the dwarf out, Yao sweatdropped, on her face a worried expression pictured; the escorting dark elves sharpened their long ears gathering even more information.

"What do you mean by, 'troublesome', Merryforge-san?" asked Itami a little bit fuzzy. From Zeno's description, he expected the group to be a professional dragon hunter unit. Even more, knowing Zeno was trained by Raidyn who was able to withhold such monstrous creature with her hands, it was expected.

Sipping from his pipe, the rowdy dwarf explained. "It is one thing fighting against one dragon, more less fighting against multiple ones. Moreover, we don't know the full capabilities of the creatures. What kind of resistance they had, what kind of weapons and alchemical conjectures, bombs and other things I had to prepare to fight effectively. If they can use magic, we are in trouble We need to scout them first, collect samples."

The small group nodded. On the face of the escorting Dark Elf scouts a grim expression pictured.

Hearing the sentence; dragons can use magic, made Lelei turn the dwarf and sharpen her ears. She never considers something is possible. Dragons are beast, after all, creatures of pure instinct possessing beast like intelligence.

Yao slightly turned to Merryforge as well, tilting her head scoffing. Her spite is resonating in her voice. "They are murderous creatures. Nothing else…"

"Ohohoho!" Merryforge laughed full-hearted. "That's where you wrong little lady. You can't trifle with a dragon without preparation. The beasts wise beyond reason, plan and execute on a whim, and with age, it only grows worse. Creatures stepped out from a nightmare, those they are. No offence, dear Medhirth…" The dwarf apologised, turning his rowdy head against the prismatic haired girl with horns on her head.

Medhirth just smiled shyly, a slight blush visible on her face. "I-It's not a problem; I am well aware the nature of my relatives. Please don't concern yourself, Merryforge -san."

The dwarf nodded grinning, Yao rather not strained her mind with what the girl meant when said; _'I am well aware the nature of my relatives.'_ She merely shrugged the quote off as a bad joke. But the dwarf calling her a young lady still bothered her somewhat. True, amongst her kind she was still young, cannot compare the elders of her tribe in age neither in knowledge, but she was still over 315, dammit! She was way older than the dwarf! Races like dwarves should give the proper respect their elders.

The group continued the trip; the only chattering sounds came from the direction of Dandelion and Rory. The two of them exchanged tales under the way. _'Why spend time in silence when you can exchange stories?'_ Dandelion said, and the apostle of Emroy obliged in return. Rory was experienced beyond reason. Possessing over nine hundred years' worth of story material. That meant, she had the overwhelming advantage over the bard. But even with the vast difference in age, Dandelion could surprise her with a few things. Thus, the two of them became good friends for a short time.

Continuing the long trip, Yao can't help but ask. "What do you propose then? How should we deal with them?"

"You mean the dragons?" asked Zeno. Yao nodded shyly in return.

"It depends on their kind, strength weakness and many another factor. The first step always measures your enemy's strength, find their weakness. If possible from the far. At least, master taught me this way. She always said; 'If the enemy good at the close, fight from far. If it's skilled from far, get close."

The group nodded in unison. Itami knows the tactic. But he needed to ask just to tease Zeno a little bit. "What about if the enemy skilled both close and long range?"

A small smile curled on the man's face. "Well shit… then you are in neck deep in shit. That's it…"

The group burst out in laughter. Itami did not expect this crafty retort, smiled happily. "Ahaha… Good one." Scratching the back of his head, he was relieved the adventurer was not so stuck like the knights he meets before.

Yao nodded, continuing.

"You speak very respectfully about your master whenever you mention her, Zeno-dono. Is the two of you…?" Yao blushed imagining the picture, even when she had no idea how Zeno master's look, she tried.

Itami bit his lower lip, urging himself to not burst out in laughter, imagining Zeno with the frail-looking Raidyn. Of course, he saw pairs with bigger size difference in the past, but it always made the First Lieutenant wonder how such relationship works. "Is the two of you close?"

Yao felt a slight tug on her shoulder, looking back it was the rugged looking Beastmen tracker, Slapstorm shook his head warning. Realizing her mistake, Yao was ashamed. Her face flustered even more. Her white bangs shadowed her eyes.

"I-I am sorry, it is not appropriate to ask…"

Zeno smiled warmly, then slowly nodded his head. "It is okay. She is…" His words stalled for a moment, then continued in a sour tone. "She is my closest thing to a relative. She was the one who saved me and taught me everything I know. Without her, I would be not here to help you."

"I see…" The dark elf sighed a little bit sad. Seeing the bitter smile on Zeno's mask made her regret asking it. The dark elf escorts shrugged uncomfortably.

"Do-Don't worry, Zeno-sama. We are here for you."

"Thank you, Medhirth, I appreciate it…" Beaming a smile, the girl returned the shy gesture.

"Continuing the thread, we need to scout the dragons firsthand. Most dragons I know usually had some kind of daily routine. Finding the adequate counter against them also important. We can't carry every weapon and tool in the battle or our movement will be restricted."

Slapstorm ruffed sympathetic.

"We should try to booby-trap an enclosed place then lure them there. If not, we should always try to catch them off guard in the nearby canyons. Only fools fight dragons in the open without resistive mithril nets and gaff hidden and prepared beforehand. If we are lucky, the dragons are prideful or stupid enough to follow the bait. If not, we are in trouble. Fighting against two of them makes our work exponentially harder. There may be causalities. Of course, without knowing any further detail. I can't say for sure."

Yao was suspicious. Sure, the Flame Dragons were fearsome creatures, but the group gave them too much credit. If the dragons would be sentient, thinking beings as Merryforge said, her people would be gone a long time ago. No, the whole Saderan Empire and the nearby kingdoms would be on the heels of the giant lizards.

Humming, Zeno immediately knows what to do. "I entrust you the scouting, Alalog. Make sure learn as much as you can. We don't want to catch off guard."

"Aye boss…" replied Slapstorm immediately. "As we settled down, I start it right away."

Itami sighed relieved. He was not a hero, hell, he considered a slacker by his peers. He always avoided trouble and usually waited until it solved itself. In the current situation, his plan would merely plant the lair of the dragons with C4 then blow the things up when returned from the hunt, or whatever dragons are doing this time of the day. Fair and easy, right?

Charging against dragons like the titanic knights in the stories of old? He was not stupid. Those tales existed only in fiction, games and novels. The truth was horrendous and merciless; the knights most likely ended up as a fried appetiser in the dragon's stomach before they could even raise their weapon. Itami not willing to make that sacrifice, he was not that stupid.

"Slaptorm-san is right. Let me get this straight. If the Dragons can fly around freely, we're at too much of a disadvantage. We have no chance of victory if we try to fight them in the open." Itami joined the conversation, trying to deter Yao even from the idea fighting the creatures toe to toe, imitating the heroes of the old.

"I see... If you need a decoy, let me know. I can get my people to help." Yao spoke lightly, as though it was really that simple. The scouts escorting them nodded in unison.

A little time later the group reached the compound where most of the Dushi tribe stayed. Near the very bottom of the valley where the sunlight can't reach. Yao left, disappeared in a cave where, if Itami's intuitions are right, the leaders of her clan hid. Strangely she urged them to remain outside, not to step in the guarded cavern.

Around them, the clan members doing their daily activates, fishing, sewing, gathering, doing things people usually do in dire need. Youngsters are playing, caring not about the horrendous situation of the clan. A few adults stared the group dangerously, chattering, gossiping behind the back of the strange figures. The dark elves do not trust the newcomers, not at all, even when they saw them escorted by Yao herself.

Slapstorm, as expected, received many fearful, malignant stare. Not surprising, even according to the Sorcerous Kingdom standards, he was just scary; he used to gain such looks daily base. His appearance was quite terrifying those who don't know him. Fortunately, it only took one friendly grin, and a wave of a paw from the tracker of the team and the dark elves dispersed.

Sighing after seeing the reaction, he just chuckled, it cannot be helped. He was just too handsome for the meagre elves. Only now, he felt as someone bopped his head hard with a wooden thing.

"Auch! Brat! What's that for!" Mewing, grabbing his head where the bump already present, his eyes churned with blood.

"Pops, don't scare the clients…" Meguminoi clobbered his head fearless once more, on her face a disinterested, flat expression pointing the elder with her staff.

"We don't get paid if you scare them away. If we don't get paid, I can't buy my sweets. If I can't buy my sweets, I need either ask Fluder-sama some founds or practice my explosion on you."

"Crazy brat…" Itami and Tuka can't believe it, even Rory and Lelei tilted their heads surprised. For a moment the tiger like beastmen yellow eyes lit up in fear. It was an utterly absurd picture. Such little thing is threatening a beast who can have her as an appetiser and remain hungry afterwards.

The First Lieutenant can't do anything just ponder, what kind of absurdity plays out before him. Is he dreaming, or already died? Heroes, dragons, elves, gods, immortals, mythical creatures all around. Things are only existing in fantasy…

He is dreaming, yes, it was most likely a terrorist attack and all of this just a very lifelike dream. He most likely hit by an explosion and either dying or in a coma. Sensible explanation considering the circumstances.

No, shaking his head he needs to wake up, the doujin convention soon comes. Slapping himself on his face, everyone stared his disbelief. Looking around he hit himself once more, but everything was the same. Before the third slap, a soft, thin hand grabbed his hand, stopping him. "Papa! What are you doing?!" Tuka's desperate voice echoed through the camp. Grabbing his hand steadily, in her eyes moisture gathering.

Looking at the girl, Tuka almost cried. So it is real? Maybe, he can't be sure. In any case, it was an embarrassing situation. "Uh-oh, sorry, I am quite sleepy. Last night was pretty… wacky?"

"Wacky?" Meguminoi squinted her crimson eyes glaring at the First Lieutenant balant. "Go away, crazy pervert…"

Itami paled. He, a pervert? I mean, he liked good looking girls, which man wouldn't want them? But he a pervert? He never considered himself as a pervert.

A quick bash and the witch hat of the explosive maniac flattened. "Muu! We don't call our friends that way… apologise, Meguminoi-san." Scolded her Zeno, looking at her exceptionally.

Looking offended, the girl puffed her cheek indignant, mumbling under her breath softly. "I am sorry…"

"What? I don't hear…!" teased her Julian singing. It was a stupid idea; the last thing came to his vision before the darkness descended was Zeno's fearful headshake. Then the feeling of a small fist flattening his nose. The pain ran through his nerves for a moment.

"I said I am sorry! Stupid womaniser pervert!" Stomping on the bard, she yelled. Everyone in the group laughed, even Lelei showed a small smile.

The dark elves around just watched the small group stunned. 'Let's hope they just as strong as strange.' This thought comes to their mind before sighing.

Zeno soon came to his senses once more, looking around, immersing himself in his inner world. _"Ah, I wonder what sensei and Momon-dono are doing now… The two of them must be busy by a different task. I wonder what it is now. An uprising demon lord? A dragon? She and Momon-dono always took up the impossible tasks. As well, I wonder where Nabe-dono is; I miss her…"_

Shaking his head, Zeno left behind the absurd idea.

 _"No! I don't miss her at all! She was scary and always called me a worm, giving me that disgusted look; she was almost as terrifying as master when she got angry with me after I accidentally ate her prized dessert…"_ Remembering the monsters, he pictured Raidyn and Nabe, made the elf hero shiver in his boots. It happened more than one hundred and eighty years ago, but the memory still haunted him. " _Scary…!"_ he shuttered.

"Shit! The dragons are here!"

The shouts of the Dark Elves rose from all around them.

The Dark Elf male who had approached Itami and his group to check them out was snatched up by the swooping red scaled creature. His legs thrashed from between the gaps in the Flame Dragon's fangs, and the colossal beast chewed and swallowed him in one gulp.

"Aaah, ah, ah, aaaawaah, aah, ah—" He shouted agonized.

Tuka had seen the whole thing from start to finish, and she froze up. Standing still in front of a Flame Dragon was nothing short of suicide.

The other elves began fleeing for their lives, and some of them raised their bows to fire on the Dragon. However, their arrows were useless against the Dragon's armour-like scales. Even if it was a heavily matured hatching, hatched not long ago, it was almost as big as its mother was. Something must be massively accelerated both dragons developmental period.

The Red scaled Flame Dragon completely disregarded the Elves. Instead, it focused all its attention on the frozen Tuka. Then it opened its blood-stained maw and lunged at the young elf.

Just as Tuka was about to consumed by the jaws of death, a great crash of stone shattering echoed throughout the Valley.

Like a black petal borne on the wind, Rory Mercury charged the Flame Dragon and struck a mighty blow with her halberd. The massive slab of steel struck the Flame Dragon square on the jaw.

However, even that mighty blow could not shatter the Flame Dragon's resilient scales. Still, the heavy impact of the attack smacked the Flame Dragon's face away.

It was as bizarre a scene as an ant uppercutting an elephant.

And then, the Flame Dragon collapsed onto the ground. It threw up a cloud of dust that flew everywhere. The impact of its fall shook the ground and rang like thunder.

"So strong…"

The Dark Elves stared in awe.

The second creature landed on the ground, its scales were black, protecting its own kind, slaughtering feasting on the nearby elves.

"Shut your ears and close your eyes!"

Most of the elves still panicked unable to comprehend what the smoky man is shouting. Itami is seeing what Merryforge is doing obliged to follow his instructions. Urged Lelei and Rori to do the same. Quickly fishing out the ear protector from his bag, placed on his ears then covered the still frozen Tuka's. He experienced the after effect of a flashbang when he was just a simple trainee, he rather not do it again.

Several strange stones with a sizzling wick soared through the air. Hit the head of the black scaled creature.

'Bang!'

Blinding light and deafening sound disoriented everyone around. Making them stumble on the ground. Many elves did not oblige, their ears bleeding from the makeshift stun grenade, groaning and rolling on the ground in pain, completely disoriented from the explosion.

Slapstorm grumbled dissatisfied; now he had to save those imbeciles before they are cooked alive. He was the fastest in the group. He was the most suitable for the task. Lunging forward, the beastmen scout pushed and threw many elves towards the nearby gaps and the water. Hoping they will be safe for the time being.

Julian started to play with his instrument, buffing the group, providing both defensive and offensive stat raise.

The beasts disoriented, tried to regain their balance after the stun bombs, shooting fiery death from their mouth left and right. It was even worse than before. Even Merryforge enchanted bolts were unable to penetrate their thick hide.

The dragons caught them pants down, that was the truth, the group should have known. Everything went too smooth since they arrived. It was not right; it was horrible.

"judge-main"

Right after Lelei cast her spell, a series of rings made of magical light formed in front of her.

Lelei snapped her fingers. In response, the powerful blast wave surged out in a straight line and headed towards the red dragon's body.

However, the ray of magic power neutralised by the Red Dragon's strong wing flaps and bounced down to the ground.

"[Lightning Strike]! [Lesser Explosion]! [Fireball]!" Meguminoi bombed the dragons from the air, like a ballerina dodging the fiery breath of the bestial duo. Her flight sustained by the third tier spell; [Fly].

Lelei never suspected Meguminoi is capable of flying. And she changed her position so quickly in the air; she must be really skilled. She knows how mages of Rondel flew, even a master was not able to pull such stunts the crimson witch is doing.

If you asked Lelei, propelling yourself into the air with your magic was a moderately difficult task, but for an average mage without any significant talent or possessing the blessing at least one, if not both of the twin gods (Ral and La). It was a nightmare to learn, control and sustain the propelling force adequately.

One of the reasons behind the hardship of the flight magic was the amount of energy you needed to release if you wanted to remain in the air. Even a mage with great talent and high reserves can't sustain it more than one, maximum two hours.

The second reason behind the difficulty of flying was the various complex rules the magic caster required to acknowledge and balance adequately to fulfil the requirements of the spell. It was necessary to adjust the three steps even to leave the ground; Drag, Lift and Thrust. The mages of Rondel needed to acknowledge these three things if they wanted to fly.

If a mage used too much force, he/she immersed the catchphrase; 'To infinity and beyond!' In most cases, the mage just exhausted his/her reserves before safely landing and fallen merely from the air. Lelei even heard instances when the delinquent died out of fall. In the other end, use less power than needed and the person was not even able to leave the ground.

Of course, the flying spell Lelei knows was very different the one the crimson loli mage used; it based on an entirely different system. Thus, the two things were like the tuna and the dolphin. Some people might say they are the same, people who don't know magic might huff and rumble; both animals are just fish. When in truth, one of them was a fish. Meanwhile the other was a mammal.

The two system differed in such margin it cannot really compare.

Seeing the crimson mage crazy stunts in the air made Lelei's heart beat even more intense, made her acknowledge how little she knows. It filled her with the desire to visit the other side and learn in the institution Meguminoi spoke about last night. Her pervert master will be green with envy once he hears about this.

"[Lightning Strike]!" Lightning danced around the dragon's body, making it step one step back.

Lelei was astonished. Even an experienced master needed chant and charge its magic before he/she released the spell. And the chants the crimson magic caster bombed the dragons were high-level ones with barely any incantations, no, incantation not even left her mouth, Meguminoi just said the names of the ability and pointed her staff against the creatures. The phenomenon comes to life just like that.

It was either she was a master like Cato, and knew the physical laws instinctively, in so much she doesn't even need incantation to call life her magic. Or, the tier-based magic system these strange people used differed of her own. Yes, this is most likely the case. Raidyn tried to explain her, but it just made no sense at first. Unfortunately, she can't continue Lelei's tutelage due to the accident in the resort and their separation afterwards. Raidyn promised she would send her a few good books in her way, but until now Lelei received no book.

She heard about the settlement near Fortress Gown; maybe she will visit it one day and buy some books. The mages of Rondel already visited the place; news spread fast.

Looking back at the battlefield, the blue mage's eyes widened. One of the dark elf child crying searching for his mother. She reached for him, preparing to cast a gale of wind to push the kid away from the creature's swiping attack. Lowering her hand, Zeno golden form flashed before the dragon, holding his massive shield and his enchanted sword.

Itami gaped calling after Zeno, releasing a few shots from his carbine in the direction of the creature's eye. Tuka watched the scene with horror, still frozen.

Rory tried to reach them before the claw reaches the golden clad adventurer and the boy, but she was sure she is late. She fought against the other dragon and was too far to reach him in time.

"[Raise Resistance]! [Greater Ability Boost]! [Invulnerable Fortress]! [Shield of Holy Protector]!" Combining his Martial Arts and paladin class ability instantaneously, a strange throbbing feeling left Zeno's body; a yellow aura surrounded him.

The ground trembled and cracked under the hero; a small shockwave shook the area. The giant creature's body and the solid adamantine alloy shield clashed. Seeing the surprising effect, the animal backed for a moment, then rained fire on him. Once more, it was without effect; the flames immediately neutralised thanks to his ability [Shield of Holy Protector], the adamantium alloy excellent heat dissipation capability, and the enchantment on his armour. These three things combined protected both him and the boy behind him. Using the confusion of the creature, Zeno yelled furiously, activating his ability.

"[Limit Breaker]! [Physical Ability Boost]! [Magic Weapon Enchantment]! [Seek Weakness]! [God Flash]! Aaaaaa!" Mustering all his strength the hero cut deep in the hand of the creature. Blood poured on the ground. The cut managed to separate two fingers from the dragon's clawed hand. The beast enraged jumped back immediately. Looking the vacant places where its fingers located previously.

So this is it? Martial Arts; 'the magic of warriors', as Raidyn formed her words previously. Seeing it in action, truly astonishing. Lelei accepted the fact and adored the magic of warriors. Rory watched the scene with curious eyes. She had no idea what happened, but somehow, Zeno's spiritual energy and power leapt bounds. Momentarily, in this enchanted physical and mental state Rory Mercury was sure, Zeno would be able to clash with an apostle if he would have meet one.

Martial Arts, warrior's magic, mind over body, many names, one meaning. It meant utilising sheer will to make possible the impossible; harden the body, raise resistances, make impossible attacks possible, and many more things. All of it by using the sheer will of the user. Naturally, the technique also had drawbacks. The strength of the Martial Arts heavily dependent on the skill and the stamina of the user. Martial Arts were stamina heavy skills, the more you used at once, the more you exhausted yourself. The more inexperienced you were, the more stamina needed to activate.

Even the legendary Gazef Stronoff could only use six Martial Arts at once. Zeno is like him; he had no talent, no quality champion when started. He was just a petty thief kid from the slums. In his current state, he barely borders the realm of heroes of old (above level 30).

In the current situation, he considered using the item he received from his master before they parted way. But he was not desperate enough. He can still salvage the situation.

It was a crystal he received. Zeno had no idea what the object is capable of, but the glass brimmed with magic. An appraiser, specialised for magic items confirmed it. Back then, the man would have even willing to pay two hundred gold in advance, five hundred later. The deal was tempting, but Zeno refused the deal and adored the item he received from his sensei.

Remembering the warning, Raidyn left him, made the elf shudder and confused; ' _Only use in dire need when everything is lost._ _The armour and the weapon ask hefty price for their help.'_

Of course, he had no idea what is she speaking about. It was neither armour nor a weapon; it was a magic sealing crystal. Seeing his confusion, the woman just patted his head and left, disappeared without trace for long years.

Zeno was considered one of the strongest adventurer in the kingdom, but he was far from the title 'the strongest' when it comes to other professions. His current strength is all thanks to his relentless training and willingness to sacrifice his time to hone his skills day by day, nothing else.

The Black scaled Flame Dragon nimbly got back to its feet with the help of its flapping wings, angrily staring it severed fingers. It knew it was at a disadvantage on land, and it kicked itself off the ground and soared into the air.

Its scaled red brother held steadily on the ground by Medhirth's druidic magic. Continuously casting [Thorny Entangling Roots] she kept the creature out of the battle for a while. The beast was strong, tearing through the stem with little difficult, cremated them with fire. A dragon was a dragon, no matter it was restrained, it can still spat fire.

Medhirth exhausted, keeping up and summoning more and more roots took tools on her. Being the daughter of a dragon lord she had the advantage, unfortunately, she was not a full-blooded dragon. Her mother was an elf. Thus, she can't compare her father when it comes to physical or raw magical power.

She tried to communicate with the red one, but it was a beast, nothing more, she found only a bestial intelligence behind the yellow eyes. Her draconic heritage not yet fully awakened. She was unable to calm it down. The only thing she could do is to support her group and keep the dragon out of the battle for a while.

Meanwhile, Rory attempted to pursue the Black scaled Flame Dragon, but its breath drove her back down.

The Apostle of Emroy, God of War, swung her halberd so forcefully that the wind of its passage cleaved the high-temperature exhalation apart. However, the Dragon took advantage of her lowered guard and followed up with a swipe of its sharp claws.

"Kya~an!"

Rory managed to evade the claws, but her small body was still sent flying by the Flame Dragon's paw.

She landed with both feet on the ground, her momentum digging two trenches into the ground as she slowed to a halt. Then grabbed her halberd in a power stance, wiped her face clean of mud with the back of her hand, and licked at the blood flowing from a small cut on her lip.

"Not bad."

The battle was a stalemate. Neither side had struck a decisive blow against the other.

Lelei created a second series of light rings. The Black scaled Flame Dragon understood what it was and got out from in front of her.

The light rings were very hard to re-orient once formed, so all she managed to do was carve out a hole in the ground. Lelei clicked her tongue in frustration.

Tuka was having trouble breathing, and she shuddered uncontrollably.

Itami grabbed Tuka and bore her down to the ground as the group struggled with the two Dragons.

Itami said to the panting Tuka, "Tuka, look carefully, look carefully at that..."

He embraced Tuka from behind, pressed both his hands on her face and forced her to look at the Red Flame Dragon.

"That's the Flame Dragon that killed your father. Do you understand?" he lied of course. But it was necessary to help her recover.

Tuka closed her eyes and tried to turn away, but Itami used all his strength to stop her.

"Look! Look at it! That's the Flame Dragon that burned your village! It's the one that killed your father!"

"No, no way, Father's not dead, because of father…"

"I'm not your father. I'm just a stranger. You're not my daughter!" Itami shouted, trying to convince Tuka about the truth.

"Hiiiiiiiiii, no, why are you saying these cruel things? Somebody save me!"

Tuka's heart was being torn apart. Itami's words and the cold reality before her eyes assaulted her relentlessly.

The battle of the Black Flame Dragon versus the Sunbreakers Adamantine Adventurer Group, Lelei and Rory were finished in an instant. Now, the creatures surveyed the scene, searching for weak spots.

Looking at the struggling red-scaled dragon, the memory of the stuck arrow came to Tuka's mind. Dreadful memories are running in and out.

What she saw next was the image of her father fading away as she plunged into the well and the sharp teeth of the Flame Dragon jaws behind him.

"That, that is…"

"That's right, that bastard killed your father! Shoot it! Take it down, kill it! Let it all out!"

"No way! I can't do it. Nobody can beat a monster like that!"

Still holding Tuka, Itami got off and grabbed a LAM from the pile in the back. He did not know when the enemy would show up, so he prepared one of them for use at any time.

"This LAM took out one of its arms!"

As Tuka saw the LAM, the red Flame Dragon howled freeing itself from its bindings abruptly. Kicked off the ground, flying up into the air. The great cry robbed her legs of strength. Since Itami had been through this before, he didn't freeze up completely.

"Shit, damn bestial instincts! The bastard somehow knows!"

Red took the air, joining his black brother, Rory's halberd would not be able to reach them. Lelei's magic was useless against fast-moving targets. Meguminoi magic could barely crack the thick hide of the creatures and the girl already exhausted her reserves. Slapstorm arrows bounced off harmless. Medhirth was a druid she knows very few offensive type magic. Zeno was a tank and close range fighter; he lacked the long ranged capability to take down dragons from the far.

Dandelion was great support buffing the group combat capabilities. Using [Charming Song] he even managed to win a few seconds for the group before the dragons brushed off the disorienting effect. That's for them; no one appreciates his art…

His actual battle prowess as a bard heavily lacked, in truth, the man only accompanied the group because he found Zeno's character inspiring and was an old friend of the man. Basing several characters on the golden clad hero, his books sold well. Not as well as his romance novel series that he found on 'Momon's and Raidyn's secret love'. But well enough to be acknowledged.

The battle was a catastrophe, only Merryforge's explosive bolts and Meguminoi magic was somewhat useful, confusing the dragons, hitting their hide hard.

Rory tried to jump up and attack the Dragons several times, but she was driven back by either heir paws or a stream of flames. The creatures possessed some kind of animal instinct, covered each other's escape.

Lelei's magic was very destructive, but it was not instantaneous and thus easily avoided.

And then, the Dark Elves arrows did no damage even if they hit.

They thought that all they could do was wait for the Flame Dragons to leave.

The battered monster duo soared up into the sky, where Rory could not reach them at all, and leisurely spread their wings to keep themselves hovering in the air while turned back to them.

However, Itami raised the LAM and held Tuka rightly from behind.

In order not to let her run away from reality again, he could not show his powerlessness in front of the beasts.

He aimed at the airborne Red Flame Dragon's back and pressed Tuka's finger on the trigger. She had to do this herself.

"You can do it. Look carefully. That's the enemy. Use your strength and pull the trigger. Do it!"

Itami was shouting into Tuka's ear.

"I can't; I can't do it!"

Itami forcefully restrained the crying Tuka, who was trying her best to struggle out of his grasp, while adjusting the LAM's aim so that it would not miss.

"That's enough, pull the trigger!"

Frightened of the voice shouting into her ear, drifting into a hazy dreamscape, Tuka rightly squeezed the handle.

She pulled the trigger, and a jet of flame roared forth from the rocket engine, driving its antitank warhead downrange.

As expected, the shot missed. However, it hit the side of the valley wall. Its thunderous explosion sent a shockwave through the Valley. Seeing they are outgunned, the two creature departed immediately. Most of the elves cheered in victory.

Zeno just gritted his teeth angrily; those bastards caught them off guard! Then turned back the still trembling dark elf boy, sighing patted his head. "It is okay. They are gone."

The boy burst out crying, hugged his leg seeking safe heaven, sobbing. Zeno could only comfort the kid by using his massive hand and pet his white locks. The elves and the group started to salvage the situation. Burying the dead, save those can be saved. Soon the Dark Elf council and Yao arrived on the scene…

Once they heard the Flame Dragons had been driven off, all the Dark Elves emerged. From where they were hiding.

"The Men in Green and the heroes arrived! And there is Rory Mercury to save us!"

To the Dark Elves, who had been one-sidedly hunted and preyed upon, this was terrific news. Now was the time to exterminate the beasts and return to their peaceful lives in the Schwarz Forest, so they all raised up their weapons.

They had heard of how the original Flame Dragon was killed. The Man in Green and the two legendary heroes could do it. And now they had the aid of the Apostle of Emroy, a wizard of the Lindon School and the strange heroes came with them.

And so, the Dark Elves hiding in the nearby hills, plains and the mountains gathered in Lordom Valley with a vengeance in their hearts. By midnight, the narrow valley was filled with Dark Elves. Even more, people arrived by the time the sun came up.

The elders were thinking, "To think there were so many people", or "To think so few were left". How long had they hidden? However, the days of waiting for extinction were over. The battle that would decide the fate of the Dark Elves was nigh.

They opened the precious food stocks to welcome Itami and the warriors. The cooks did their best with the meagre ingredients they had in order to produce tasty dishes. Although Slapstorm did lecture the cooks and shared a few recipes, being the chef of the group he can do that much.

Elsewhere, Yao, who had brought them here, was showered in the praise of her friends and people.

Yao, who had once been nicknamed 'Unlucky', had never received a welcome like this before. She just could not calm down.

Yao did not feel she was worthy to receive everyone's praise, at least not before she had atoned for her sins. Yet, her idea of atoning for her sins was discarded by the elders as taking it lightly, so now she did not know what she should do.

Although she was safe now, a lot of people had gotten the wrong idea from her absence.

A quick glance revealed that there were much fewer people of her age than before. After realising so many people had died, even Yao, who was used to misfortune, could not help but droop her shoulders.

After enduring the praise turning into an unfair castigation from her friends, she was depressed. If you asked her, she deserved the castigation but also realised her place is not here... She was no longer in a situation where she could decide what happened to herself.

Yao thought of that, and thus she said, "I, I. I don't know where I belong anymore..." And then she turned around and fled from her friends...

* * *

...

"Did you remember that guy?" said one of the survivors.

"Hm? You mean that bandaged blond?"

"Yeah, the one who resembled that girl. What was his name? Some kind of Hodor?"

"Yes, poor guy searched his daughter everywhere. Mumbling something about she must have been survived."

"It is since a few days he left… what do you think, where is he now?"

"I dunno, maybe went to Rondel or one of the shrine searching his answer."

"I hope he finds it. As I heard, the elders offered him a place. But he refused."

"Poor fool..."

Ignoring the chatter, Itami sat near the campfire, fuming over his own misfortune, how something like this could happen?

"Dammit…" Cursing demoralised, Itami glanced at the curled up Tuka. So innocent, so pure. The First Lieutenant can't help but sight, seeing her near the fireplace. Merryforge already gave her some sedative that made her fall asleep as well the Dark Elf elders come to investigate her state of mind.

According to them, she had sealed off her heart to maintain balance in her spirit. When she suddenly understood what was going on, her pent-up emotions burst forth all at once. The pain was worse than on average, and Tuka was unable to bear it. Therefore, she ran away from reality and let Itami become her father.

"Is something wrong, Itami?" asked Julian sitting not far from him, stopping scribing in his notebook. Itami looked at him; he can't help but release a weak sight. Why this bard always inquiring about his wellbeing? He had enough problem already.

"Ah, it is nothing. Just Tuka's state is worsening by the day. If it goes on, she might die. Her whole mind is filled with Father this, Father that, and no matter how I try to deny it, she won't listen. I feel so… powerless."

"I see… Worrisome indeed. Such tragic fate. A warrior and his lover suffering because of the past… So tragic… If you don't mind, I will use you as the protagonist of my next book."

"She is not my lover!" Itami blurted almost yelling. The nearby elves looked at him funny, then continued the chatter. He only stared the bard wide-eyed. Realizing what just hit his ears, pointed at himself embarrassed. "What did you said? M-Me as a protagonist of a book?"

Julian nodded smiling, eying the First Lieutenant with renewed flames in his eyes. Flames frightened Itami. "Indeed. You are the perfect material, Itami-dono. There are too many tales about heroes with tragic past, noble champions of justice. I can even say a few stories about the worst kind of villains with world-conquering powers. The public needs something fresh, about a simple guy, a powerless individual who was in the bad place in the bad time…"

Itami sweat dropped tilting his head flat faced. _"Would I be unlucky?"_

"A person who came from a different world, desire no power, wealth or any kind of earthly thing. He just wishes for his own wellbeing; a selfish individual with a lazy attitude…"

 _"Would I be selfish…? I know I am lazy, even slacker. I rather prefer my hobby above my job in any day. But selfish, really?"_ Once again, Itami's shoulder dropped. Remembering Raidyn still owes him the book he borrowed her.

Giving a grin, Julian continued. Standing up, spreading his arm, almost yelling.

"But his heart is pure. He will overcome his weakness and help his lover to recover. Searching the cure. The elixir of life to heal the cruel sickness. Yes! Action, humour, interesting characters. Heroes and villains. All of them not black and white but grey with their own intentions and goals!"

The elves watched the crazy man almost yelling, whispering behind his back, eying him suspiciously.

Itami smiled, genuine, he still denied that Tuka is his lover. But the story sounds reasonable enough. It would be refreshing reading something new.

"I don't mind… but please. Julian-san, please don't write us as lovers. We are not!"

Itami saw the exposed beam on the writer's face, gulping he had a bad feeling. "As you wish, Itami-dono. Just now, I realised the perfect plot…"

"Pl-Please, don't do anything reckless…" Itami shuttered, waiting for the worst, trying to stop the writer by physical means.

"What do you say? You don't trust, me? Hahahaha!" Dandelion snickered like an evil scientist who realised his evil plan. Puffing his chest proud.

Itami gave up, sighed defeated. His fate had been sealed the moment he meets the bard. He can only hope the mad writer will write the characters in the way so no one can recognise them.

Just now, the First Lieutenant looked in the direction where he saw the redhead dwarf toddle off. And he was somehow worried. Beforehand, the dwarf insisted on letting him inspect one of the LAM. Itami refused of course. He is not willing to give such dangerous weapon to an untrained person, even when Merryforge was frightfully knowledgeable about explosives and projectile weapons. According to the Japanese laws, Itami still had to consider him as a civilian, a mercenary at most, but that's it.

If we see in other light, there was a second reason why he hesitated to share a LAM with the man. Merryforge just scared him when he asked to investigate Itami's carbine and the anti-armour launcher. Like a serial killer measuring his next victim. Grinning, his scarred, war thorn face did not help either. It was like he wanted to dissect both him and his weapons. From the way the dwarf watched him, the First Lieutenant somehow instinctively know this. Standing up, covering Tuka tightly in a blanket. He needed to investigate things before something horrible happens.

"Julian-san, can you watch over Tuka while I am away?"

"Of course, what're friends for?" Waving him away, the bard continued to outline Itami's downfall.

* * *

…

The redhead dwarf watched the strange iron rod greedily, dissecting it tip to toe with his eyes. Caressing it gently as he does with girls, whispering to it. "Shh… it is alright. I will be gentle."

Looking at his auto crossbow on his side for a moment, he mumbled once more softly. "Please, Bianca. Don't be yellow. You know, you are my only true love."

The crossbow, of course, did not answer. The dwarf shrugged. "Serve yourself. I will not debate…"

From the direction of the weapon, only the utter silence can be heard. Quiet, only disturbed by the music of the nearby crickets.

Giving his full attention to the LAM once more, he continued.

Such odd device, such explosive power! And it did not even use magic. He needs to find the secrets of the weapon. He was a Polymath after all. He was the master of alchemy, engineering arts, metalwork and several lesser things. But most of all, he was a master Runecrafter. Many amongst his peers considered him as a crazy person, even when he had numerous inventions pinned under his name. He did not even reach adulthood when published his first invention. Smokeless gunpowder that did not need magic to be produced.

True, he might lose a few fingers in the process and almost died a few times. But progress comes through sacrifice, right? As his patron deity, Esdeath Gorgon said; _'Insanity? Bah! Such a crude word! Only used by little minds those unable to comprehend greatness!'_

And the dwarf ultimately agreed with the Supreme Being. Even more, he meets her once under an invention exhibition where young minds advertised themselves to gain discipline study under one of the few dwarf craft masters. It was a great opportunity, and he was still young. The Sorcerer King always supported schools and the development of technology. Under his rule, it was always like this. Naturally, amongst dwarves, the most funds received by the ancient art of Runecrafting.

Around four hundred years ago, Runecraft was the traditional magic art practised by the dwarves of the Dwarf Kingdom. However, after the Demon God Unrest, the technique has become nearly extinct. As time passed, Runecraft further declined into oblivion when younger generations of dwarves chose to abandon its use in favour of the more practical and efficient Tier Magic.

The art would have progressed further into extinction until the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown decided to become a patron in the revival of Runecraft. Since two hundred years, Carne became the centre where the new generations of Runecraft masters honed their ancient skills. Developed unique ways to each rune in weapons and armour.

The art still lacked in a few ways, but nowadays the art could rival with mid-tiered enchanted items, some masters were even able to etch eight mid runes on an object made from quality materials. In the old times, this number was only six; this means great progress in the eyes of the Runecrafter community.

(Of course, the number of etched symbols heavily dependent on the number of lesser, middle, upper, top runes and the capacity of the item that was engraved. The better material the object made of, the more it can bear. The higher tiered the rune, the more magic needed to be poured in the symbol. The more mana the engraving bear, the lesser number can be engraved on the object. That's how it worked.)

And of course, under the two hundred years the dwarven craftmasters rediscovered and invented new runes as well. More than two hundred in number. Great progress considering two hundred years ago the number of known runes was only around ninety.

Many dwarves still preferred tier magic over runecraft, but the art slowly regains its old light. Apparently, Runes had several disadvantages. Compared to Tier Magic, which could enchant an item in a near instant, runes require time, thus using it in full production was not cost-effective in the past. In addition, only runesmiths are able to create and utilise runes, and the number of dwarves capable of becoming runesmiths is said to be even less than those capable of becoming magic casters. However, runes possess advantages not found in the Tier Magic system, one of them being that runes hardly require any material cost.

Musing on his art, Merryforge watched the iron rod fascinated, which honestly... khm... For first, the Polymath dwarf thought he saw his own third leg... But dismissed the thought with a chuckle and returned to his work.

Just looking at the 'thing' made him consider what kind of runes he should use to replicate the blasting effect. He wondered the alchemical formula behind the destructive power of the rocket.

After a few minutes, he managed to separate the rocket from the tail. Inspecting it further. It seems there is a counterweight, some kind of primer that shoots out behind after the projectile left the tube. Crafty, if we consider the force needed to propel the rocket was immense. The spinning movement after the launch also helped to stabilise the explosive warhead. Although, Merryforge already realised, because of the gases shooting out in the back, anyone standing behind the user would be either burned or significantly injured by the counterweight and the hot gases.

Just thinking of it, he already had a few ideas how to neutralise the effect of the backlash.

Raising his mobile inscribing table and tools. The dwarf prepared to start his work when a young voice stopped him. "Ahhh… Merryforge-san. I would not do that if I were you. The rocket launcher is pretty sensitive."

The dwarf hummed, looking at the weapon. "It seems quite sturdy for me."

"Still, please don't do that. I said it is dangerous. Anyway, how did you get it? Did you stole it from the HMW?" Itami inquired, his expression was hard, beating the dwarf with his eyes.

Merryforge could only sight ashamed; he indeed took it from the car. "Please forgive me, Itami-dono. I can't help it; my curiosity overcame me."

"Ah, I see. Please don't do it again. It is dangerous."

The dwarf nodded, taking out his pipe and lighted it. "If you are already here. Can you explain to me what kind of explosive powder propel the rocket?"

Itami just stared blankly. Honestly, he had no idea. He was never good when it comes to chemistry. "I see…" Nodding, a grin curled on the dwarf's face. "You know what? What about an exchange? You tell me the basic mechanism of this beauty and your repeating firearm. In exchange, I will tell you how to make a working love potion."

"Eh…" Itami gasped, knowing not what to say. _'What would I do with that?'_ he thought.

"Why would I need that?"

"Mufufufufuf… Don't say you don't like women. My potion works. I guarantee it. At least in the 89% of the cases, but that 11% is in the error margin. It is either the ingredients go bad, or the customer uses it at the wrong time. Not my fault, it is working, theoretically…"

"I will pass…" Itami waved away the offer simply, turning his head back. "Instead, I would like to know if you had any idea how to raise our chances against those two."

"Aye… I have a few." The dwarf nodded with a stern expression, puffing smoke clouds. "I wanted to start preparing a few mana inducted explosives, alchemical formula and several more surprises our 'little friends'. After I finished the investigation of the device and that strange plasticine in the back of your carriage."

Itami freaked out; the insane dwarf found the C4! He was sure; it will not blow even if it was thrown into the fire. But if electrical spark reaches the stuff, the chemical chain reaction will activate it, blowing up everything nearby.

"Unfortunately, until my curiosity present I can't start to work, I was just that type of man. I just can't concentrate until I am not finished with something. Do you understand me, Itami-dono? If you would be so kind and help me understand the mechanism, I could start my work earlier than expected." Teased him Merryforge, blackmailing the First Lieutenant.

 _"Bastard…"_ Itami gritted his teeth. _"Did he really blackmailed me? How cruel."_ The First Lieutenant only know the dwarves of RPG games and the few he meet back in Arnus village. All of them had the wit to compete with a human. But he never expected such betrayal. The ones in the Inn were always merry and cheerful. Usually was busy to drink ale or forge weapons. Neither of them had psychotic tendencies. This was his luck, meeting the only dwarf with one.

Sighing, the only thing he could do is oblige. He saw the explosive bolts left the dwarf's strange auto crossbow, and the makeshift stun bombs he threw against the dragons. Itami was honestly scared; he doesn't want to get on his wrong side. He might poison him with that 'Love Potion' he spoke about.

"So be it…" Slumping his shoulders, he can only oblige.

"Aye…" The dwarf nodded puffing smoke, Itami walked near him and started the explanation.

"You see Bianca! My charm works!"

Giving him a funny face, Itami doesn't even want to know…

* * *

…

Lelei was frustrated at the weaknesses of her magic.

Once her target started moving, it would be tough to aim.

The Flame Dragons could not possibly stay still while she was preparing her attack. That meant that it would not work unless she could pin them down.

Of course, given Lelei's current skills, she could not do it.

Lelei felt she needed some instruction. She felt her fellow mage, Meguminoi, will help her out in the time of need. The slowly surfacing friendship of theirs still not developed, but the seeds of a great companionship already planted. The two girl shared a few insights last night, true, because their clam, collected and silent nature, it was only a few words long. A few but meaningful phrases about magic and how to use it better.

Lelei needed more insight, now, as she prepared to finish her exams to become a master, she required research material more than ever. But the most important thing is, her magic was too slow. Fighting the dragon she realised how outclassed she was, she could barely use her magic due it took too long time to charge, and it was almost useless against moving targets.

It was since a half an hour she is seeking for her. And it seems, her tireless search has been paid out. She found the crimson witch near a cliff, chanting some kind of strange magic, posing strangely, waving her staff like she is on the verge to bring hell. It made Lelei curious. Thus, she just watched the peculiar ritual for a while.

"Power beyond the twilight  
and crimson blood that flows Buried in the stream of time  
is where your power grows,  
I pledge myself to conquer,  
all the foes who stand  
Before the mighty gift bestowed,  
in my unworthy hand  
[EXPLOSION]!"

She pointed at the horizon, but nothing happened, only a faint magical circle flared up under her before the spell backfired and covered her with smoke. Meguminoi was all right, but her failure frustrated the girl. Her anger carefully hidden behind a stoic mask. "Need more balance..." The crimson witch muttered and continued, over and over again. Lelei just watched her patiently, quartering her every move. Maybe watching her for a while, she can learn something new.

A few minutes passed, and Meguminoi slumped down exhausted. Like she ran out of stamina. Breathing heavily, sitting down, the little witch pulled out a book under her coat, started to read intensely. The instruction was clear. What went wrong? She did everything her teacher sketched down. She found no mistake in her technique. Her head was clear, collected. What went awry?

Finally, Lelei gathered the courage and approached her. Looking at her, the crimson witch just nodded, in return, Lelei bowed back. Inspecting it closer, the book was some kind of manual, charted thoroughly with handmade instructions near the phrases. Lelei can't read them, maybe it is written in the language of the Sorcerous Kingdom.

Watching her, Meguminoi silently pointed at the book. The little blue mage just nod. Between the two there is no need for words. They could understand each other perfectly without even saying a sound.

Thus, Meguminoi mutely started to instruct her, only sporadically saying a word.

* * *

…

Medhirth healed the injured, Zeno remained alone in the riverside. Or, not entirely alone, the apostle of Emroy sat on a rock not far from him, sharpening her halberd and mumbled something under her nose.

Meantime Hamusuke arrived. Being her movement was not hindered by the thick forest or even the canyon, she could keep her speed even when cutting through the hard terrain. For her, it only took around two or three hours to arrive.

The colossal rodent watched Rory fearfully from the far. That girl… Hamusuke was utterly terrified seeing that evil light in her eyes. She wants her as far as she can.

Turning back the vast canyon near the end of the ravine, Zeno just can't help but sight. Looking up at the night sky, the day was eventful. The clash made him remember the times when he was just a kid in the slums. Stealing and hoarding just to survive.

His childhood was harsh in the Elf Capital back then. Forced to work for a crime boss without payment was a harsh living. Who know, the same person he stole the purse from will become his saviour and mentor? Ironic, isn't it?

The dragons they clashed were mighty. A thought enemy. He would have died if he was alone. Fortunately, he had companions, faithful friends with exciting quirks those came to his help. They caught off guard, but as Momon-dono and his master always said; _'What does not kill you make you stronger!'_ And they were right; the case will never happen again. Knowing the enemy, they can prepare, come up with a plan and act according.

If you asked him, his group and the dark elves were lucky. Clashing with dragons that size openly without preparation considered merely a suicide. Even a veteran adamantine adventurer group had very little chance to survive the encounter. Of course, when it comes to godkins like Momon or Raidyn, it was an entirely different matter.

Slumping his shoulders weakly, Zeno just smiled. It did not matter anyway. The two long ago left the bounds of flesh; ordinary people long ago revered them as legends and demigods. And it was always amusing to see Raidyn's face when someone offered her a sacrifice without reason. Zeno just can't get bored with the sight. Momon as usual, just shook his head amused.

Not far from him, on a boulder sat Rory Mercury, grumbling about her inability to cut the creature. Giving a sour look at Hamusuke who avoided her despite her interest in her.

"Ahhhh, what a pain, the halberd's edge won't harm it at all!"

Rory grumbled as she sharpened her halberd's edge.

She had considered just using the halberd as a bludgeoning object. Who knew, she might be able to lay it out with a good whack. Of course, the Dragon would not stand there and let her use it as a punching bag. Despite its young age, the creature was strong and agile enough to keep up with Rory.

She did not think she would lose, but she did not believe she could win either. A Flame Dragon was one of the worst matchups for Rory. And there was two she had to deal with.

"Beating them to death's not fun at all…"

"Milord? Is this true? You and your group clashed with the dragons?" Asked the hamster. Her eyes radiated her pure heart, innocence and her fear to lose the Milady's appearance. Her bristle gently moved.

"Yes, but we managed."

"I-I see… This servant is glad. Milord and Milady will be desolated if Zeno-dono dies. I fear, they will do something horrible with this faithful servant if small milord expires under my watch." mumbled the giant rodent, looking away sad.

Sighing, the Sun Knight can't help but obliged. Maybe his master seemed cruel, snarky and sarcastic at times. Deprived any quality of a lady and a knight. But in her own way, she cared and was kind-hearted. Momon also explained to him why she is like that. It is because her hard and unforgiving childhood she closed off her heart. Zeno only hoped she would open at once. For someone, someone worthy to receive her feelings.

Looking at Hamusuke miserable expression, then glancing back at the despairing state of the Apostle of Emroy, Zeno can't help but chuckle off the concern of the two sides.

"What's so funny?!" Rory huffed annoyed, glaring angrily at Zeno. Hamusuke stepped two steps back in fear.

"Nothing, just complaining about such meaningless things while a dragon is your enemy seems pretty out of pace…"

"Humph… You are just saying it because you don't understand…"

"Do-Don't say such thing, Rory-dono! A dragon is not a child's play! And there are two of those monstrosities!" shouted the Djungarian Hamster desperately, cowering in fear.

Grinning under his breath, Zeno can't help but wonder. Is Rory know who his master was? If someone, she knows what the meaning the thrill of the kill.

"Whatever…" Turning back the scenery, Rory called after him. "By the way, what was that thing?"

"Thing?" His long ears flinched hearing the word; 'thing'. He had no idea what she is speaking about.

"You know, you managed to cut down the fingers of the creature. Moreover, resisted the flames like they were no harm at all." By pointing him with her halberd, she made sure he will answer. "Answer me, what was that? I felt for a moment your power increased tremendously, even rivalling with us, apostles for seconds."

"Oh, that?" He chuckled. "Those were just Martial Arts."

"Martial Arts?" Rory tilted her head. Of course, she visited monastery before where bald gentlemen practised martial arts and tried to reach a higher state of mind by simply meditating. But it was not like that; it did not even resemble the phenomenon she saw today. "You mean when monks make those deranged motions?" For a moment, she mirrored the monks, then shrugged her shoulder.

"That was not a martial art, I meet monks before, and neither of them was capable of such thing you pulled off today. So tell me, what was that?"

"As I said, Martial Art. Or you can call it, warrior's magic."

"Warrior's magic?" Rory tilted her head flabbergasted. Now she was interested.

"Yes. I may be a paladin. But without mana, I am unable to use my paladin class abilities."

Zeno started his long-winded explanation.

"When you fight monsters, unimaginable monstrosities you know you had no chance against, it is vital to keep pace and have more than one ace up your sleeves. Pure physical strength not always enough. For example, when a magic caster fight against a warrior in the same level, the magic caster guaranteed to win. Warriors without items to neutralise magic good as dead, especially when the attack arrives from the far. But… By adopting Martial Arts, you can reinforce your body, brush off magical attacks like they were nothing, block or dodge strikes those otherwise impossible. Raise your speed to the absolute limits and usually just pull physically unthinkable acts. All of this through your will, combined with your experience and expertise you can raise yourself to an entirely new level, beating otherwise an untouchable enemy."

Hamusuke obliged, shaking her head vertical. She was well aware the dangers of the Martial Arts; she as well was able to utilise a few.

Licking her lower lips, Rory was excited, who knew such thing exists… Even after more than nine hundred and sixty years, she can learn new things every day.

"Care to teach me?"

"Hmm…" Zeno inspected the demigoddess, walking around her with a stern expression, fondling his chin carefully. "Nope…" Said the man playfully, stopping.

"Whaaa!?" Rory gasped, she expected the opposite, pouting adorably.

"Sorry, you need to train properly at least one year to use the simplest one."

"Whaaa!? That's no good. I only had around forty years left before I ascend into godhood. I don't want to waste it away with training."

"Then it is better you hurry and start now; you might just make it time." Zeno teased her, in answer, Rory puffed her cheek. "There must be a better way…"

"Nope. Asked master. She knows no other way, although, when I asked her, she mentioned she managed to learn her first after four months of constant training and fighting."

"Really?" Rory gasped, maybe there is a way. If Zeno is not willing, then she will find Raidyn and made her teach the demigoddess.

"Yep…" Zeno obliged sadly, remembering what Raidyn told him when he asked her about her training. "But she fought for her life in that time in a hole filled with monsters. Usually, things accelerate when your life is at stake. 'Survival of the fittest.' Yes, that's she said."

"If I remember right, your master is Raidyn. Is that right?" Rory pointed it out, turning her gaze to the elf once more.

"Yes, she was…"

"Was?" she raised her brow. Unable to understand why Zeno is referring the event in the past, Rory was confused. Hamusuke looked at the two worried, remembering the past. Her eyes clearly visible being Zeno helped her adamantine armour off. The plate was sturdy and heavy; she can't wear it all day.

Seeing Rory's cluelessness, the elf hero continued. "Unfortunately, we parted ways since one hundred and fifty years. When she and Momon-dono retired from adventuring."

"Retired? But Momon and she is still adventuring…" she deadpanned, why would Zeno say such untrue thing?

"Well, she and Momon only came back because of the Sorcerer King's personal request and because of the promise of challenge…" Explained Zeno, circling his shoulder. That dragon hit him really hard. Even now, his shoulder ached. He should request healing from Medhirth, but he did not do so because that would make his today training useless. Healing by spells usually restored muscles in their previous state. In another name, halted his growth. And he just hated the taste of restoration potions.

"Promise of challenge? You say she was bored? Although, I completely understand her concern. As a fellow demigod close to ascension, time to time even I experience boredom."

Rory obliged. Demigods or maybe even the gods of the two world differed. But simply put, boredom was boredom. No matter where you came from, it was the same everywhere. Even Emroy grow tired with his godhood time to time. He complained many times how tiresome his fellow gods are. To relieve his stress he usually sent Rory against other apostles or ordered her to intervene when two armies fought, either help out one side or massacre everyone. Watching the whole thing and laughing.

Emroy, the god of darkness, insanity and the deity of many other aspects was a very capricious god; his nature was just like that. He was unpredictable. And if Rory was right, he is up to something, something big. In her dreams, Rory saw the faint traces already.

Zeno started to sweat, raising his hand before himself making defensive waves. "Please don't say that. She hates when someone calls her that…" He whispered loud, looking around cautions, waiting for Raidyn to appear jumping out from the nearby woods and clobbering him to the ground.

Hamusuke mirrored the motion fearfully. Despite her huge stature and robust strength, she was like a scared child.

"But if she is indeed a…" Seeing the elf's frightened expression, she stopped. Started to chuckle. "I see… You fear her…"

Wiping his sweat, the man can't help but look around once more, expecting his old sensei to jump out from the nearby bush just to wallop him hard. Momon following her close behind shaking his head tired, then stopping her before she can do any permanent damage.

"Of course. She beat the crap out of me when I was a kid and called it training. A TRAINING! Only thanks to Momon-dono's intervention I survived."

"Kidding?" She imagined as Raidyn kicked the muscular man on the ground. Looking at the hamster for confirmation, Hamusuke obliged dreadfully. The testimony made her chuckle.

"It is not funny!" He roared, but Rory still laughed.

"Yes, it is!" Still laughing, she raised her halberd. "But consider it, thanks to the training you became so strong. Or not?"

"Huh… I am aware, thanks…" Zeno shrugged, looking sour. "Only thanks to Sensei and Momon-dono I became the man I am now… Remembering those times always fill me with complaints, but also made me embrace them the precious times we spent together…" At the end of the sentence, his face turned from sour to soft, yet, Rory saw his happiness surfacing.

Watching him, the demigoddess remembered the times when she found a friendly company and travelled with them for a while. It was long, long ago, very long time ago. But she apparently remembers where she came from, and where her destination leads. She will never forget them; her past friends will become immortals through her precious memories.

Emerging from the pit of her swirling past, Rory swings her colossal weapon once more, pushing past aside, opening the way for the future. Disturbing the dust and the very air, then showed a small curtsey, raising her skirt.

"Care to show me the power of these so-called 'Martial Arts'? Oh, Sun Knight?" Her tone mischievous, just like her expression. Making Zeno shake his head smirking.

"You seems tired. Isn't it would be better to rest?"

"I could say the same. You received quite spanking from the creature."

"We all…" An awkward silence descended in the scene. Only the gushing winds, Hamusuke's fidgeting nose and the noise of the river reverberated in the riverside. Pulling out his sword, equipping his shield, the Sun Knight was ready.

"As my master said, praise the sun!"

He charged towards Rory, activating his Martial Arts. The Reaper grinned, receiving the knight with a warm palette of death.

A short amount of time passed, and several people gathered hearing the crashing sounds reverberating amidst the walls of the canyon. Eyes wide, even the elders of the tribe gaped.

"Impossible! That knight is…"

"He is able to keep up with her holiness…" Yao shuttered watching as Zeno and Rory the Reaper exchange blades, hiding behind the nearby wood.

Strike after the strike the ground trembled. Air brimmed with force. On Rory's face, a playful smirk drew. Zeno seemed a little bit battered but still hold his ground steadily. His blade left a faint trace of yellow after each swing.

"[Sixfold Slash of Light]!" Rory's oculars widened, using her halberd pushed herself back. That attack was dangerous, she recognised it from first glance. She may lose limbs if it hit her. The people even ignored Hamusuke extraordinary form; they immersed themselves in the battle.

As Zeno's blade fall, six traces of light left its mark on the air. Leaving six long wounds on the earth, slicing apart the nearby rocks.

"Please! Your holiness! Stop, I beg you!" shouted one of the elders. The two sides stopped.

Rory was annoyed by the interference and shrugged. Why that old man had to stop the fight? She had fun.

Zeno wiped his forehead breathing heavily. It was a good battle. He still had the stamina to spare, but the man neared his limit. The fight against the dragons drained him considerably. And he refused to be healed for training purpose.

"What? I had fun…" Her tone was frustrated, annoyed by the interference of the old man.

"I beg you, your holiness. The fight of two demigods only brings calamity. Please, you will call the attention of the dragons, even Hardy-sama!"

Rory looked at the elder, then back to Zeno. The two of them burst out into a laugh.

A few elders already meet the adventurer and his group, thanked them for their contribution and asked them about where they came from. What kind of reward they want.

Naturally, all of them surprised when they heard the amount the adventurers requested. Found it too low in exchange for battling such horrific creatures. They did not believe it. Thus, the elders and the people overheard the conversation considered it as a gesture, the sign of their humble spirit. Because of this, the council offered more, just to be rebuffed over and over again. Referring; _"The Adventurer's guild fixed our Tariff. Outside of that, we already agreed with Lady Yao about the payment. The deal is set."_

It does not matter; if the group manage to ward away the threat, the elders will reward their saviours handsomely, if they fail. All the same. The Dushi clan will go extinct. It will not matter anymore.

After hearing the idea of Sorcerous Kingdom, the dark-skinned elves thought it was some kind of jest. Ultimately, clan Dushi lived in the forest of Schwarzt, they spent their long lives here, amidst the protective woods, only a very few youngsters leaving for adventure, experience the harsh word. Who would believe a kingdom where undead walking amidst the ordinary folk was as natural as breathing air? A godlike skeletal creature ruled over the lands, commanding his infinite army consisted undead, monsters and beings able to shake and crumble the very heavens. I say, no one. Everyone considered the truth as a joke or a cover story. Simply laughing it off.

After all, monsters, such as undead considered beasts those seek to destroy people's lives, nothing more. Thinking such a creature and his servants can run a kingdom peacefully sounded just laughable even ridiculous for the elves.

Thus, the elders and most people refused even the idea and considered the newcomers as adventurers who came from a faraway kingdom with a secret mission. So secret they can't even speak about their home. Their story was colourful, but nothing more. Most adults merely shrugged it off and joined with the child's who's listened to Julian's ballad around the fires. Hard times need good stories; a good tale can lift the spirit and wash away the stress of impending death.

"I assure you, I am not demigod…" Said Zeno modestly, waving away the praise humbly. "Just a knight who is hunting monsters for living with his companions. Nothing else."

More and more people gathered around them, hearing him out. "B-But you changed blades with her holiness, no one ca-"

Zeno raised his hand, stopping the words before leaving the elder's mouth. "This is just the result of years and years of nonstop training nothing more…" Then glanced at Rory. "I am sure Rory went easy on me. Right?"

On the Reaper's lip, a small smile curled, her red eyes brimmed in curiosity. "Maybe, who knows…?"

The crowd grumbled, more and more questions started to bomb the paladin. "What kind of training did you went through?" "You are jesting, right?" "Bah! Humbug!" "Zeno-sama! Let me be your apprentice!" "What is that creature?! Is must be the incarnation of Wareharun!" Similar questions and requests roared in the riverside. Hamusuke had no idea who is that Wareharun person is. But judging the tone the man used when mentioned its name, it must be someone mighty. Puffing her cheek, she was indeed proud of her esteemed self.

The elder raised his hand yelling, freezing the nearby elves.

"That's enough! Calm down. We need to discuss a few things with Sir Knight and her holiness. Privately."

Shooting a glare, the crowd grumbled in displeasure, but ultimately scattering leaving the sides to chat. Yao remained, hiding behind a tree waiting for the right moment.

The elder stepped forward. The present council members followed him behind. Unlike other elves, his face adorned by a long Gandalf like a beard. He must be really old; no elf had beard around.

"Please forgive me, Sir Knight. I am Ragadas Haa Dushi, first of the council of elders."

Zeno nodded, shaking hand with the senior man. "It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Zeno Cruzerious. Adventurer and occasional knight."

"I see…" Turning to Rory, he needed to ask. "You holiness, is it true? Is he really an average elf like my people or me?"

"Well, he is indeed not a demigod. But he is not an average boy…"

Zeno raised his brow hearing the praise. Spotting Rory's lustful stare the sweat started to pour from his forehead once more. That stare was just scary! "His soul is bright and strong… Rare sight nowadays. I would not mind taking his soul after I ascended."

Poor Itami, now, the knight understand completely what he felt when Rory told him; his soul belongs to her.

Nodding, the elder accepted the answer. Asking further questions. "If you don't mind me, My Lord. Care to tell where you came from? I never heard a legendary knight named Zeno Cruzerious before. Are you came from a faraway kingdom? People praise and speak about your group all day, mostly about you and Itami-dono. Care to elaborate how we do not hear about such esteemed individual just like yourself?"

Zeno smiled. It is always the same. He and his group appears completes the mission, and people praise them. After a time it is just tiring. "Indeed, I am, I came from the Sorcerous Kingdom. By the blessing of the Forty One, we managed to survive the attack. Although, not everyone. Those who died here claimed by Ainz-sama."

"Oh!" The elder surprised, he never heard a deity named Ainz before. But there was already a god of death, Emroy. And his tribe worshipped Hardy the goddess of the underworld. Then what this Ainz ruled over? It can't be the dead then what? Now it was just confusing. And who are those Forty-One? He needed more information. Ragadas was quite conservative when it comes to lifestyle, but suffocated his displeasure and watched Zeno.

"Who is this 'Ainz' and the 'Forty One' you speak about? I never heard of them? Is he the new member of the pantheon?"

Zeno smirked, Rory sighed and took a seat nearby. It will be a long-winded explanation, she already heard it. It was an interesting story how the Supreme Beings came to the world and conquered it. Only if Zeno could explain things more colourful, she would have been paid more attention. Now Dandelion, his stories and ballads all masterpieces. The two of them brushed to each other early, sharing ale and stories under the night.

She decided to sharpen her weapon and left the man alone for the rest of the gloom. Remembering the novel Dandelion wrote. Rory still giggled when imagined Momon and Raidyn together. The two of them was too unlikely. Raidyn was like a hyperactive child. Heated tempered, sarcastic, impatient, time to time even vulgar. The black warrior her complete opposite. Mature, patient, earnest, kind and knightly polite.

She will make sure to ask Julian a copy of the romantic novel he wrote. After her ascension, she aspired the title of the 'God of Love', Dandelion was the perfect teacher to finish her training.

Lollygagging with her leg, Rory was bored. It took some time Zeno explained everything about where he came from and how people live in the kingdom. Maybe the present elders accepted his story, perhaps not. But all along they kept their undivided attention on the man. More and more elves joined in and listened to the young elf adventurer with full attention. Wanting to believe more and more such place as this so-called 'Sorcerous Kingdom' indeed exist. No matter how unlikely it sounded. It was indeed a miraculous kingdom.

Reaching the part where Zeno told about the Elf Kingdom; where elves lived without fear and the representative of the Sorcerer King, an immortal elf queen ruled over them. The elves gaped and adored the story. Finishing his tale, the civilians slowly dispersed. Only the elders and the meantime clustering warriors remained.

It was time to discuss the strategy. In the meantime, Itami, Lelei and the remaining members of the adventurer group also arrived. It became possible to sketch up a plan. Yao as the liaison between the two group standing near Rory.

"That's not the best idea…" mused Itami quietly after hearing out the offer of the elders, watching Zeno with doubtful eyes.

"I agree, we know the location of the dragons' lair. Please consider it. Your people suffered enough. If you send them with us, there is a high chance they might not return."

The Dushi clan's warriors looked in disbelief at Zeno. Some face mirrored anger. Some helplessness. On the elders' face, only a sour expression settled as they sought their feet.

"What makes you better than us? Eh? What makes you more qualified than us? We fight for our home! Outsider! We fight to protect our people!"

Utter silence followed as the young elf finished his angered speech.

Ragadas pierced the young elf with his grey eyes. "Kom!" The elf flinched. "That's enough! Zeno, Itami-dono and even her holiness came great length for us! Don't test their kindness. They managed to repel. No! Force to retreat the two creature and saved our people from a fate worse than death! Very few of you can say the same."

Tightening his grip on the air, Kom looked away ashamed. Gritting his teeth, stomping away with an upset expression immediately.

Turning back the group, the elder bowed his head apologising. "Please forgive him. He lost his parents because of the dragons. He is still grieving."

Itami know how it feels losing both parents. He experienced it firsthand. When he was in secondary school, his mother killed her husband (Itami's Father) in self-defence due to domestic violence. As a result, this left Itami's mom scarred, depressed, and she hated herself for it ever since that day. She then blamed herself for it and rejected reality, even though many people tried to help her. One night, Itami snapped and forced his mom to face reality. This caused her to commit attempted suicide by lighting herself on fire while covered in gasoline. She was then admitted to a mental hospital where Itami left her ever since high school. Itami still felt it was his fault, but felt no strength to face his mother and ask her to forgive.

"It is not a problem." adhered Zeno. "Answering the young man's question. We are professionals. This is not our first hunt. That's why I advise any of you coming with us. I ask you once again. To avoid further causalities, please consider remaining here until we return. We are professionals. Trained to work together and handle situations others unable to do so."

"Still…" Ragadas looked uneasily the warriors gathered here. All of them came just to volunteer against the dragon.

"Zeno-dono, Itami-dono," Yao called them. "I think it would be wise to consider to at least bring a few of them with us. Who knows what we will encounter under the way? My people know the forest and the volcanic area where the nest located, more than anyone. You find no better trackers than us."

Slapstorm grunted. The trackers of the beastmen nation would eat these elves alive when it comes to tracking. Still, working in an unknown environment placed him at a disadvantage.

"Slapstorm?" Zeno turned to him. "Anything to add?"

"Maybe we should consider bringing a few of them. I may need help with the scouting. The place is big…"

"I also need some help to carry the C4 and the LAMs." Itami scratched his head embarrassed.

"The Wise King of the Forest will carry it for you!" Hamusuke cheered it immediately. Itami just sweats dropped. After seeing the huge hamster trashing through everything and her jumpy movement. Itami rather not leave the gear with her.

"Thanks but…"

The warriors still stared the colossal hamster, comparing her to the incarnate of the forest goddess. Whispering amongst each other.

"No, we need Hamusuke. She has an important role in the plan…"

The creature just bowed her head proudly, puffing her cheeks. Looking around, Zeno just sighed. There is no other way, or the elders might start to bug him even more.

"Alright, so be it. Alalog chose who you want. They will go with you."

"Aye, boss…"

"Yao, would you kindly help me chose a few experienced fighters."

"Of course…" Yao obliged.

The elders smiled. Warriors tensed. Each of them had the insatiable urge to prove themselves against those monstrosities.

Thus, the group assembled. Discussing the plan once more before everyone retired to have some shut eye.

"Tomorrow morning then…" Zeno mumbled, sighing, fondled his strange looking medallion gently. "What to do… sister. Help me find my way…" Mumbling, just now, a silent prayer left his lips.

Looking the approaching Yao, the adventurer raised his brow. "Ah, Yao. What can I do for you? Aren't you supposed to have some rest like the others?"

A stern expression is visible on the girl's face. She was prepared, she was determined. She will do it.

"Zeno-sama!" Kneeling. Zeno just can't place the behaviour and the suddenly changed honorific of the girl. Staring her in disbelief, he waited for her response.

"Please let me be…"

Thus, Yao pledged…

* * *

…

Near mount Tyuba, the two maturing dragons still grieved. Both their deceased mother and the shame. Those fleshlings managed to beat them back. They only hoped the 'one' would not be angry with them... They dreaded, they respected, and feared her wrath.

"What happened out there!?" An angry female voice echoed through the walls of the crater. A vast horned shadow emerged from the nearby cave…

The dragons trembled, knowing not how to answer for the intimidating figure.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Unknown Location: In a possible future:**

 _"A key is useless without the hole it fits. It can be considered a worthless item. Yet, a keyhole without a key just as bad. If you want to protect one, foremost, you need to isolate the first…"_ A quote from Anonymous.

The creature knows the gate. It is the gate. It is the key and guardian of the gate. Past, present, future, all are one in the creature. He knows where the Old Ones broke through of old, and where They shall break through again. He knows where They have trod earth's fields, and where They still tread them, and why no one can behold Them as They tread...

All around, there was no time. There was no space anymore. Darkness and corruption claimed the world. A dark heart pulsed with eldritch energies replaced the sun. Whispering insanity in the air. Horrific clouds dark in colouration, from them terrific tentacles reaching down. Corrupting, churning the very existence. Reality warped, leaving behind strange entities in stranger forms.

Substantial black trees are forming slowly, reaching and darkening the skies. Strange creatures are walking amongst the woods, towering over even the skyscrapers in their magnificent horrific self.

The ground littered with dead, slowly churned by the otherworldly energies, claimed by the earth. Be they previous supernatural entities or simple humans, they all fall. Near the circle constructed from standing stones. Avalon had been fallen. There is no escape… everything is lost.

Only one figure is kneeling on the battlefield, breathing a freezing gust of air, slowly. The creatures are slowly surrounding him. His appearance peculiar, strange, like a cyan, coloured insect, leaning against his peculiar blade. An odachi with the length exceeding 180cm, emitting divine energies.

On Cocytus' face, a pained expression settled. His previous brimming blue exoskeleton cracked, lost its perfect light. From the cracks his greenish blood pouring. Two from his four arms missing.

Looking up, the horrors approached him once more. Recovering from his last devastating strike, heading his way. Gaping, their twisted mouths without end, trying to devour the very existence.

The proud warrior lowered his head, spotting Auriel's twisted visage. Crying, the former noble Arch Seraphim's golden armour stained, her divine crossbow laid broken. Her flawless beauty churned and twisted by the agonising horror tangled on her face. "Save me… Oh, Creator-sama, save this lost little lamb, please. Ainz-sama… Save your faithful servant…" She mumbled maniac, slowly bleeding out.

He failed, they have been failed. They have been failed to stop the horror lying under the horizon. "Forgive me. Ainz-sama..." He muttered looking up once more.

 **"Meeeeehhhh!"** The last twisted bleating of one thousand and one goats what Cocytus heard as darkness descended.

…

"Oh my… what a mess…." A voice shed light in the darkness.

* * *

 **To be continued…**

 **A/N:**

 **Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I tried to squish the whole Flame Dragon resurgence act in one section. As you see, it did not work out… -.-**

 **Sorry for the delay, other stories and life occupied my mind. Maybe I will put on hiatus a few stories while I am catching up with the main ones and proofread them once more. Don't be angry with me; it is for to make them more enjoyable. As well, I do this for fun, don't nag me! -.-**

 **From the next chapter:**

 **When a dragon fall, the beast will rise. The rage of his insanity sweep through the land.**

 **Unable to distinguish foe from an ally. He will seek to eliminate everyone.**

 **Who will save the heroes and villains alike?**

 **Meanwhile,** **the demons are planning.**

 **The surprising figure prepared it's departing.**

 **Earth is failing; there is no time.**

 **Chains broken, the Lord of the Woods already on the loose, her husband made sure the way back sealed.**

 **A dark star is rising, forming the ideal master on the skies.**

 **Who will save the day? A hero, a villain, or someone entirely unexpected?**

 **You will see in the next chapter, you will see…**

 _"That is why… come at me with all your might! I will not utter taunts like 'I'll use one finger against you'. Because the truth is, I will not use even one finger. With just my imagination, I shall gut you head to naval."_ quote from the World Visionary.

 **In the next double chapter:**

 **End of the dragons! Death in Vision.**

 **RNR! Fav! Follow! Whatever you like!**

 **The chapter** **comes when it is ready!**

 **Stay safe! Safe winds! Have a nice day!**


	21. The End of the Hunt, Vision Arise

**Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There**

 **by oblivon2991**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.**

 **I don't own the _Overlord_ (** **オーバーロード** ** _Ōbārōdo_** **?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **Please review it. I know I will make mistakes that I intend to correct and will try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

* * *

 **Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There:** **Chapter 21: The End of the Hunt, Vision Arise.**

Facing each other, two-person loomed over a chess table. For first, the figures on the matrixed table followed a chaotic order. For an outsider, it was nonsense. No obvious tactic could be observed in the game. But who watched the match in close order, those few can find a patterned move behind every step. The calculated thinking behind every move.

Several chess pieces already sat on the sidelines. The match is ongoing for almost a half an hour. Or a more extended period. The game was far from over, and outside of the three-person in the room, no one knew since when the series of the game started.

Behind the table, the two figure was strange. One of them was an undead being. Clothed in a royal red robe, edged with gold. Adorned with strange feathers. In his neck, a silvery necklace hung. His marble skull was bald, on his ten fingers, nine rings shone. In his sockets, two crimson flames brimmed.

The second figure was a female. Her hair is silvery white. Her eyes' sclera pitch black. The iris of her left eye is red with a black pupil, several veins running through her eyeball. Meanwhile, in the right socket, a very distinctive eye settled, characterised by a blue pupil surrounded by a blue and white flower-like iris.

Her chest covered by an agile looking armoured chest piece. Her limbs protected with shin guards and forearm protectors.

Her gloved hand moved towards a piece, trying to figure out her next step. Her black, stylish ankle long leather coat moved with every move of hers. The huge black and white feathered wings on her back squirmed as her concentration intensified.

"Well, I am waiting." Said Ainz. From his voice, his slight impatience echoed. Esdeath's face flinched hearing her companion's impatience.

"Hush! I am thinking…" she grumbled as she reached for her knight, playing with her hair, curling it around her finger.

Ainz followed her hand close order. Looking at her friend, the undead king slightly shook his head. Pulling back her hand, Esdeath fondled her chin concentrating.

"Huh, you are really taking your time."

"I want to beat you at least once," she answered. A metallic tail with a snakehead at the end of it curled up in her side, inspecting the game and hissing.

"If the match goes like this. You never will…"

Pouting, she looked away. "You are cheating."

"No, I am not…" Ainz retorted with a poker face. It was easy for him. He neither had flesh, nor muscle to betray his intentions. His emotion suppression was also a plus. He was a person you can't read from. The perfect poker machine.

Sighing, she leaned back in her chair, slumping in it, looking at the infinite ceiling. Her majestic wings squirmed under her. "I am crap at this game…"

"Well, if you never try. You will never improve."

"Huff…" Ainz only earned a groan. Making him shake his head disapproving.

"By the way, aren't you had an appointment?" Inquired Ainz suddenly. The question only earned him an eye roll.

"I am exhausted. Since I departed, my paperwork piled up. I needed to take care of It." grunting, she grabbed her rook and moved it, eliminating Ainz's bishop.

The undead king just nodded, watched the table for a moment. "Aren't Zero take care of that?"

"Out of the house," she answered quietly.

"Oh, right. I almost forgot. Sorry, it must be hard."

"Ah, don't think about it. In the recent times, I relied on him too much. I can't push everything on my servant after all. It would be not fair. Turning myself into a slave driver was never my intention. Not after what happened to us and how most of our comrades treated back in our previous life."

"Yes, you are right. That would be unfair." Ainz obliged, remembering his past guildmate, Herohero. Poor man was so overworked he went sick in the end.

Admitting, the servants of Nazarick had some kind of fetish when it came to their job. They worked day and night. This morbidity of the servants was so bad Ainz had to utilise obligatory break days for each and every one of them.

Amongst them, Albedo was the worst. Ainz can't make her stop; she worked even in her days off. And he can't make her stop. She always found a good, logical reason to defy his order.

Saying no to that woman was equalled the impossibility.

"Ahh…" Sighing uncomfortably, Ainz can't decide what to do with the situation. In truth, he doesn't really want to conquer the land beyond the gate. But saying no at this stage equalled him admitting his incompetence as a king. Damn Demiurge, he always misinterprets his intentions.

In the past two hundred years, he had somewhat get used to his duties as a king. Learned much under his conquest. But he still felt he lacked the qualities of a true monarch. He wanted to learn more to satisfy the needs of the people and to be a fair ruler.

"By the way…" he turned to his friend. "Aren't you want to rule over the new territory? It would be the perfect place for you to start to build your power base." He offered honestly.

The only answer he got was a raised brow and a shrug. "Yeah, more like more paperwork and political bullshit for me. You know I am not fit to rule."

"Well, if you not try. You will never learn." Ainz quoted wisely.

"Sorry, I'll pass." come to the answer immediately.

"Aghhh…" With a tired sigh, Ainz lowered his head exhausted. "You don't make this easy, don't you? You refuse my offer every time. Why is that? I am sure you will be a good ruler. I mean, you care about people and all. And you make somewhat logical decisions. I mean, look at how much innovations you brought in the kingdom."

She chuckled amusedly. "Aren't you sweet? Want to flatter me or simply flirting?"

"That's not…" Ainz's emotion suppression surfaced, surrounding him with bright green radiation. Before Ainz could say anything more, Esdeath raised her finger shooing him, moving her finger index left and right.

"Ahahaha… I am Esdeath who hit things. Not Esdeath who rule things. I have enough burden with the army, the scientific projects and the subordinates under me. I don't need more paperwork. Beside that…"

 _"No one asked you to do those…"_ Ainz thought suddenly.

She rolled her eyes. "An empty person like me don't deserve to be a king, queen, Empress or anything similar. Instead of me, you should consider giving the conquered territory to the brats. They need to learn how to rule after all. Or, aren't you said you want to retire once everything is settled?"

Ainz nodded. "Indeed." Looking at the table, then back to his friend. The flames in his eyes faded slightly. "You are depressed once again. I wonder what you did this time to make Akemi and Elysia-chan so angry."

Esdeath slumped forward, mumbled under her arms. "Don't even ask. They are not even willing to look at me."

"Hmm… Aren't you considered to go with Akemi-chan? Soon she will depart to the kingdom of Elbe and start the negotiations with the sides."

"Can't do it. I said I have places to go," she mumbled depressed, giving a flat face.

"Oh." Ainz gasped suddenly, realising the second reason behind her broken mood. "I assume the dummy you sent instead of yourself relayed an emergency transmission."

"Not just that…" she looked away with a sour face. "Auriel wisely announced my participation in public events on Earth. I don't want to meet those politics. They just gave me goosebumps."

Ainz raised his hand in a motion that said; 'I feel you.'

"Besides that…" she looked back at Ainz. "That is not a dummy, you know it very well. That's an authentic me. Albeit, weaker."

"You don't have to say. She acted exactly like you when she was drunk." He shrugged, looking away, remembering the embarrassing situation in the resort.

"Oh!" She chuckled. "My little replacement gave you a hard time?" On her face, a grin formed, making Ainz blush slightly. It was not enough to activate the suppression. Just to make himself feel uncomfortable.

"Don't even ask…" He lowered his head in shame. Chuckling, Esdeath stood up. Grabbing the strange closed restraint helmet that settled on the table, the mask that was eerily similar to the Anti-Diclonius helmet from an old anime.

"Well, take care. Don't hesitate to drop by." She waved. Then turned to Sebas who until now watched in silence. "Don't overwork yourself, Sebas. Take some break." She patted his shoulder and smiled at him.

"Tsuareninya will be mad if you neglect her too long. You know, since her reincarnation she is a little bit moody."

The iron Butler bowed graciously. "Of course, I keep it in mind. Esdeath-sama." On Sebas' face, a gentle smile curled. His heart started to beat a little bit faster feeling the care of the Supreme Beings.

Esdeath groaned as a black, oval gate opened before her. "Back to the meat grinder…" She mumbled as she stepped through of it, placing the restraint helmet on her head. Ainz watched her amused.

After his friend departed, Ainz watched the chess board. Moving his queen, he announced.

"Check…"

* * *

 **Scene Change: Falmart:**

The scene we see before us situated near mountain Tyuba. The mountain range located in the Kingdom of Elbe. The mountains separate the Roma River valley with a second river to the west, which is run south to the borders of the League Principality. The Roldom Canyon and the Schwarz Forest is located in the northwestern flanks of the Tyuba Mountains. The highest peak in the range is a volcano.

You may consider this exact area barren, devoid of all life. Except of course in the ravines and the surrounding forest. It took millions of years, but nature always wins. Under many years, thanks to the relentless storm of the incoming and receding waters, a narrow canyon had been created.

Not grand, not extensive, but good enough for Clan Dushi to hide from the assaulting dragons.

Not far from the specified area, through the ravines, several figures proceeded. The small group was strange. Although, not because of the small size of it. But because the people it consisted. Namely, several dark elves, those wore weird, bondage-like armours. And a strange covered figure.

The party was also accompanied by an oversized rodent-like creature, which in appearance resembled of a Djungarian hamster, and had the size of a lesser barn. Its tail was longer than the animal itself and shone in a metallic light as it flung left and right. Several crates strapped to its back firmly, wobbling through the hard environment.

The hooded man led the group. Although, you may consider him an animal and not a person if you were not familiar with his race. Notably, compared to the elves, the person bulged with muscles under his leather padded chainmail armour and had a beast like feet. Above his tailbone, a lion-like tail sprouted, white and black tiger striped fur visible under his neatly made armour. Under his cowl, two backwardly protruding horns, and a predator like animalistic face settled. The shade of his hood lit by two dimming yellow eyes, one of it a little ghastly.

The leader of the group emitted some kind of aura. You may call it, the presence of a veteran, the atmosphere of an experienced fighter. It was indeed true, the person in the scene indeed bore countless scars on his face and under his armour. All of it with their own distinct story and meaning.

"Slapstorm-dono…"

"Hmm…?" Ruffing, the beastman tracker only offered a glance at the questioning dark elf, offering a dull look. "What is it…brat?"

The elves just looked funnily at the creature. In truth, even the youngest amongst them was over one hundred and fifty and counting. Almost fifty years older than Slapstorm was. Still, ever since he selected them to accompany him in his tracking mission, he referred them as 'brats', even when they introduced themselves beforehand.

"Please, Slapstorm-dono… Would you kindly call us by our names?" asked uneasily the youngest amongst the elves. The remaining three just obliged little bit sweating. Even looking at the intimidating size of the beast of a man made them gulp uneasily.

"No…" He answered immediately, not even sparing breath to reconsider his answer. "If you survive the hunt, maybe I reconsider…" Offering a sarcastic, full-toothed grin, he looked quite menacing.

Three from the four knife eared scouts gritted their teeth's, tightening their grips around their swords. But one, the only female member of the group just watched the beastman tracker's back worried. Her brown eyes were like daggers, trying to figure out what made so bitter the man before her.

The sun just rose, the little journey took a long time. Unfortunately, they can't bring the jeep to such harsh terrain, neither Hamusuke could proceed with her usual speed burdened by the equipment. Thus, it is up to Hamusuke to carry the heavy load needed to set up the traps.

It takes around one more day to reach their destination. Being the group in the scene was the scout squad, they were a few hours ahead of the leading group.

The elves are still unable to understand how it makes a sense. Sending the scout group only a few hours ahead of the main force was a foolish decision. Even according to them who'd no experience waging war like humans. Maybe they had a few warriors, but the Dushi clan nomad lifestyle warranted its peaceful nature.

Slapstorm only needed a glance, and the elves stepped back from their foolish thinking to attack.

Hamusuke sighed watching the scene, walking behind the group. She attended the narrow walls of the ravine. Under a moment, she recalled the memories when she was still Momon's mount. Although she always treasured those times, she can only tremble remembering the moment when Ainz entrusted her training for Aura, one of the twin guardians of the sixth floor.

Looking at the dark elves, it often made her recall the times when Aura tried to skin her in her sleep. _"Come back! It will not hurt! Just for a moment!"_ Shrugging, she shook her head, trying to chase away the bad memories.

The dark elf girl unconsciously slowed her speed, Hamusuke slowly caught up with her.

"Oh!" Exclaimed the huge hamster. "Lura-dono, how this humble king can help you?"

"Ah…" The girl can't help but sight. "I-It's nothing… I just wonder…" She looked in the far. "I wonder if it's indeed true." She glanced back at Hamusuke once more. "Is such place as this Sorcerous Kingdom really exist? What I heard from Master Dandelion ballads, it sounds so distant and unimaginable."

"Well…" The Wise King of the forest happily moved her puffy cheeks. "This humble king of the forest think it is…"

"King of the forest?" asked one of the knife eared member of the group. Hamusuke nodded proudly.

"Indeed, in the past, this humble servant of the milord and the milady called by the name, Wise King of the Forest. Everyone who dared pass her territory trembled in fear!"

"Whoaw!" All four elves awed amazed. Slapstorm just flinched his head forward, sniffing in the air. Stopping, the tracker picked up a dark-coloured scale. Comparing it to the one, he found after the battle back in the camp.

The stench was unmistakable. With his beast-like sophisticated nose, he explicitly recognised it. It was the scale of the same dragon. The red one to be exact. Yes, he apparently felt the fresh blood of the creature on it. The blood that Zeno shed when he cut down the fingers of the beast.

But something was not right with it; something changed the creature. It felt so, unnatural. Like something intervened in the growth process of the beast.

"We are close…" He muttered, then looked at our favourite king of the forest. "Everyone! Start climbing!" Slapstorm pointed towards the walls above them.

The elves nodded, using their immense agility they climb without hesitation. Although, Hamusuke looked at Slapstorm doubtfully.

"What about me, Alalog-dono?" She asked innocently. Slapstorm just shrugged. "You too."

"Please excuse this humble servant. But isn't it is a little dangerous to climb all the way up with this much crates strapped to my back?"

Frowning, the beastman walked near the sizable hamster, measuring her. "Be glad I insisted removing your armour before departed…"

Hamusuke looked up once more, averaging the cliffs. "Still… It is quite dangerous…"

"As hunting dragons. But we do it because we are getting paid…" The beastman raised his finger. Hamusuke sniffed nodding timidly.

"We are close… I hope those shits don't get us caught before we finish with the preparation. Now get moving, if they sniff us out we are goner…"

Hamusuke nodded with an almost crying expression. She was sure she could hold against a dragon at most, but she was unsure how to handle two. Turning towards the walls, she started to climb, hopping from edge to edge. Using her razor sharp claws and agility to climb without hindrance.

Slapstorm just looked down into the crevice, kicking a rock in the abyssal waters flown under them.

"I have a bad feeling." He muttered before joining his group.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Meanwhile with Itami and the group:**

It was clear that everyone did not know much about the two dragons, but even so, they had to take up their weapons and fight. That was what it meant to be a warrior.

The Dark Elves equipped themselves with the gear that they were familiar with — sabres, katars, bow and arrows, and their trademark black leather armour.

There was something… unique about the tight-fitting bondage armour they wore. It would have been one thing if only the women wore it, but more than half of the group were men, and they wore the same armour that their female counterparts did.

 _"I don't want to be seen with these guys..."_ Itami thought as he glanced around like a wary herbivore. On his face, an uneasy expression can be seen.

 _"Itami-dono, Zeno-dono, the nine of us will accompany you on your mission."_

Yao greeted Itami and Zeno as the representative of these men and women in the morning of the departure. Perhaps she might have understood how he felt. Looking at Zeno for some kind of support, the golden-clad man just glanced away shrugging with the expression that said.

 _'Don't look at me. I don't like it either…'_

After that, the elves began introducing themselves.

From the males, Crow looked like a human man in his 40s, while Meto, Ban, Fen and Nokk looked to be about the same age as Yao. Kom looked like a teenager. After listening to them talking among themselves, Kom seemed to be the youngest of their group, at a mere 154 years old. For some reason, Itami felt that he had to respect them all as his elders. As for the females, Seimy and Nayu looked slightly younger than Yao.

In any case, they gathered together and said, "Please take care of us", and then Itami began distributing the gear on the HMV. Said equipment referred to the LAMs and the plastic explosives, as well as reels of detonating cord.

"Is this what they call the 'Rod of Steel'...?"

The long metal tube looked weighty and potent to the Dark Elves, and they enthused over it. Unfortunately for Itami, Merryforge was also around; the dwarf tried to snatch one LAM right away as he started to distribute it. Trying to dismantle it like last night.

Itami tried to stop him of course, but honestly, he felt some kind of dread running through his spine as he watched the crazy lights lightning up in the redhead dwarf's eyes. Drooling over the weapon like it was some kind of holy artefact.

Last night the dwarf almost managed to blow up the two of them. And honestly, he scared Itami. Only thanks to Meguminoi who bopped the head of Merryforge nothing happened.

"I've heard that this is not a magic item, but something called a weapon… but how do we use it? We should be able to use it too, right?" asked one of the dark elves.

"Ah, yes, I'll teach you how to use it now." Itami obliged immediately.

Since the Dark Elves were intelligent beings, not only did Itami have to distribute the equipment among them, but since he was entrusting them with weapons, he had to teach the Dark Elves the proper way of using them too. If they were horses, there would be no need to worry about them accidentally fiddling with the gear, but since they were sentient, if they made a mistake or fiddled around with it carelessly, there was a risk of an explosion which would blow them all up.

Unfortunately, there was not enough LAM for everyone, which meant the adventurer group and a few elves had to suffice without it. But it was not a problem, being the adventurers brought their own equipment.

As for the remainder of the group. Under the way and last night, Merryforge prepared the necessary gear he could with the ingredients at his disposal. Bombs, nets, runed weapons, potions, etc...

True, the group only brought a few Mythril nets, barely enough to restrain the dragons. The main reason for bringing so few was the significant price of such mesh. In another word, the Orichalcum coated Mythril nets the group used were freaking expensive.

But at least, Merryforge made sure the weapons he prepared were engraved with the strongest runes that helped the equipment armour penetration rate.

Moreover, he took the courage to put together a few more bombs, potions, alchemical oils and venoms he directly developed to fight against enormous enemies such as the dragons were. Merryforge thought their victory was assured. Although, Zeno and Slapstorm voiced their doubts before the departure. Saying; there must be some catch. But the dwarf assured them everything would be fine.

His confidence raised the spirit of the dark elves. However, it made Itami feel uneasy. After distributing the Items, Itami and Merryforge instructed the Dushi clan members from the use of the equipment.

Meguminoi instructed Lelei one last time. Medhirt used her druidic, and Julian his bardic magic to buff the present members. And finally, Zeno explained the plan he and Itami came up last night.

Once the Dark Elves learned everything they needed to know, they might think, 'We can beat the Flame Dragons now'. It was obvious from the looks in their eyes that they hated the creatures bitterly, and there was a risk that their emotions might overcome them and wildly discharge a rocket the moment they saw it, especially since the possession of the weapons made them think, _'We have to kill the Flame Dragons this time, no matter what'._ Still, that enthusiasm was useful, although their final objective was to defeat the dragons and let Tuka deal the finishing blow. The first two points Itami drilled into them were 'Do not touch the trigger if you're not ready to fire' and 'Do not fire if anyone is standing behind you'.

First, they would need to extract the LAM from its transportation package by pulling it out by the warhead, slowly and carefully. After removing the protective covering from the launcher tube, they would have to attach the firing assembly and weapon sight. The Dark Elves were not familiar with tools, so it would be faster for Itami to do it himself. While Itami was setting up a LAM, he could hear the Dark Elves around him cracking dirty jokes.

Zeno only smiled overhearing one or two from these jests, Meguminoi was disgusted. Meanwhile, Medhirt was red as a tomato. Julian diligently recorded the happenings with his pen. He was not a fighter; he was a bard. His role was to support the group and document the heroic adventure.

The person in Itami's side that said 'If such a thick thing went into me, I'd break' must have been Seimy. Ban proudly retorted 'Mine's bigger'. 'Hah! Then you never saw a dwarf before, lad.' Added Merryforge in the end.

It would seem not only the Dark Elves, but the dwarves as well were a sexually open people. Itami did not know if this was a good or bad thing, but if he got embarrassed, people might think he was a weirdo.

The first group already left a few hours ago. The so-called scout group as Zeno called it. Itami was aware scouting was essential before the mission, that the intelligence gathering was the crucial point of every operation.

Still, it was quite risky scouting only a few hours before the mission actually starts. Of course, the leader of the group assured him it was a working practice where he came from and do not worry about it. But something in the back of Itami's mind whispered him something is wrong. That's if something can go wrong it will eventually go wrong.

Aside from that, when he offered a radio to keep contact, Slapstorm utterly refused it. Saying they had the method to maintain contact. Now, if there isn't a magical telepathic communication link between the members of the group it is improbable that they will be able to do that.

Admittedly, since Itami first stepped through the strange edifice, he saw a few things. Things he only read or experienced in novels, video games and films. Thus, he would not be even surprised hearing there is magic for that.

Looking in the direction of Zeno, Itami raised a brow. It was like the golden clad elf murmured something under his nose, facing towards the edge of the ravine. "I see… proceed as discussed." He whispered, then returned his attention to Itami and the group.

"We are moving out. Full march."

"Is something wrong, Zeno-dono?" asked Yao worried. The elves watched him with a questioning look.

Zeno shook his head, then smiled. "No. I just received the [Message] from our scout squad. According to the report, everything is clear. The alarm system had been set around the observed area. It is up to us now to make the final touches and take the raid position. After that, we will wait."

Itami and the group nodded. Lelei looked as she knows what the elf adventurer is speaking about. Her face was still blank, like always. But the light of understanding dimmed in her eyes. Itami needs to ask her what Zeno meant by that. But it can wait for a later time, at least, until the mission is completed.

Packing, the group headed towards mount Tyuba.

* * *

Meanwhile amidst the woods.

Before reaching the meeting point, Alalog and his group needed to finish one more important thing. Closing the circle with the alarm system that was scattered along the way, using magically enchanted crystals charmed to create a net of the sensory network that directly linked to a control crystal.

Using these specially made items they could correctly monitor the surrounding. There were two of the previously mentioned 'control crystals'. One carried by the beastman tracker, and Zeno took the other one.

The practice to create such sensory network was not a new idea. You may say it was present more than two hundred years.

In the case, if they had to sleep under the open sky or in a dangerous area such as the forest was. Previously, the adventurers used to use ropes, bells and the first tier magic called [Alarm] to draw an alarm network around their camp.

The wilderness of the new world was dangerous, a lot more hazardous than Falmart was. Not only bandits and vagabonds, but various creatures strode the wilderness, most of them mostly active at night. Amongst them undead, slimes, demons and other horrific monsters seeking prey. Preying on the weak, trying to use the unsuspecting victims as nutrition.

The revolutionary idea to set up an alarm network around the monitored area based on such simple practice as the adventurers used back then.

Nowadays it is used mostly in the military of the Sorcerous Kingdom. Fortunately, Zeno and Slapstorm know a few people. People those told them the secret behind the mapping technology and provided them instructions how to correctly set up such network in a hasty way.

The idea was:

Enchant storage crystals with [Improved Alarm] and mapping magic those used sophisticated algorithms to graph the surrounding. Send this sensory data back to a central gem that was prepared to accept the broadcast, then process and exteriorise a visual map from the observed territory.

The signal the crystals emitted was so insignificant; it was barely detectable those who did not search for it actively, nor know the exact magical frequency to jam it.

The small size of the items also helped to hide them easily. A further advantage of such sensory network was the magic it used was quite far-reaching. Maybe the radius each crystal covered was not significant, between fifty and a hundred meters, (depending on the enchantment) but placing more crystal beside each other strengthened the effect, as well was able to communicate with the central device seamlessly from more than one hundred miles.

If a sensory crystal can't communicate with the core directly, it merely seeks out other acoustic gems, send the data packaged together with a location marker, then the said receiver will relay the message to the nearby gateway crystal. If it still can't connect, the process will repeat until the data will reach its goal.

The information sent was so significant in size, it can repeat several hundred, or even a thousand times before buffer of the node will be saturated. In that case, the data will be thrown away because its relevance time will become obsolete, starting the process anew.

Such crystals were placed around the mountain. Being Hamusuke even with the crates strapped to her back was faster than the elves, and Slapstorm was, she was the one who took up the mantle to run through the field and drop down the items.

"Slapstorm-dono. Is it really alright sending forward Hamusuke-dono to do the task alone?"

Alalog grunted, looking back at the dark elf who asked. On each member's back, a heavy-looking bag had been strapped. "It is, she moves a lot faster than us. As well, we still need to make sure the network works satisfactorily before the raid starts."

Alalog previously explained the elves the rough idea behind the neural network. But because most of them were simple warriors, without any kind of scholarship they were unable to understand correctly. In the end, he just said, it is magic, and for first, they accepted it as it.

Looking at the crystal embedded in the leather strap around his wrist, it projected the map. The network flared at life. Now, outside of a few small animals, it did not sense anything coming in their way. Also, he spotted Zeno and his own group passing the perimeter.

Nodding, he and the scouts continued placing the timed baits. Hopefully, it will raise the attention of the beasts, and not something more significant.

Outside of their knowledge, a strange figure watched them from the shadows. Peeking out from a tree, tilting its head curiously.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Mountain Tyuba:**

After camouflaging himself with grass and leaves, Itami began climbing the Tyuba mountains. He had even painted his face in green and brown camouflage paint, while all the metallic parts on his weapon were wrapped up to prevent them from making noise when they bumped into something. While he did not know much about the daily life of a Dragon, it was a wild beast, so it should have keen senses. It would be best to take the appropriate steps against it.

Zeno and the band somehow understood why he did so. Unfortunately, they mentioned too late that Medhirt's druidic magic was able to camouflage the group with one go. Because of this, Itami really felt himself out of place.

Adventuring through the forest was a dangerous undertaking, that was an understatement. Not only in the New World that was officially called Gown Prime, in it an unofficial name, Bob. But in Falmart as well. Because the reasons mentioned above, everyone who took up the mantle to immerse itself in the dangerous task of tripping in a wild forest needed to be prepared.

The best solution was to search a druid, a shaman or a nature magic caster who was able to manipulate nature to its own liking. Other solutions existed of course, but there was no better person if you wanted to be safe amidst the woods than a druid.

The group proceeded steadily, and for first, there was no trace of the dragons coming in their way. Itami carried the sleeping Tuka on his back.

"Father, I'm scared. Something's coming," Tuka said earlier. Because she seemed utterly terrified, Lelei put her to sleep. Medhirt being a half-dragon also had some kind of danger sense, she felt the same dreadful feeling running through her spine just now.

"Ze-Zeno-sama. I have a bad feeling about this. Please, be careful." Knowing the exact pertinence of the dragoness intuitions, the golden-clad elf motioned to proceed carefully.

Itami draped Tuka in his bulletproof vest just to be safe. Not only because she was completely exposed, but because her unusual clothes might unveil them. You cannot be so sure, even if there were magic casters in the group. It served to camouflage her, and the titanium alloy trauma plates would protect her from danger. Then again, it was questionable how useful it would be against the attack of a dragon.

Proceeding close behind of Zeno, behind him was Rory, Lelei, the adventurers and the nine Dark Elves following them.

"Ugh, this smells gross."

Crow pinched his nose as he grumbled. Yao replied, "Itami-dono told us to do this, so it can't be helped."

Everyone slathered all the exposed parts of their body in animal oils. Even with magic, it was better to be safe.

"I know this is supposed to hide our scent, but won't the smell just make us more obvious?" Nokk said as he climbed.

There were no trails on this mountain, and the terrain was rough. The HMV could not drive through here, so they had to go on foot. They kept low as they moved until they were almost rubbing against the ground, and they walked through trenches, depressions, and the shadows of big trees. Even if Hamusuke was the one who carried most of the equipment, the group proceeded slowly.

Slow as walking might be, they would reach their objective eventually if they just kept moving forward.

On the evening of the third day, they finally reached the slopes of Mt. Tyuba. The smell of sulphur hung heavy in the air, negating their scent camouflage. Thanks to the silencing magic of Meguminoi, the group proceeded under the unnatural silence.

Even if the adventurer group consisted veteran members, they were not fooled to charge against two dragons. Fighting against one was suicidal. Against two? God save the people. The danger factor multiplied.

Everyone crouched, even the massive armour wearing Zeno. Despite his shield, he had no difficulty to crawl.

Itami received special training. Thus, he was the one who took the lead.

Signalling with his hands to stop Crow to come to the head of the group. Crow had been here before, so he would be their guide.

"What's wrong?"

Crow squatted beside Itami and Zeno.

"Do the Dragons enter from that crater?" asked Itami watching the hole with his binoculars.

"Yes. Their nest is on one of the outcroppings protruding from the side of the volcano's mouth," Crow explained.

He had come to this place before to gather the sulphur found near the volcano. When burned, the smoke from the sulphur would preserve dried fruits for a longer time, and it would look fresher as well.

Although he had only come to gather sulphur, he chanced upon a cave during his searches. That cave led to an outcropping on the interior of the volcano, where the creatures took lay sleeping.

"I had a bad feeling when I saw it, so I ran."

Merryforge joined the discussion, questioned Crow about the interior of the volcano, particularly the condition of the air within. He was an alchemist and specialist who had a flair sense for explosives. Thus, he needed the information to properly prepare his tools.

According to Crow, the volcano's mouth was apparently bottomless, so he did not know anything about what lay below. However, the interior was well-ventilated due to the cave leading to the outside, and unlike the exterior, which reeked of sulphur, the air quality inside was outstanding.

"So the creatures usually resides inside the nest in the cave!?"

Rory seemed quite shocked when she heard it, but she quickly shut her mouth.

"No, it's inside the volcano's mouth. The cave simply connects the outside to the inside."

Merryforge grumbled. He had experiences with volcanos. And honestly, he did not like them. Not in the dwarf kingdom, not here. Back home, there was a bubbling mountain that resided near one of the dwarven city. There was a way through it that led to the sea. An important trade route to be exact.

In the past, it was occupied by fire giants, and he was the part of the expedition force sent to explore that abandoned underground town… or more like a tomb, as he called it. He almost died back then. No matter how crazy he was, he rather avoided volcanos and fire giants.

(The fire giants were humongous creatures those utterly resistant to fire and most of the explosives.)

"Then, what if we descended from the summit of the volcano?" offered Rory.

"Not possible. The interior of the volcano's mouth is a sheer cliff. I don't think we could climb down from up there." motioned Yao up to the narrow cliffs.

Rory frowned because she could not go underground. Itami smiled and said, "Don't worry."

"That's fine, Rory can stay outside. All we're doing is checking if at least one dragon is in. If it comes back, she can contact us."

According to the plan, a few people would enter the cave and check if the beasts were there. If they were gone, the group would plant the explosives and traps, setting up the net throwers around the place, and if two dragons were in, the party would immediately fall back and wait for it to leave. If things went well, Rory and the adventurers would not need to do the heavy lifting.

"Shouldn't we stop it from leaving?"

"Mm. We don't want to make it suspicious. We'll hide and wait for it to leave first."

Itami muttered, "Does Rory and the others know how to use this?" as he fiddled with his earpiece and headset mike. The other members appointed with guard duty also tried their own. Rory hurriedly pulled her mike to her mouth, and Itami tested the wireless connection to Lelei and Rory.

Before they could do anything else, a shadow emerged behind one of the mounds. Its body covered by a shadow, or more like the steam erupted from one of the geysers. The eye of the creature dimmed dangerously behind the covering smoke cloud. On its body, several runes lit up.

The group prepared immediately, Itami raised his gun, the elves their bows and the adventurer group their respective weapons. Rory was ready to cut, use her holy Halberd to carve her bloody path uphill. Only one person was completely calm.

When... "Oh! Hamusuke, so you arrived."

Behind the volcanic smoke and ash. The charcoal covered Hamusuke trotted out. Looking around confused. "Is something wrong?" She asked stunned. The group lowered the tools immediately. Most of the dark elves and Itami sighed a little bit relieved.

Although, Yao still adored the majestic form of the wise king of the forest. Itami just watched clueless the vast hamster.

"So, you arrived, as discussed." nodded Zeno. "How is the scouting?"

"This humble servant finished with the entrusted task. Placed the crystals and the tools as ordered."

"Good… the equipment is safe?"

"Yes, this humble king has placed it near the entrance. You can found it there."

Itami was baffled, with his binocular he does not saw similar crates.

It was discussed beforehand, Hamusuke will carry the heavy load. So Itami and the group could proceed faster.

"What about Alalog and his group?"

Hamusuke mumbled under her nose for a moment, then turned her attention back to the elf leader.

"Last time this king saw Slapstorm-dono, he and the group were fine…" She announced proudly, tilting her head.

With a nod of understanding, Zeno took out the control crystal under his armour, the holographic map of the already mapped territory came to view. The map already updated contained the volcanic area. It also showed the lifeforms present. The stronger the lifeform was, the brighter the dot was represented their location.

Lelei looked the device amazed, Rory and the elves with a curious gaze. Itami just scratched his head nervously. The map the crystal emitted reminded him the modern GPS maps. Unfortunately, this world did not yet have satellites. Thus, Itami and the JSDF had to rely on RPS (Radio Positioning System) and other manual methods to navigate. But being there was also only a few radio towers near Arnus, the RPS system was not as good as the higher-ups hoped.

"What is that?" asked Ban.

Lelei was aware of the nature of the crystal, being Meguminoi gave her a fast rundown of the mapping technology the kingdom's military used. Still, it was a method no mage ever thought before in Falmart. Thus, she was fascinated.

"This is a map, this will help us keeping a note of the threats, and the lifeforms enter the showcased territory."

"Oh…" The elves gazed the crystal for a few moments. Ban even wanted to touch it, but Yao gave him a reproachful headshake. Such magical artefact must be expensive. Breaking it accidentally may ruin not only the reputation of the clan but unemotionally push them in an inescapable debt.

Kom, the youngest of the group (154 years old -.-) was still a little angry at Zeno and his group. But his anger seemed to dissipate a little bit since they travelled together.

"It looks like a GPS…" Motioned Itami.

"Gps?" asked Zeno with a raised brow.

"Global Positioning System." explained the first Lieutenant wisely. The group still watched him blankly, waiting for the explanation. Itami sighed defeated and started.

"In short, it helps us navigate through the landscape with the use of, ah… how could I put it?" Itami mumbled, trying to find the adequate words. "Methods…?" In the end, he could only come up with a vague explanation, scratching his hair flat faced.

How should he explain that with the use of 24 artificial satellites around Earth they can determine and track their position no matter where? With the current scientific knowledge of the group, there was only two or three person who he believed can understand him vaguely.

Those were Lelei, Merryforge, and maybe Zeno. He was not sure the latter. The man had some scientific knowledge that hammered in him by Momon and Raidyn. But otherwise, he was not that interested in the topic.

He tried to explain as simple as he could. But most people just gave him a flat face and a hum. Lelei just nodded with her usually stern face.

In the end, they decided to pass on the theme. Under the way to the entrance, Zeno explained Lelei how exactly the tracking method worked once more. It sounded brilliant and straightforward in one go. However, it had a grave fault. It can't indicate the person passing was an actual ally or foe. And once someone found the adequate scrambling frequency, it can be easily blocked.

The army may use the method, but as usual, a professional military actually had a lot bigger budget and more advanced technology than a simple adventurer group could afford. Even if the said group was one of the few adamantine ranked group in the kingdom, they can't compare technology-wise to the actual standing army.

The group reached the cave-like entrance where near the equipment boxes were densely covered by delicate ash. Itami now understands, the crates were covered by the fine dust completely bent in the surrounding.

Zeno and Itami wanted to scout the cavern themselves, but the dark elves volunteered to not bother with such trivial task. They will do it themselves. Itami was only too glad to let Yao and Crow go in instead of himself.

It took a while before Yao and Crow got back, under that, the remainder of the group took a rest, while they had a dinner of dried travel rations. The smell of food would be covered up by the smell of sulphur, but that same smell made it difficult to work up an appetite. The group should ask Medhirt to clean the air from the foul odour with her druidic magic. But it was best to conserve mana before the battle.

Still, considering what would happen soon, they did not know when they might next get the chance to eat. Fortunately, everyone understood this, and they ate with gusto regardless of their current location.

Lelei and Rory each took out a set of JSDF Type II Combat Rations (beef curry/tuna salad / pickled vegetables/rice) as well as just-add-water heating packs. The Dark Elves had dried fish from the valley, dried fruits, beans and the like, but they were fascinated by Rory and Lelei's processed foods. They were quite surprised with how the heating packs immediately produced steam when water was added.

As for the adventurers, from their bags, they took out a tightly sealed pot, pouring some dust like substance on their plates. At the moment Medhirt used her magic on the soil, it immediately transformed, altering itself into fresh food consisting well-made meat and side dish, salad and other things.

In all honesty, the dust for first made Itami remember at the food the astronauts used to eat. Of course, until it transfigured itself into actual meals. Sighing, he glanced at Tuka who quietly slept by the side of the group.

Itami had been carrying her all this while, but she was so light that he hardly felt fatigued. That said, the tension was tiring him out. Since he didn't feel too hungry, he ate slowly. In the meantime, Merryforge started to go around and set up the traps around the area. The remainder elves offered their help, but he refused them. Saying, alone he can work faster.

"You should let Tuka eat too. Otherwise, she'll cry when she wakes up," Lelei said that as she took a spoonful of curry.

"Oh well, what can we do?"

Just then, Yao and Crow returned.

"What's it like?"

"Mm, the cave and the volcano shaft are connected, and there's a nest on an outcropping of rock. The Dragons' not in, they must have gone."

"Excellent." Zeno smiled standing up.

After hearing Yao's report, Itami picked up Tuka.

At last, they were going into the cave. Everyone tensed up, knowing that they were going into enemy territory. They even spoke more quietly.

"Merryforge, go with them. Help with the installation."

"Aye, boss…" replied the dwarf, connecting two more mysterious devices. Handing a mysterious device that reminded Itami at a remote control to Medhirt. "Take care of it, will ya, girl…" He winked mysteriously. "Don't let that explosive lass handle it."

Pouting a little bit, the little witch looked away. Lelei patted her head comfortingly. Meguminoi just glared at Lelei for a moment; her face returned to its static self.

"Then, guys, we're counting on you."

"All right, I'll keep a lookout near the volcano's mouth." Rory tapped her mike. "Is this thing on?"

Zeno and Medhirt nodded. Meguminoi tried to snatch away the device from the half dragoness who in return yelped helplessly. About Julian, well, he sat down watching the little group smiling. Being he can't rival Zeno and the other members of the group combat capacity wise, the only thing he can do is to support.

"Reading you loud and clear. Ah, screw the comms protocols. Okay, I hear you." Itami then turned to the group.

"Are you sure you don't need one?"

"Well, Miss Rory have one, and we have our own methods." Explained Julian, scribing in his notebook. "Don't worry about us; we will be fine." He merely waved him away by lazy wrist motion.

They bid farewell to them at the entrance to the cave.

Clutching her halberd tightly, Rory vanished up the side of the brick-red mountain with nimble steps, while Itami and friends headed into the cave after they parted ways with her.

The interior of the cave was so large they thought that they must have been dreaming.

Lava flowed and became solid when it cooled after that more lava would flow out, and solidify as well. After countless repetitions of this process, the layers of stone looked like a staircase.

The way the layered stone spread out looked like the stairs leading up to a shrine. The walls were not one solid sheet; they looked more like a giant set of curtains. Calling this place a memorial would not be out of the question. It boasted a long corridor, a high viewing platform, and even an altar-like structure. The power of nature was not to be underestimated.

If they brought a holy man here, he might set up a church on the spot.

Itami lit up his surroundings with a flashlight, then left the not-altar behind, and went deeper into the cave.

The Dark Elves lit their surroundings with flaming torches. The echoes made by the close quarters and the flickering shadows caused by their light sources contributed to the spooky atmosphere.

"Itami-dono, this way."

Itami could see the light coming from ahead of him.

He put Tuka down, and nervously advanced, holding his rifle. Above him, he could see the starry night sky through the mouth of the volcano. The light was coming from the mouth of the volcano.

There was an outcropping here.

Though it was called an outcropping, it was actually quite broad. The caldera of the volcano was about the size of a baseball field, and it was roughly bowl-shaped. In its centre, a hole led down to the main shaft, and the outcropping was located here.

The outcropping was roughly the size of two basketball courts, and the way sand and rocks were mixed here resembled the seaside. The Dragon's nest here looked like a formation of stones on a beach.

Crow confirmed that this was the Dragons' lair, and the creatures had been resting here earlier. From the numerous carcasses and the stink of the excrement, it was apparent, even when the thick scent of Sulphur heavily disguised it.

Looking at Merryforge in his side, the dwarf fidgeted nervously. On his back, a sizable bag settled.

"Something wrong?" Asked Itami suddenly.

The dwarf just sighed exasperate. "I hate volcanic area…" He mumbled. Some elves heard what he said and flinched. But Itami was unable to overhear him. "What? Sorry, I don't understand. Can you repeat it?"

"Nothing, I just had a bad feeling." With a timid nod, the first lieutenant looked around.

Although they had never seen a Dragon's nest before, this layout was far too simple, and it made them suspicious.

Still, when they stood there, they could believe that the vast thing before them was where their enemy made its lair.

There were fragments of what looked like broken eggshells scattered over the ground, as well as enormous footprints that could only have been made by a Dragon.

"The eggshells looked like they were laying here for a few weeks. It looks like the young dragons hatched not long ago, and that they left the nest right after hatching."

Lelei's conclusion after inspecting the fragments made everyone nervous. The two dragons attacked the camp was sizable. At least, the group come the conclusion the two creature are at least a few years old. If there are younglings as well their work will be much harder.

There were things which looked like rocks on the sand, but a closer look revealed that they were the remains of what had once been helmets. Nobody knew how long these things had been here, but they also found sparkling weapons like swords and the like, half-buried in the sand.

"And this is?"

Yao picked up the helmet and the sword, feeling them in her hands.

"I think these belonged to the heroes throughout history who came to challenge the Flame Dragon."

"Well, this is a magic sword, after all."

Nokk's eyes were sparkling as he focused on that sword. He breathed, "This would be worth a lot if we brought it back…"

The Dark Elves closed their eyes in silent prayer for the ones who had borne these weapons and armour. The arms and armour that belonged to those brave enough to bet their lives against the Flame Dragon must have been the work of a master.

Merryforge frowned, he did not like this. He did not like this at all! He had the same dreadful feeling like back then. Like when everyone from his expedition died.

Looking through the scattered remains and armours, the same pictures played out before his eyes over and over again. Like a loop, repeating. Only Itami's somewhat gentle voice brought him back to the reality.

"All right, let's get to work. Lelei, help me look after Tuka. Everyone, help me light up the surroundings. Merryforge..." For a moment, Itami's words jammed. He had no idea what to do with the dwarf. In all case, he did not want to hand him the C4, neither a LAM.

In answer, the stout man just grinned. "Don't worry lad. I have a few surprises those things. As well…" Looking back, Bianca, his crossbow comes to his vision. "Bianca as well wishes to exchange a few words with the dragons. She was deeply hurt last time. I can't just let such ruffians hurt the feeling of a damsel. After all, that would stain my honour not only as a craftsman but as a man."

Itami just sweatdropped and nodded uneasily; he still can't get around the dwarf's impersonation habit. Most elves were still clueless who was exactly is that 'Bianca' person the dwarf spoke about is. After a short introduction, most of them smiled uneasily. Although, Yao was a little bit disturbed, looking at either Tuka, Lelei or Itami for help. Who in return gave him a look that said.

'Don't look at me; I don't like it either.'

The group split in two. Four people helped Itami, four Merryforge. The youngest dark elf remained outside with the others to help them with the preparations.

Itami unpacked what looked like blocks of cheese from the boxes. In total, there were 75 kilograms of it.  
Merryforge did similar preparation although he mostly placed mechanical looking traps and explosives, constructing some kind of automated scorpion throwers using complicated locking mechanism, just like outside. Drawing strange symbols on the ground.

The two group did different yet similar work. They might differ, but their goal was the same. End the tyranny of the dragons.

Itami touched the ground and took out a small device. It was called an electronic detonator.

He touched the ground to discharge his static electricity. This was because enough static electricity could initiate a detonation. By moving the field, he grounded himself and removed his static electricity charge.

The next part required a lot of specialised knowledge. Only Itami could do it. He took out the cable reel and a pair of pliers, cut off several lengths of wire from the reel, and then began turning them into auxiliary circuits.

He stripped off the cable casing at the end, and then he joined the wires inside onto the contacts of the detonator.

Discussing the plan beforehand, the two group worked closely with each other. Making sure there are no gaps in the plan.

In the end, Itami's forehead was slick with sweat, but he produced good work, without any mistakes. He spliced the lengths of cable, and then joined them to the final detonation circuit. All of it connected to a central rune.

Usually, only engineers would study these techniques of rigging explosives. However, they were part of the primary curriculum within SFG, and Itami had learned them. He was hardly a diligent student, but much like it was in school, he felt that "failing at your tasks means failing at life". His determination helped him to master this skill, and this determination was now a part of him.

Suddenly, he recalled the memories of his instructors cursing him out and knuckling him on the head.

Itami stopped his work, gently put down the detonators, and pressed his mike's switch.

"Rory, can you hear me?"

He called Rory several times, but there was no response. Perhaps the wireless signal could not penetrate the thick rock. If that was the case, there was no point in making her a sentry.

Damn. Still, they were close to completion. Might as well finish it up in one go.

"Cheh, this is going to be a pain... Everyone, eyes to the sky. Lelei, the reception here seems pretty bad. Try and raise Rory."

After saying that, Itami went back to work.

Then he turned off his mike's switch and took off his headset. Electronic switches could cause sparks, and he broke out in a cold sweat as he realised he had been handling the explosives and detonators with the headset on.

What would the others think if they knew how close he had come to blowing them up? He looked around to gauge the others' reactions.

Fortunately, nobody seemed to get Itami's meaning. They simply went "huh?" in confusion.

After that, it was time to set the processed explosive.

He stacked the blocks of C4 into the hole Ban had made, layering them on top of each other. Then, he plugged the detonators into the bricks. Then he carefully unrolled the cable from the reel, so as not to tangle the detonation cord in anything.

"Give me that sword over there."

Seeing what he is planning to do, Merryforge can't do a thing but smirk deviously. Like a mad inventor evilly fondled his beard. A motion that made Itami feel bad for poor dragons.

"I may have a different idea…" he mumbled and set to work immediately.

"?"

Yao and the others tilted their heads as they watched. Merryforge added some more soft touch to his devices, replaced a few parts. Itami placed the magic sword on top of the explosives.

When terrorists used plastic explosives, they would often sprinkle them with screws in order to increase their killing power. The fact was that an ordinary bomb was not as powerful as people thought it was. The fragments caused by the shockwave of the explosion were what caused a lot of collateral damage. They were layering the magic swords and other masterwork weapons on the explosives for the same reason. If it worked, the swords of the warriors who failed in their quest would wound the landing Dragon, earning their departed masters a small measure of peace.

The explosives were covered with a thin layer of sand and dirt, and another layer erased their footprints. They paid out the wire from the reel and headed back to the cave from the outcropping. Of course, the cable could not be exposed, so it had to be shallowly buried.

Finally, they joined the wire to the detonation trigger.

And so, the preparations for the demolition and the traps were almost complete. What Itami thought had only taken a while had actually taken close to five hours, which shocked him when he checked his watch.

"Girls and lads. Fine work!" Merryforge gave them a thumbs up. A wide smirk plastered on his face. Itami and the elves nodded, their foreheads blistered in sweat. Nodding, the dwarf headed towards the exit, when… He suddenly stopped, a sour expression settling on his face as he turned to the group.

"We may have a problem, no. Two big problems."

Itami's shoulders and waist still ached from all the squatting he did. But he turned to Merryforge nonetheless.

"What's wrong?"

The dwarf clicked his tongue. "Our visitors are coming faster than we expected, and we lost our contact with the scout group."

"What do you mean we lost contact with them?" Ban asked almost shouting.

"Their life signatures disappeared, just like that…" Merrryforge's tone was annoyed. Not like a person who was really miffed. But more like worried about his friend's safety.

"Our full preparations outside not yet done. We may need to improvise."

"What do you mean not done!? Aren't you finished with the outside?!" Yao asked angered, almost shouting. Itami clicked his tongue in annoyance. Like a person who expected something would go wrong under the mission.

The dwarf merely raised his strong hand calming the elf's boiling innards.

"The plan was to prepare the trap. Place bait, hide and lure the dragons in a closed place. Then blow the shit out of them. The preparations outside only for safety precautions."

Everyone shut their mouth and looked away. Most of them simply clicked a tongue in disappointment. They were aware, fighting against not one, but two dragons were dangerous. No, it was a suicidal undertaking. Even with Rory on their side, it was a doubtful battle.

"It cannot be helped…" announced Itami looking stern. "Let's finish the preparations. Then…" he turned to Merryforge. "Merryforge-san, you said you had something to lure in the dragons."

The dwarf nodded, taking out a bottle with a strange liquid. "Hopefully, the dragons of this world also likes our baits…" Gazing to the group, he continued.

"Two dragons would be too much for the outside group; if we can eliminate at least one, we most likely survive the day."

"Please do so…" Itami nodded.

"Ready?" Everyone obliged, and Merryforge raised the bottle.

"Take cover! And pinch your nose." Warned the dwarf. With a big swung, he threw the jar in the middle of the hidden explosives. The splattered liquid started to emit a nose-stinging stench. The odour was so potent; it made Itami remember his college days. One time his roommate tried to put together something edible and started to experiment with the ingredients, he found in the fridge. Namely, mixed butter, spices (like garlic powder, cinnamon, lemon pepper), orange juice, water, Pam, a raw egg, his antibiotics, ketchup, mayonnaise, and probably a lot more stuff that he already forgot.

It was definitely the worst stench he ever smelled. It haunted him since today. And the stench he just smelled bordered it. Even with the massive amount of sulfur in the air, he apparently felt it, and Merryforge just threw it a few seconds ago.

Tuka, Yao and the elves almost gagged. Lelei pinched her nose with disgust. Her stoic expression replaced with a disturbing aspect.

* * *

 **Scene Change: A little bit earlier: Outside:**

There was a small commotion outside, but the remainder of the group tried to be as discreet as possible. No one wanted to catch off guard when the creatures attacked. The plan was initially been to lure the dragons in the Vulcan, then blow them up from a safe distance, collapsing the structure itself on the creatures.

It did not matter that it was two dragons, if you drop a mountain on something, it will eventually die. Or at least will weaken enough for you to fight it in an even ground. That was the basic idea behind the plan. Of course, as cautious the group was, before coming here they sent the scout group ahead. Creating a quickly assembled sensory network and placing timed lures along the way. Carefully, the closer the target was, the stronger the scent.

Zeno, Itami and the remainder of the group discussed the plan through the nightly hours. And came to a conclusion, it is best to prepare for everything. Installing traps in the outside vicinity as well. One dragon might get suspicious and not land in the crater. Then, their whole plan goes in the dumpster.

Leaning against her staff, Medhirt sighed. Her long prismatic coloured hair that reached to the middle of her back almost covered the entirety of her face. The traces of her draconic heritage clearly visible on her appearance. Sapphire blue slit eyes and a few prismatic scales adored her appearance. Two short horn is protruding backwards from the two sides of her temple.

She was a druidic magic caster, in the current situation, she did everything that she could. Buffed the group, gave druidic blessings. Being she can't help anymore until the fight starts, Zeno ordered her to keep watch, rest, recover her mana. Use her draconic ancestry to sense the closing dragons. In the case of the auditory network fails.

Sitting on a rock, she wondered. This place was not like her home. Of course, she saw volcano before. There were many dragons preferred similar position as this one was. But she born under different circumstances. Near the sea, where humidity was high. Both she and her father preferred such location.

Pondering on her family and her relationship with them, on the corner of her vision a small figure appeared, small if we do not consider her humongous weapon.

"Is something wrong?" asked the newcomer. Medhirt immediately turned her attention to the girl. Ever since they meet, she shivered in the presence of Rory. The girl was strong, Medhirt felt like she is once more in her pureblood brother's presence.

"Ah…" She shuttered. "It is nothing, just…" Her words stalled, trying to find the adequate expression. Seeing the shy girl, Rory nodded and sat down near her. For a moment, she was silent, then started her remarks.

"I heard you are a half dragon."

"I-Is that obvious?" asked the girl a little bit nervous, pulling her hair before her face shy.

Rory just tilted her head, her smile widened. It was a smile not came from her pity, but an understatement.

"Isn't it?" she asked in return.

"…" As expected, Medhirth did not answer, just shyly circulated her indexes around each other.

Nodding, Rory obliged, humming once more. "Hmm… I see." The dragoness had no idea why she is doing it. She barely said anything. Neither the two of them spoke more than a few words since their several day's long travels.

"I also know a draconian." She continued. "She is quite nasty, as well her tribe. But you are somehow different."

"Di-Different?" asked the girl timidly, slightly turning to the demigoddess.

Rory placed her finger on her delicate lower lip and looked up at the skies. The heavens covered by dark clouds. Rain will come soon, or it was the nature of the volcanic area? She had no idea, Rory was not a weather prophet, neither a geologist.

After a momentary contemplation, she hummed once more. "Yes, the draconian I know is a lot meaner. As well, not as shy as you."

"I-I see…" The girl shuttered. "Although, I am just a half-blood… from my father side. I hope I did not offend you. Your holiness." Medhirt was somewhat ashamed of her own heritage. Half-blood dragons usually shunned by their own kind, mainly when they were not strong neither inherited the strength and positive qualities of the race.

Rory looked at her once more with a questioning gaze. She heard from Julian; dragons are different in the Sorcerous Kingdom than here. You may say the difference was ground and sky. Still, she was curious. She wanted to meet one of that rumoured Dragon Lords and fight it at least once. Even if she loses, it will be fun.

Rory just grinned, tug at Medhirt's shoulder gently. "No, not in the slightest. But if I may ask you, who was your father?"

Medhirt just opened her mouth to answer, when Zeno silent voice disturbed the two girl's chatter. "We may have a problem."

Both girls stiffened, the group started to gather. "We lost the contact with Alalog and his group."

Medhirt solidified herself, Meguminoi tightened her grip on her staff. Hamusuke glanced around worried. On Julian's face, an angry expression settled. Kom prepared his weapon.

"We need to find them." Zeno nodded at Julian's offer, and once, gave away a tired sight. "Unfortunately, the sensory network also malfunctioning. Something is scrambling it. Only one thing is sure, the dragons just now heading in our direction. With a rapid speed." Zeno pointed in the calculated direction.

Twitching her ears, the half dragoness also looked at that angle, focusing her attention. With a nod, she confirmed. "Zeno-sama is right, I am feeling them. Also…" She bit her lower lip. "I also feel a third… It is trying to cover its presence, but it is still here."

With a hum, the elf leader opened a communication channel and passed his [Message]. It was a risky move, but something in the crater scrambled their communication crystals.

[Message]: "Merryforge, expect company in a few minutes. They are rapidly closing. Two big and a small Charlie is heading in our direction. Hurry up. We did not yet finish with our preparations."

[Message]: "Aye boss, we are ready as we can be. I will throw the bait." Answered the dwarf through the channel. Soon, he heard the shattering glass. Nodding, Zeno closed the channel.

"Hide…" Whispered Medhirt suddenly, with her draconic sight she was able to spot the dark and the red-scaled dragons in the far. She felt the pain throbbing through her chest, the thought of she had to leave her friend to fend himself was unbearable. But that's how adventurers lived. Sometimes they needed to bear the loss. If they can find his body, they can resurrect him later.

Hiding in the prepared spot, the dragons landed. There were the two maturing creatures, the black and the red-scaled ones, the same ones those attacked the village. One of the dragons still missed two fingers, a little souvenir from the battle back then. On its back, a strange figure rode.

It was a tall woman, where she physically looks to be around 20 years old and has gold-pupil eyes. Her deep blue skin is covered in tribal tattoos. She wore a very revealing sleeveless white gothic priestess' outfit that is very similar to Rory's regarding design. She has short white hair. Her most notable feature is her dragon wing.

From their hiding place, the band watched the woman. Medhirt felt like a shiver running through her body watching the apostle. That woman was clearly dangerous. They need to be cautious. "Giselle…" Rory clicked her tongue annoyed, hiding in the same hole where the dragoness adventurer hid. "What she is doing here?"

Looking around, sniffing in the air, the blue coloured girl nod towards the red-scaled dragon. That immediately descended and approached the crater. Smurfette smile curled deviously; her attention suddenly turned towards one of the hiding places. Namely, the one where Rory hid.

"Onee-sama! Come out! Wherever you are! My master waited long enough! Don't be such a prude. ~" Her smile is malicious. The several sharp fangs in her mouth made her appearance frightening from the far. Rory stiffened in disgust. She had nothing to do with that slut goddess.

Giselle was amused, looking around once more. She already sniffed out her rival. Now, the only thing she had to do is to capture her.

She had a distinct advantage. Despite the heavy scent of sulfur and the disgusting, but somewhat tempting unknown fragrance. She felt the bloodlust of her fellow apostle.

"Onee-sama, If you don't come out. Your friends in the crater will all die."

Rory moved, but Medhirt grabbed her cloth. "Your holiness! What are you doing?" she whispered. Rory shrugged. "Saving our hide. Don't come out until I gave the signal."

Rory casually tore her cloth from the dragoness hand and jumped out from her hiding. Carrying her huge halberd, she pictured an absurd sight. She knows it goes against the plan. But she needed to win time. For Itami, for Lelei, for Merryforge, for the elves.

If fighting against two dragons was suicidal, then fighting against two creatures and an apostle at once was madness. Even with their great strength, they can't hope to win. The fourth signature she felt did not help. Something is hiding from her gaze. Giselle is planning something. She needs to be cautious.

Giselle grinned as Rory walked close to her. The two of them started to chat. The supercilious smile on the blue-skinned apostle's face never faltered. Not even when she heard the explosions from inside of the crater, she expected it, she planned it all along. She was sure Mowto (the red-scaled dragon) could take care of the intruders. She asked her goddess for her blessing, and Hardy provided it.

One moment to the other, Rory's body started to bleed rapidly and received random injuries out of nowhere. Wounds opened, spitting blood. If she were a simple mortal, she would have died in an instant. But being an immortal demigoddess, she can't die in a conventional way. Although, she still felt and suffered after every injury that Itami suffered under the battle. The blood pact between the two of them was intense. Now, as she owned the soul of the first lieutenant, every physical injury of his transferred to her.

The black-scaled dragon still watched, waiting for his master's command from the back.

Zeno had enough; this was not in the plan. Medhirt used the communication crystal and messaged to stay put until Rory gave the signal. But he can't remain idle. The idea is already out of the window with the arrival of the second apostle.

There is nothing much to do but to improvise. According to Merryforge's quick report, Itami's C4 failed due the string has been cut. But the Mythril nets holding the creature down steadily, at least holding it back from going rampage completely.

Sending either Medhirt or Meguminoi in the crater would have helped. Or in reverse, just make the situation worse. More people not equal better. It was quality over quantity. Meguminoi spells are too destructive; she was restricted in narrow spaces as the crater was. She may just accidentally collapse the whole cave on the top of them. True, it was their primary goal, just not when they are inside the cave. Outside of that, Meguminoi mostly used fire and lightning magic. Keeping her near the C4 was a volatile undertaking.

Medhirt who was specialized for druidic magic could not do much under such circumstances. She might try to restrain the dragon with vines. But the net is already on the creature. It might only disturb the operation.

The group was much more effective if the two girls are fighting outside.

As Zeno and Julian slowly sneaked out, Medhirt, Kom and Hamusuke followed close behind.

Rory and Giselle started to fight. The cursed scythe of Hardy and the holy Halberd of Emroy meet, scattering the clatter in the air. 'Clang. Clang! Clang! Clang!' Rory warned them beforehand, stay away from apostles when they fight. It was dangerous, a lot more dangerous than go toe to toe against the Sorcerous King's Death Knights.

These apostles really liked oversized weapons, Julian must admit that almost as much as the legendary Momon loved them. The bard even remembered the stories about the old, oversized sword that Raidyn wore in the past. As its name implies, using it against the dragons would surely guarantee victory. Although, maybe Medhirt would be less than pleased seeing the weapon. Being that sword forged to kill her brethren.

"No, don't…" Zeno whispered angrily to Julian. Who in return just smiled with a closed eye. Showing a thumbs up. Signing, everything will be ok.

Rory was bloodstained, her clothes laid in shreds, one of her arm barely held by a thin layer of skin. Gisselle grinned superciliously, expecting the same outcome. She sensed the thin layer that connected Rory with someone special in the crater. Thus, she planned according.

"Onee-sama, you're the bride-to-be of my master, letting a filthy human casually touch your body is too careful- ack."

Perhaps she was not used to speaking politely, but she nearly bit her tongue, and then she muttered, "dammit".

"What a pain, who'd want to be a wife to that woman?"

As Rory grumbled, she tried to stiffly raise her trembling body.

After rejoining the cut surfaces of her severed arm, her bloodstained limbs could move at last. However, she still could not use her strength. The halberd which she would generally swing about like a matchstick needed all her strength just to hold in her hand, to say nothing of raising it.

Giselle stood before her, resting her scythe on her shoulder.

"Aren't you glad to meet my mistress, Onee-sama?"

"How many times have I said this already… my god is Emroy, who rules over death, judgement, madness and war!"

"Haa… is this what they call marriage blues? How sad."

After that, she added a dangerous pronouncement at the end: "As I thought, I'll need to bring you back by force." As she raised her scythe to behead Rory and bring her back in pieces, a sudden voice stopped her.

"Oh, my… what an uncomfortable situation. Please forgive me my interruption. Your holiness."

"Wha-What are you doing! Julian-dono! Please stop!" Kom shouted almost loud. But he was unable to stop the bard. After seeing the determination of his friend, Zeno could only bear his friend's suicidal plan with gritting teeth. "Damn you…" he muttered. He knows it may be their only chance to turn the tide.

The first one who turned its attention against the approaching adventurers was the black scaled dragon. Screeching, the creature shielded his master with its massive wings.

 **"Grueeeh!"** the creature roared threateningly.

Suddenly, Julian and Hamusuke revealed themselves. The bard grinned absently, holding his instrument firmly. Meanwhile, Hamusuke followed him close behind. Poor creature, she was so frightened, Giselle and Rory could clearly taste the fear in the air.

The apostle of Hardy just raised her hand, stopping the dragon. She did not need its protection. "Hmm… Who are you, strangers?" she licked her lips measuring the strange hamster-like creature. Then watched Julian, weighing him, like predator her prey.

Rory tried to stand up, face Giselle once more. Shield her companions from the demigoddess' wrath. "You idiots! Flee! She will kill you. You have no chance…" She shouted with them.

"Don't worry, Rory-chan. I will handle this. There is nothing a few well-placed words can't solve. Please rest." The bard calmed Rory in a charming tone.

Giselle tilted her head confused hearing the calm words of Julian. Usually, mortals, she faced started to panic at the moment they are met with her. But this man, she felt no fear in his heart.

"This will be interesting…" muttered Giselle, resting her cursed scythe on her shoulder, grinning absently.

Rory can't help but smile. Since she knows the writer, he was always like that. Not fearless, but daring. Trying to think of others, even when he was the weakest member of the group. No, not a real member, just a bard who accompanied a hero to write about his heroic deeds.

"Whatever." Giselle shrugged.

Dandelion bowed elegantly as he reached the two demigods. It was a courtesy befit for a true noble as he was. "Please let me introduce myself, your holiness. I am Julian Alfred Pankratz, or as my fans call me. Master Dandelion. It is nice to meet you, my noble lady."

Hamusuke also bowed, at least, as much as her puffy hamster body allowed her. "This humble being is called Hamusuke, the Wise King of the Great Forest of Tob."

Giselle measured the man, he was handsome, but in the long run insignificant. However, that mighty creature on his side. Maybe she can tame it. A new addition to her arsenal. In Hamusuke eyes, the fires of determination brimmed brightly.

Giselle never saw such strange disguise as the man wore, neither such interesting creature as Hamusuke was. She walked around Hamusuke for a moment, measuring her like a slice of meat, then whispered something in the Wise King's ear. It made Hamusuke shiver for a moment. The sentence made her remember a certain dark elf who tried to skin her in the past. "Ugh…" She grunted unpleasantly.

The apostle stopped before the duo, starting her introduction.

"My name is Giselle, and as you can see, I am an Apostle of Hardy."

The way she bowed and lowered her head reminded Julian the inn he and the group stayed in Italica. Indeed an exciting place, he needed to return once the mission is over. Rory quietly told him that she was a Demigod of the Dragonkin race, and she was also the youngest apostle in this world.

"Oh! So you are the apostle of Hardy-sama. It is an honour meeting the representative one of the deity ruling over this world. I, and my colleague from the Sorcerous Kingdom." Julian told her joyfully.

"Oh! So are you from that interesting place. Tell me. Dalnus or Arnus?"

"Dalnus," Julian answered happily. He needs to distract Giselle's attention from the others until they finish with their preparation and will be able to backstroke both her and her pet dragon safely.

Julian was weak. He was aware of that. Compared to Adonis-like Momon, Zeno or similar heroes. He was indeed meaningless. His only weapon was his head and charms. But using them, he never lost before. He will win! If he had to, he will face this Godkin and defeat her! There is no way he will lose!

Zeno cursed the reckless act of his friend. He wanted to hold him back, go personally. He was much more suited to play the bait. After all, he can take the beating, unlike his friend. Julian although was a Lovelace and know the language of women, according to a few of his sources even the man. Was absolutely not in the level of Giselle. If he slips, he will die.

Meanwhile, Zeno chatted with Merryforge, using the magic, [Message].

The traps worked as intended in the crater, and the dragon is heavily injured. Although, the bastard was more robust than they first expected. The elves panicked in the first moment and fired before everything was ready. Thus, they had causalities.

Giselle hummed, rolling the name Dalnus on her tongue. "My master is quite upset."

"Why so? If you allow me to ask, Lady Giselle," asked Julian with a raised brow, bowing slightly.

She simply sighed, shrugging, looked away. "You see. My mistress wanted to speak with the gods of the other side. But until now, her every attempt of communication was either ignored or right away encountered by an obstacle. She is quite annoyed in the recent times."

"Hmm…" Julian hummed. Hamusuke looked worried.

Rory tried to stand up but was fallen on her knee once more as more wounds opened on her body. Zeno and the group wanted to help, but they were aware; if they charge, they most likely ruin the plan Julian had in his mind. If that happens, the bard will surely die. Hamusuke maybe on his side, but in that range, even she can't save Julian.

Rory explained the group in the way how an apostle compares to a simple mortal. They understood, they had to endure, wait for the right moment. As well, Rory asked them to remain put if an apostle appears, let her handle it.

Zeno seriously considered using the mysterious crystal his master entrusted him before they parted ways. Unfortunately, he had no idea about its effect. Neither had he wanted to die. He was sure; if he would accidentally die, his master will find a way to resurrect him just to clobber him to the ground once more.

"Tried the official channel? It usually works, if you allow me to say it. Lady Giselle. The Supreme Beings used to be pretty official when it comes to business."

Julian dropped the humour bomb, smirking deviously. Hoping, Giselle had some kind of black humour.

You don't have to ask, Giselle was not amused. Instead, she clicked her tongue annoyed. "You think you are funny? More of annoying. What do you think, what is Hardy-sama? Gods don't bother with official channels."

She explained with a slightly twitching face. Only thanks to her serious control she did not slice up the bard right away. Killing a meaningless mortal would surely not upset the gods of the other side. She was sure of it. Sure, he was handsome. But for her goddess, she will endure such loss.

"So as the Supreme Beings." retorted Julian smirking, gathering his willpower and using the magic, [Lionheart] to act thought.

He knows this kind of women. It was like when you faced a predator. If he falters, she will pounce and kill him and most likely Hamusuke right away.

"Although, they rather hate when someone is calling them like that." He continued.

"Fools they are. Supreme Beings? What kind of gods call themselves right that?" Giselle spat. Something greatly upset the girl beforehand. Or her demeanour was just like that. As the girl in white saw this, she directed a suspicious look at the slightly trembling Hamusuke who tried to hide her fear.

Beforehand, when the girl in white spoke to Rory, she was apparently trying to convey her respect, but when it came to Julian, it was plain she viewed and addressed him with scorn. And Hamusuke as a piece of meat.

Leaning forward, she brushed her head annoyed. "I don't even know why Hardy-sama is trying to contact with those fools! I am sure she is just a little bit exaggerating things. Like when she spoke me about that demon god who attacked the Capital of that fool Emperor. Ridiculous!" She spat disgustedly.

"Oh! So you heard about the attack of the Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth. If you wish to hear the legend, I can gladly tell you, Apostle-dono."

"Of course I heard of it," She scowled unimpressed. "Even a little ant heard about the assault of the capital. Hardy-sama watched the whole event from firsthand. She told me through my dreams." She said proudly, puffing her chest. Behind her back, her two sizable wings billowed slightly.

Actually, even amongst the apostles, it was rare that their patron gods bothered to tell anything conclusive to them. Most of them usually merely not bothered with such trivial things or cared not to notify their own apostles about the happenings. The gods simply messaged when they wanted something to be done then let their apostles act as they wished without control.

If an apostle became too bothersome, the gods simply stripped the bestowed power from the said person. Then get done with it. That's how the gods dealt with the problem. Like kids, discarding the toy they get bored with.

Julian looked at Rory, then glanced up at Giselle, smiling pleasantly. "Your goddess. I mean Hardy-sama is a woman. Aren't she?" Julian asked suddenly. Making Giselle scowl.

"Sure she is. What of it? Are you an idiot?" she raised her brow, scolding the bard. In return, the man hummed. Caressing his goat beard carefully, entirely discarding the insult.

"Hmm, hmm… I see… I see…" His act was perfect, playing with the apostle from the beginning.

"Oi! Oi! What with that 'I see?! If you thought about anything malicious about Hardy-sama or me, I would rip a new asshole in your ass!" She shouted.

Julian just smiled. His expression was pleasant, charming; his face was of that would twist the heart of many young damsels.

"Please forgive me. I just wanted to say. She must be an exciting individual; living an exciting, dangerous life, surrounded by so many beautiful damsels. No, not damsels." He shook his head, confusing both Giselle and Rory.

In the far, the young Kom watched and listened to everything. Completely stunned, he had no idea what's going on. Medhirt tugged him to proceed, prepare for the ambush.

"The two of you need no saving, my lady. Please forgive me." He bowed his head respectfully. "I mean, so many strong and agile women. I assume, you two..." Julian cleared his throat and started again. Giselle began to blush slightly and looked away.

"Please forgive me once again. My tongue must have been slipped seeing you, and your goddess' divine radiance. Hardy-sama must likely have a whole harem worth of beautiful ladies, like you. How could be it otherwise? She is a goddess after all. She and you, both of you deserve as much."

Hamusuke was confused, the only thing she could do is to tilt her colossal hamster head and watch the scene adjusting her whiskers.

Suddenly, one moment to the other, Julian bowed, grabbing Giselle's hand daring, smooching a kiss on it. Gazing into her slit eyes all along, holding her hand affectionate. His particular skill activated, his eyes slightly dimmed up.

Giselle flustered for a moment. She was completely confused, shocked. What this man is doing!? She looked away blushing. "Owaaa…" such embarrassing voice escaped her lips for a moment. Covering her mouth embarrassed.

Rory almost burst out in a laugh. Seeing her fellow demigoddess in such state, it's worth every moment of pain. Even when she as well blushed slightly.

"Keep your mouth, Onee-sama…" Giselle mumbled. That slight chuckled earned Rory a sharp kick from Giselle, but it is well worth it.

"Everyone likes different things," Giselle answered suddenly, gulping nervously. A strange haze descended on her mind.

"How openly minded deity she is," Julian smirked, still giving his best playboy act. The best action of his life.

"Haaa, what will I do with you?" Then she cricked her neck and shrugged. A slight blush still present on her face.

"In truth, I don't even know what my master wants. Although, I don't think it really matters if my master likes men or women. If you ask me, all you need to do is accept it. Of course, under normal circumstances, who would understand a god's heart?" Giselle tried to divert the topic. Julian kept his façade. He is almost there, just a little more. He needs a bit more time.

"Hmm." Julian hummed understanding. "She is a woman after all. The more mysterious she is, the more you want her. The more charm she carries. You seem to be a very sophisticated individual, Giselle-chan. Can I call you Giselle-chan? Or Blue Rose? Oh! It's rather fit you well." purred Julian charming, kissing once more the apostle's hand.

Giselle lived more than four hundred years. Yet, never before someone spoke to her so romantically. So passionately. For first, she thought some kind of magic descended on her mind. But even assuming of it was ridiculous. Thus, she discarded such thoughts immediately and gave the achievement to the man's charming personality.

"That... That!" She turned her head away with a burning face.

"In any case, that's how it is. Ahhh, what a pain… In any case, it'll be a long while before more people accept my master's feelings," Giselle said as she sighed. Like an unappreciated child. Then, she looked to the horizon, where the sun was coming up. The lamp of Flare painted the world in a new light, giving the area of a unique, romantic aura.

"Oh! Blue Rose!" Julian whispered in her ear affectionate as he hugged her. "Ugh…" Giselle yelped a little bit surprised.

Kneeling, the bard started his new poem.

"To see a world in a grain of sand,"

"And heaven in a wild flower,"

"Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,"

"And eternity in an hour."

"For me, it is only you who exist."

"For all eternity, only you, my Blue Rose."

"Only you, who exists!"

Giselle started to shutter, under her long life. Many men tried to sway her heart. But none of them out of honesty. All of them was after her status, all of them after her power. Since she bore the title; Apostle of Hardy, she had no steady relationship. All of them was dishonest, all of them was crap. All of them for the need of her body, not for her immortal soul.

The black-scaled dragon looked funnily at his master, trying to figure out the reason behind her disturbed state.

It seems Hardy smiled at her today. Not only was she able to defeat her rival. Not only was she will gladden her goddess with her greatest desire. But she also found herself a man. An enlightened individual who knows how to treat a lady. How to heal her soul.

If nothing else, the man was good-looking, and for first cared not about her heritage. In another hand, Giselle's poetic hearth throbbed hearing the well-placed words of the man. It seems, Hardy subtly presented the opportunity to please herself a little bit.

If nothing else, the man will be a good toy. She will make him hers!

"So coy…" Giselle grinned, covering her face flustered. Leaning closer, she smooched a kiss in his mouth, using her tongue.

Giggling like a girl from the middle school, she continued.

"Just wait. We will speak after I dealt with the trash." She cooed seductively. Seeing the aroused Giselle, Rory almost vomited. She aspired to be the goddess of love, but it was too much even for her.

Hamusuke almost melted seeing the scene. _"What will Milord say about this?!"_ She thought.

Julian did it! Neither member of the group had any idea how. But the man stalled Giselle and her dragon long enough to let the group finish with the preparations. All of this using his charm and mere words. When it comes to women, the man was not the best. He was the best of the best!

An explosion, and the dying roar of a dragon. These two things shook the ground, bringing back Giselle in the cold world of reality. Like a balloon bursting, a blast echoed through the landscape as a smoke cloud drifted upward from the crater. Giselle's eyes widened, just now, she felt as the dragon she sent in the cavity had died.

Hardy gave her blessing for both creatures, just to hasten their growth and strengthen them against the invaders. Yet, one of them died! How can this be!?

Filled with rage, she realised, she was deceived! A mere human fooled her! She can't bear it! She will destroy them all!

"Ahhh! I will gut you!" Her rage boiled like thousand volcanos. Raising her scythe, the black-scaled dragon behind her prepared to avenge his brother. Moving its massive wings, generated several wing buffets of air.

Her hands are falling, against the betrayer, against the traitor. Julian's eyes widened. There is no escape, no way out! His face, his body frozen in the same moment he had left it. The charming smile still on his face, his handsome expression, his lovely stature never ceased, but only because he can't move. Fear consumed him, making him unable to act.

For a moment, it was like he saw something unlikely. Giselle faltered for a moment, a small drop of tear trickling from her slit eyes. He saw that expression a few times. Her appearance was of a woman, her heart broken to pieces. A person who lost everything. A person who had no one and nothing. If he survives, he had to make it right. It was not his intention to break her heart. After all, he was the mender of souls, not the breaker of hearts.

Using the momentary hesitation of the apostle, before Hamusuke could even move. A figure jumped out from the shadow, stabbing Giselle under her scapula. It was the battered beastman tracker, Slapstorm. Drenched in blood, bleeding from multiple wounds. One of his ears missing. Whatever caught him off guard, he was barely alive.

"Got you! Bitch! This is why you never leave your prey on the ground!"

Hamusuke wasted no time, using her tail, brushed Julian into safety. Using her levitation magic, Meguminoi caught the bard. Landing him safely, then concentrated on the dragon.

"Damn you!" shouted Giselle in rage. Raised her scythe to finish her work. She almost made it, only to Rory blocked her strike with her own body.

"Now!" Zeno shouted. Charging against Giselle, staggering and pushing her away from Slapstorm who collapsed immediately afterwards. Using his unique martial art, [Juggernaut] he managed to surprise the demigoddess and imbalance her. The poison the dagger was coated started to work, slowed the demigoddess gradually. It was only a temporary solution, as her body started to heal and neutralize the poison faster than expected.

The black dragon lunged its head back. Only to be disrupted by a long, metallic tail, clanging against its tough hide. Hamusuke jumped into action. Using her agility, fast movement, great strength and metallic tail to stall the beast. She growled at it dangerously.

Hamusuke jumped away from a superhot fire buffet, a triplet of Mythril net dropped on the dragon. The restraints enchanted to increase their own weights tenfold when dropped on the enemy and was made from Mythril that coated with Orichalcum. Thus, they were extremely heat resistant, flexible, and resistive in their own way.

Thanks to the enchanted weights fixed on the web and the magical properties of it; the webs immediately nailed the dragon on the ground. Meguminoi cast her destructive magic, showering the dragon with fire, lightning and explosion. "[Explosion]!" She shouted.

Medhirt used her druidic spell and slight draconic heritage to keep in check the creature.

In the meantime, the survivors also arrived. Only Yao, Crow, Itami, Merryforge and the unconscious Tuka and Lelei survived the encounter. Most of the elves died in the first moments of panic and the fire of the dragon.

"Wha-What happened!?" gasped Itami seeing the chaos ruling over the battlefield. Recognizing the injured Rory some kind of strange rage filled him.

"H-Her holiness!" Both Yao and Crow gasped in unison seeing the apostle of Hardy fighting against the adventurers and Rory. And it seemed she is the one who dominated the battle.

"Trouble…" murmured Merryforge and aimed with his crossbow. "Damn! I thought we reach them in time."

"Yao-san. Crow-san. Please take care of Lelei and Tuka." Itami turned to them, and they nodded. Although, in the eye of Crow a little remonstrance could be seen. But he gulped down his uneasiness and followed Itami's orders.

Itami cocked his carbine and aimed. He was not a hero. But here and now, he can't do anything but fight. Aiming, Merryforge placed his hand on his gun. "No, you might hit them."

The fight between Giselle and Zeno was like a deadly dance. The sword of the golden clad adventurer left a yellow arc in the air as he channelled his faith-based magic through it. "[Holy Blade]" He stroke forward. Giselle jumped back smirking.

Kom aimed his LAM, but he missed the target. Ducking as the dragon reached out to him.

Rory was still exhausted. Her injuries healed. But she needed to time to recover. The black-scaled dragon was unable to move. Struggled under the Mythril net, Meguminoi bombed it with her magic, keeping it down.

Medhirth tried to resuscitate the dying Slapstrom who was almost cut at the half by Giselle's scythe. But she struggled to keep the hex affecting the beastman in the bay. The weapon of Giselle was some kind of cursed tool. She was barely able to contain its effect. If it goes on, her friend will die.

Hitting her with his shield, Giselle faltered, licking her bloodied scythe sensually. "Hmm… Good. You are better than I expected. A worthy sacrifice for Hardy-sama. Kukuku…"

Seeing the distance between the two warriors and the momentary pause, Merryforge and Itami started to barrage Giselle with projectiles. Itami emptied his spare magazine, changing it into his sidearm and continued the rain of lead. The stocky dwarf used his enchanted shells, using his revolutionary auto crossbow to stagger the Apostle of Hardy.

Of course, the searing lead and the explosive projectiles were annoying. But Giselle merely shrugged them off. Her body pushed the alien objects out from her body almost immediately. At least, most of the times. A few nonetheless hit her, tearing deep into her flesh.

"Annoying ants…" she mumbled. Charging towards the two ranged fighters. Just two be intercepted by Rory immediately. "You are going nowhere…" she said smirking.

Hamusuke jumped forward, attacking Giselle, who in backstroke pushed the regenerating Rory away and blocked the strike. Feeling the dangerous nature of the woman, Hamusuke immediately jumped back near Zeno.

"Zeno-dono. That woman is dangerous…" she mumbled.

The sweating adventurer nodded, gulping down his salvia. "I know, be careful." Drowning a stamina potion, he felt as his strength slowly return.

"Why are you doing this, Giselle?" Rory asked, gritting her teeth.

"Onee-sama, are you going senile in your old age? Or are you simply stupid? I already said; to satisfy my master. And of course, to defeat all the other demigods, including onee-sama. Speaking of which, Rory-nee-sama, how's your body healing up? It's about time for round 2, and this time you won't need to hold back."

Teased the youngest demigoddess the older one, shooting a challenging smirk.

"That cannot be…" The mumbling voice of Yao can be heard from the background as she slowly stepped forward.

As Giselle made her challenge, she took a stance with her scythe. The net around the dragon started to lose strength. Be it Mythril or not. Even the flexible net had its limits. As the dragon became more and more enraged, it gained power. The blessing of Hardy started to surface.

Rory jumped back, disengaging the weapon lock the two of them shared for a moment. She levelled her halberd at Giselle. However, the weapon's weight pulled on her body and made her tremble. Although her body was regenerating, the severe wounds she had taken had an effect on her.

"Please wait, your Holiness. Was what you said true? Did you wake the Flame Dragon?"

Yao's question instantly dispersed the gathering tension between both sides.

The way she questioned Giselle while she clutched her injured left arm with her right hand and limped forward was worthy of respect.

"What? And who might you be?"

"Why! Why did you have to do that!?"

The way Yao shouted those words in anger struck Giselle as quite rude. She replied in a low, dangerous tone.

"Do you have a problem with that?

"Of course! My people and I worship Hardy as our chief god, and we have been faithful followers. Instead, our god rewarded us with the disaster of those baleful creatures. Why is that?"

Giselle was starting to get a bit annoyed, and she exhaled deeply.

"You shouldn't question anything my master says. If she says, something is black, then regardless of whether it's white or red or anything, it's black. As believers, all you need to do is follow and believe. Isn't that what you're for?"

"Hmph... Gal, you are stupid following such god. Such deity is not worthy to follow." Merryforge grunted, still aiming at the apostle. Giselle welcomed him with an angry glare. If looks could kill, the dwarf would have died thousand times.

"B-but—" Yao shuttered, Giselle turned her attention back to her.

"Hardy-sama has a plan for you."

"Was leading us to destruction part of that plan?"

"Of course. If your faith were really that strong, it would be even more obvious, don't you think? You lot should be glad to be able to contribute to Hardy-sama's plan. Even if you die, die in silence! That's what faith is, am I wrong?"

As she heard Giselle's answer "Did you have to ask such an obvious question?" Yao's entire body shuddered, and she wailed miserably. Crow and Kom were angry, they trembled. If not their duty to protect the unconscious girls, they would have punched at Giselle long time ago.

"If, if it were just me, I would faithfully obey Hardy-sama's command. But turning my people and me into sacrifices is far too much. Did Hardy-sama really want us to be eaten by the Flame Dragon?"

Giselle laughed and clapped as she heard Yao speak.

"What's this? Ah~~ so you were the ones my little pets are eating? I was wondering where they were getting their food from. So Dark Elves was it. Well, it must have been unfortunate for you."

Yao was still agitated just now, but Giselle's words left her speechless.

The Dark Elves becoming the dragon's food — if it were Hardy's will, that would have been fine, but the truth was that it was not clear. In other words, the response of Hardy to her worshipper's prayers was blind ignorance.

"Unfortunate? Unfortunate, you say?"

Yao fell to her knees, her hands dangling on the ground.

"I prayed so many times, I cried so many times, I was hurt so many times, I implored Hardy so many times, I begged for help so many times, and I lost hope so many times… but every time I thought of my god, and I cheered myself up, stood myself up, went in search of hope, left my home behind and travelled... but no matter how many times I prayed, Hardy never answered. She may not even have heard."

The blood streaming down Yao's face from her scalp looked like tears of blood. Giselle looked a little lost for words, and she frowned before answering Yao.

"How could the gods listen to every little prayer of all their little worshippers? Things like, 'I want to get rich', 'Save me', 'Let me win the top prize', 'Grant me a good harvest', sometimes even 'Grant me victory'... if Hardy-sama had to listen to and grant every little one of your desires, how busy do you think she would be? People who can only beg others for help deserve to become lunch for the Flame Dragon."

That was the last straw for Yao. The notion that a sincere prayer from the depths of her soul could be compared to a selfish request filled her with explosive rage.

She drew her sabre and ran against Giselle.

However, Giselle's scythe was faster than Yao, Rory was too far to intercept. Itami was too late to grab after Yao. Her curved blade arced down at Giselle.

In that exact moment, the black scaled dragon get loose, throwing the hard net off from itself. Jumping on the free prey. Pounced against Zeno who caught off guard, nailing him to the ground with its hard grip.

The hero tried to struggle as he lost his shield and weapon, but it was in vain. The dragon's sizable claw held him firmly, squeezing him against the ground. Grabbing his dagger, he tried to stab the dragon's claw, but it was in vain. Its scales are too sturdy to penetrate.

Lunging its head back, Zeno spotted the jet of flames slowly gathering in the maw. Closing his eyes once more. He gave one last look at everyone around, smiling one last time. He felt no fear; he felt calmness.

Julian, Merryforge, Slapstorm, Meguminoi, Itami, Yao and the good Medhirt. Until now, all of them was good companion. Until now they were faithful friends, even if he knows Itami and Yao since a few days.

For first, it seemed, it is all over, Giselle and the dragon will slaughter them. Even Zeno can't save them. Even the exhausted Rory can't protect them. Merryforge was out of bombs. Meguminoi and Itami exhausted from the continuous fight. Slapstorm is dying. Tuka and Lelei are unconscious. Julian had no chance. Hamusuke attacked, but thanks to a lucky tail swipe from the black dragon were thrown far away.

"Stooop!" Medhirt shouted trembling. Reaching towards Zeno who accepted his death. Or it seemed, he grabbed the crystal on his neck and seemingly murmured something. Like a prayer. When…

 **"Grrrrrr!"**

"Ahhhh!" The dragon's head caught away hearing the menacing growl. A sudden burrowing sound and his master's desperate cry followed.

Above Giselle, a towering menacing creature. A giant black wolf with bright fur, with crimson eyes that seem to burn and were full of intelligence. The wolf completely overpowered Giselle, nailing her to the ground. It's size immense, almost the size of a truck.

Towato as the dragon called tried to reach for Giselle, but a sudden tail swipe threw it away. Then, an immense weight landed on its back, nailing him to the ground completely.

Two immense dragons landed not far from the group. Two dragons with crystal-like scales. Their size was at least two times bigger than the former Flame Dragon was. Their eyes dimmed menacing red, threatening to devour the world itself.

Towato struggled but was unable to get up. He was squashed on the ground by a strange figure towered above him.

For first, the oppressor looked humanoid. Bearing the size that was only a slight bit larger than the young dragon was. But if you observed it a little bit more, you recognised, a reptile-like creature stood tall on its two clawed legs that pushing the dragon down.

For first, the creature resembled of a lizard, or more like a dragon. It had a dragon like elongated face. With several horns sprouting backwards from his skull. In its mouth sharp fangs row after row lined. Long reptile-like tail sprouted above its tailbone. From his back two crystalised, scaly wings sprouted menacing.

Its eyes slit, sapphire blue. Its scales almost prismatic, giving away a slight emerald humm. The dragon lord's armour was metallic, golden, befitting his status. In his hand, a majestic golden spear, releasing a sinister light.

 **"Hush! Stay on the ground! Brat!"** his voice boomed. Both Giselle and Towato trembled, feeling the primordial presence of the lord of the Dragons they froze.

Looking in the direction of the band, or more specifically at Medhirt. The Dragon Lord sneered and murmured. **"Today's kids can't get enough excitement."**

"Fa-Father!" Medhirt gaped, kneeling immediately before the Sapphire Dragon Lord.

 **"Remain put, lass. We will speak later."** He scolded his lastborn.

The remainder of the group also kneeled, giving the proper respect. As well, spotting the two smaller figure and a man's impressive figure heading in their way. They can't act otherwise.

"Oi! Fen! Be gentler!" The black wolf turned to the female voice and whimpered slightly. Stepping away from Giselle, Fenny growled one last time at Giselle, making the demigoddess gulp nervously.

The voice called back the black wolf belonged to a tomboyish looking young adult with dark skin and pointed ears. Compared to the elves of Falmart, her ears were longer and settled mostly horizontal, signing she is from Ainz's kingdom. She had golden hair and heterochromia, her left eye blue and right eye green. She wears reddish-black dragon scale leather covered by a white and gold vest embroidered with the sigil of Ainz Ooal Gown.

Below it, she has a matching set of white trousers and gold plated shoes, and around her neck is an acorn necklace emitting golden light. She is equipped with a whip around her waist and a giant, decorated bow on her back. In addition, she wears a watch given to her by Ainz, which has her creator's, Bukubukuchagama's voice recorded on it.

The female on her side was also an elf. Her hair white as the snow combed neatly in a geisha bun. Her eyes are heterochromatic like Aura's own. Although her left eye was almost glinting white, the other is yellow. Like Aura, her face was also boring the beauty befit to a royalty.

She wore a red kimono, made from quality material. Embedded with a pattern that resembled of flowers. Coloured silver and gold. Around her waist, a black obi settled. In her neck a necklace that resembled of a pentagram. On the top of her head a crown made from some kind of strange metal, emitting a golden aura.

They were escorted by a senior man. The man was in his late 60's. He has dark grey hair as well as grey eyes, and he wears heavy red armour on the battlefield.

Itami's eyes widened. Not only because of the two dragons those dwarfed the Flame Dragon from earlier. But recognising the man walking on the side of the two females. "Du-Duran-dono… Ra-Raidyn-san. You here!?" He shuttered looking at the king of Elbe who walked as he had never lost his limbs in his charge against in the JSDF base. As well, spotting the elf who aside from the hair hauntingly resembled of Momon's companion.

Itami was immediately elbowed by Meguminoi who kneeled not far from him. Observing the situation, Itami shuddered, realising, it is better to kneel. So, he kneeled, lowering his head and gulped.

Looking around subtly, he recognised, if not the adventurers, the male, female ratio around him would dangerously tilt towards the weaker sex. Surrounded by so many beautiful females, he felt himself in a harem doujin.

Zeno slowly gets up and kneeled. Slowly, several more figure landed, riding on hippogriffs, half horse, half eagle creatures. Carrying themselves proud. The armoured guards were all elves. Varied in kind, and height. But all of them bore the lean, beautiful characteristic of the race.

The guards formed a neat path towards the group, Aura, the unknown elven woman and Duran walked proudly.

Giselle tried to get away, just to the second later a chameleon-like creature with three pairs of legs restrained her with its long tongue. "Get off me!" she yelped.

Looking around, the elven queen hummed. "Hmm… I see we arrived in time." She said.

"Oi! As always, Akemi-sama. As expected from the sister of a Supreme Being!" quipped Aura happily.

Yao, Kom and Crow were still confused. Unable to do anything else, they watched the scene confused.

Aura's eyes caught up with the trembling Hamusuke who desperately tried to make herself as invisible as possible. Even looking at the Guardian of the Sixth floor filled her with dread.

"Oi! Hamusuke!" Aura yelled happily, waving at the hamster. Hamusuke just bowed her head humbly. "A-Aura-sama. Yo-You are here!?" The wise king of the forest asked trembling.

Aura nodded grinning, then spotted the restrained dragon. "Ohhhh!" She gasped. "Akemi-sama! Can I have it!? Please! Please! Pretty please!" The elven queen just chuckled seeing the childish enthusiasm of the guardian.

"Has Ainz-san authorised it?" Akemi stopped for a moment, glancing at Aura with a motherly rigour. The guardian of the sixth floor lowered her head. Her ears perked down like a disappointed child.

Akemi just chuckled, patting her head.

"Have it then. I am sure I can convince Ainz-san in some way." She waved her away, Aura's long ears perked up immediately. "Really?!" Akemi just nodded, but before Aura could leave, she raised a finger. "But don't forget to bring something nice to your brother. He deserves as much." Aura nodded enthusiastically and jumped before the black scaled dragon.

"~Oi! Hello there, beautiful! I will tame you then!~"

Seeing the dangerous light lit up in the dark elf's two coloured eyes, poor creature trembled in fear. If not the Sapphire Dragon Lord's restraining Towato, he had been fled long time ago.

The black-scaled creature watched the dragon Lord pleading, in return, he just rolled his eyes. It was since around one hundred and fifty years he swore alliance to the Sorcerer King and his enforcer. But he could never get used to some of his servants.

After the defeat of the Platinum Dragon Lord, most of the remained dragon Lords either fled or swore loyalty to Ainz.

Hamusuke sighed relieved, she had survived, at least for now.

Walking before the group of kneeling people, the announcer started the introduction. "Her Majesty, the governing queen of the Elven province, in the name of the Sorcerous King Ainz Ooal Gown, breaker of chains, Lady of the crystal forest, Urcheon of Erlenwald..." After the lengthy list of titles, the announcer finally introduced all three present royalty.

First Akemi, then Aura, then Duran.

Akemi just sighed uneasy, massaging her forehead. Duran watched her amused. Some kind of playful glint lit in his ageing eyes. Now, as he regained his sight fully, his field of vision was clear.

"Akemi is fine…" she breathed. Her smile returned to her face turning back to her audience. "Please forgive our lateness. As you may know, politics can be really tedious."

Zeno and the group still bowed their head. Itami slowly got up and scratched the back of his head embarrassed. "Yeah… As always… hehe." he laughed nervously, just to earn one more hit from the still kneeling Meguminoi.

"I mean, your Majesty." he corrected himself.

Multiple weapons pointed against the first lieutenant as he moved, making him back up. "How dare…!" The leader of the escort raised his voice. Akemi just waved him off, giving her guards a look that said; it is fine. "Yeah, they can be." She continued, smiling pleasantly as the guards lowered their weapons.

"Fortunately, we managed to come up with a suitable deal. A deal all three sides will profit."

She looked at Duran who nodded in unison. "Although, king Duran insisted on coming with us. He as well had a hefty deal with the dark elves. Just as us. A JSDF representative later will drop by."

"Well, I can only believe what I see, and after Akemi-dono healed me. I can't help but request a personal attendance." The King of Elbe explained, watching the group and Akemi. In truth, one of his requests was to ride on the dragons.

Spotting Hamusuke, his eyes widened. "Oh! What a majestic creature!" He shouted. Itami sweatdropped. He was still unable to understand why people think Hamusuke as a majestic beast. Exotic, maybe. Majestic? No way!

Akemi turned to the adventurers. "Please rise, Sun Knight Zeno. You and your group did well. You will receive your reward after you returned home. I will make sure of that."

"Thank you, your majesty." He stood up as ordered, then continued. "We managed to defeat one of the dragons. But one of us…" He bit his lower lip. Looking at Slaptstorm's body. Medhirt tried to resurrect him under the calm. But the scythe of Giselle is cursed. No mortal can survive the slash.

"I see…" She nodded with a stern face, waving, a few of her guards to recover the body of the dragon under the rubble. Ainz requested one for his experiments anyway.

Rory watched her curiously. She felt the radiating divine power from both Aura and Akemi. And the Sapphire Dragon Lord was not far behind when it came to the divine presence.

Giselle still trembled, unable to stay anything, held hostage by the two divine beasts. The gods of the other side came. Even if she is an apostle, she can't survive. She may be strong, but she can't compare to a god. Not speaking there was two who she faced. "Uyyy…" She yelped, feeling Fen's hot breath on her skin.

Walking near the dead beastman tracker, Akemi looked at the still kneeling Medhirt. Tears stained her beautiful face, grieving her friend's loss. "I assume, you are Medhirt, right?"

She nodded humbly. "Ye-Yes, your majesty."

"Your father spoke a lot about you." Akemi smiled, offering a friendly expression.

Her eyes widened, looking at her father's half-transformed the state. Recognising his youngest gaze, the dragon lord just huffed and looked away.

As most dragon lord of the old, Sephiroth as well was able to change form. His full dragon form was twice of the size of his hybrid transformation. He may not felt the need to use his full power. Thus, restrained himself to appear more menacing.

"Re-Really?" Medhirt blushing looked away.

Akemi nodded, looking at the victim. "Please stand aside." The dragoness obliged standing on the side.

Raising her hand, the elf queen started her simple invocation. Poor Tuka and Lelei were still out of the cold. They would gape what's coming next.

The eyes of the dark elves, Itami, the two apostles and King Duran, widened as Akemi cast her incantation. "[True Ressurection]!"

The best man's body bathed in light. Slowly rising, he started to breathe once again. Rory pouted, being a little bit upset, her god lost a brave soul. She felt the spirit of Slapstrom forcefully dragged back from the realm of Emroy.

And once, this terrifying power filled her with awe, fear and wonder. Where that power came from? Why these newcomer gods willing to do what the Falmart gods aren't? She stumbled in the darkness. She needed to know more.

If Giselle was not terrified enough, now, she wanted to curl up and hide. Grabbing her head, she gritted her teeth. "Impossible…" she muttered.

Accepting the resurrection, Slapstorm breathed relieved, all of his wounds disappeared. He was exhausted from the after effect of the technique, but after a little rest and training and he will be fit to fight once more. "Thank you, your Majesty."

"Don't mention it. First is in the house." She stuck out of her tongue and winked playfully.

Meanwhile, Duran shook his head, walked to Itami and explained the situation. He spoke with the first lieutenant previously, not long after he recovered back in Arnus. Under their chat, he came to know Itami a little bit better and formed some kind of respect towards the First Lieutenant.

Under their current chat, he told him about what happened while he was away. Told him about the assassination attempt that the JSDF prevented. And made him know the deal between the JSDF, The Sorcerous Kingdom, and the Kingdom of Elbe. And of course, the closing vassalization of the Empire.

Previously, Duran missed one of his eye, a leg and an arm. But thanks to the mysterious magic of the SKEF representative, he was completely recovered.

Akemi walked to Giselle who still did not yet fully recovered from the shock, looked at her and sighed.

"What to do with you…" She massaged her forehead tired.

"Ahh… I surrender?" Giselle asked confused. Apparently, there was no right answer to this question.

The blue demigoddess knows it very well, begging to a god was meaningless. Gods were very capricious beings. She only hoped, the god before she will be merciful.

The roar of several F-4EJ Phantom II cut through the skies, making Giselle flinch. "De-Demons…" She shuttered.

Akemi smirked. "No, science." She whispered in return.

After the booming sound of the barraging jet engines. The vibrating sound of several AH1S Cobra Attack Helicopters and UH-1J multipurpose helicopters followed, escorting the JSDF representative. A compromise had to be made so the SKEF can pass the territory of the JSDF, even if they can do it without any kind of warning.

The vassalization clause still not in effect. In a few days, it most likely will be. But until that. It was the territory of the JSDF and the Kingdom of Elbe that the SKEF passed. The political connection had to be maintained. Pesky politics you may say…

Itami looked in the far, watching the rising sun sighing, swiping the perspiration away from his forehead.

What awaits him? Even the gods don't know. Only one thing is sure; he would rather be at the doujin conference than here.

Thus, this is how the hunt after the dragons ended. This is how Itami and the group came, fought and prevailed… At least, somewhat…

What awaits clan Dushi? Only the future can tell…

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Well, this is it. I hope it was enjoyable.**

 **Sorry for the long wait. I have a life to live and the work piled up in my workplace. As well the school is interfering with my writing session. :S**

 **I have a few important announcements before ending the chapter.**

 **Due to** **my lack of time, I need to put a few of my stories on hiatus.**

 **So I can give the proper attention to my two main stories.**

 **Under the last few chapters, I recognised the quality of my chapters started to drop drastically. Avoiding this I decided to put the stories named [Overlord Effect] and [Falling Star] under the flag of hiatus. So I can spend more time to work out the details properly and to proofread them more than once.**

 **As well I will completely rewrite the Seven Deadly Sins x Overlord crossover called [Ronin Akuserarēta] in sometimes in the future. Maybe merely turning it into a simple Seven Deadly Sins fanfic.**

 **I hope you understand my reasons and not swore my name in loud.**

 **Thank you for your patience. The next chapter will come when it is ready. :)**

 **In the next chapter:**

 **The beginning of the end;** **the vision of the dreamer.**

 **Good luck! Good winds!**


	22. Calm Before the Storm, Devouring Doubts

**Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There**

 **by oblivon2991**

 **Proofreader: aGuestfromGreece45**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.**

 **I don't own the _Overlord_ (** **オーバーロード** ** _Ōbārōdo_** **?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **Please review it. I know I will make mistakes that I intend to correct and will try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

* * *

Nanami was indeed excited. Being her job was to stream events as a reporter, she should have had already gotten used to the process, but in light of the recent events, and thanks to her minuscule stage fright, starting a report was always tricky, especially when her manager had ordered her to interview a bunch of weirdos. Especially when she exactly knew where her sister was serving just now! It made her work even harder and sourer. She was indeed worried about her sister's safety.

Wrapped in a full body pink costume, her slight but elegant makeup was barely visible, but it was well enough to give her face a new light. Being Shino's sister, she was almost her exact carbon copy. Brown hair, stocky but great figure with sizable assets. The traits passed down of the women's branch of the Kuribayashi family since generations.

If not for her longer, shoulder length hair, less muscled, flair stature, and the slight, minuscule differences on her appearance, everyone would confuse her with her sister.

(Some people would do it anyway on the family gatherings.)

Fidgeting nervously, she prepared for her report, making sure her appearance was pretty enough for the live feed and the camera.

Behind her, the strange, ancient-looking edifice stretched. Or at least, the always vigilant steel and ferroconcrete dome were visible well enough. The structure the Japanese government had raised around the 'Gate' after the Ginza incident.

It was a necessary precaution against the invaders.

Last time the Empire used Wyvern riders to assault Ginza from above, but not anymore! If they tried to invade again, first, they would need to get through the sturdy fortification, then the soldiers, tanks and automated AA units stationed in the buffer zone, not to mention the countless reserve units garrisoned in the closest base, which were ready to jump and bring down the hammer on the invaders once more.

Behind the high fence, numerous troops bearing the badge of the JSDF did their daily duty. Some units had just arrived from the other side, while a few of them had just left to relieve the freshly arrived soldiers from their extended, otherworldly obligation.

Day after day trucks went in and out, delivering and bringing supplies, spoils of war and similar things. The traffic was constant. Because of this, the sturdy metal gate separating the structure from the outside world only closed when it was necessary.

Several soldiers bearing the badge of UN just passed the structure.

Several civilians before the high fence watched them with awe and admiration, but a few of them, only a few of them gazed them with spite and alienation. There were even some JSDF members who spat after they left, cursing the UN for their measly attempt to take control over Japanese soil.

The UN soldiers varied in nationality and gender. Men, women, Americans, French soldiers, Germans, etc. Every major and even a few minor UN members had sent troops to contribute to the cause.

After the Demonic invasion of the Capital, the representatives of the United Nations managed to pressure Japan to let a few of their units take part in the operation. Take a slice of the cake. Referring to the fact it was not the internal affair of Japan anymore. Those creatures and the presence of a most likely space capable civilisation was a threat that warranted such action. They needed cooperation to solve the situation.

Not speaking about the appearance of the beings that were strong enough to throw city-sized meteors like confetti. It was a real enough threat to make a move.

Some representatives even suggested installing underground nuclear silos on the other side, lest the Sorcerous Kingdom turned against them. Some said, merely blowing up the edifice would be enough to get rid of the problem, make sure no threat could pass in their world. Some urged a military campaign against the Sorcerous Kingdom, referring to the fact the subjugation and the takeover of the Saderan Empire were too much.

Many members offered many opinions, many solutions. In the end, the council settled with a more subtle solution for the time being. Sending peacekeeping forces in the area that helped the work of the JSDF, subtly preparing the ground for future operations. Complemented with so-called 'supernatural investigation teams' that they had sent on the other side. For the time, they couldn't do anything more without raising the suspicion of the kingdom.

There was only one thing they all agreed:

If the Sorcerous Kingdom continued its aggressive advancement, if it threatened the surveillance zone of Hill Arnus. They would make a move, an aggressive one if it's deemed necessary.

To protect their interest, they were even willing to risk an all-out war.

Because the politicians were all aware, no other tools remained to use.

Being the Sorcerous Kingdom's economy was based and settled in a completely different world, (Who knew how far), threatening them with sanctions was just as effective as depriving a herbivorous animal from the meat. Useless. They could simply brush it off without any reaction.

Announcing a cold war like status between the sides would most likely backfire.

It was hard to admit, but if they did that, the first side who would request the re-establishment of the diplomatic link would most likely be Earth. The resource-rich lands of Falmart and the unknown, advanced technology of the Sorcerous Kingdom were just too much to pass on.

Not for a primitive Empire. Not for the people of Falmart, for whom most politicians cared not.

Before the appearance of the kingdom, the politicians were only interested in the minerals, the magic, and the human resources that Falmart could offer.

But with the vassalization of the Saderan Empire coming into effect around a week, the operations in the territory of the former Empire would become somewhat cumbersome. Lumbering without the permission of the SK, it could even cause forceful displacement from the Special Region if the sides clashed. A rope was pulling that they would most likely lose.

Not to say… It was an unacceptable outcome! Nations like China and America needed those resources! At all costs! And they were willing to gamble with the devil himself if they had to, just to make those territories their own.

A few UN representatives and businesspeople were concerned in the earnest; most saw the opportunity in the situation to grab the control out from the hands of the Japanese government. Thinking, their wealth and their influence would protect them against the creatures, the godly and ungodly forces that resided on the other side and beyond. They couldn't be more deluded… there were forces… you could not trifle with.

Forces a simple mortal who couldn't even comprehend the depths of arcane couldn't measure up. Forces they would never be able to understand…

Now, a crowd had gathered before the cordon that separated the buffer zone, the structure, and Ginza.

"T-This is Nanami Kurybayashi, reporting through a live feed from Tokyo, Ginza district," announced the woman dressed in an elegant, pink costume. Her face was slightly flushed, perspiration pouring down on her shapely cheeks. Her forced, twitching smile was trying its best to keep itself fixed.

Nanami stood before the sturdy looking fence that separated the buffer zone and the outside world. Just before the neutral zone that separated the passageway from the Special region and the Land of the Rising Sun.

Around her, the streets were lively as ever. For a short while, the district where the structure appeared was abandoned and only military personnel walked near the structure. But now, after around only a few months, the trade thrived. Many small shops had opened in the vacated buildings, offering the exotic goods of the other side, inveigling many tourists in Tokyo.

Offering photos, small replicas of Rory, Beelzebub, Ainz, Boozes, Pina, Tuka, Lelei, Momon, Raidyn and the apostles, and many more things. Some of them even sold life-sized replicas of the weapons they bore.

In all honesty, in a few makeshift podiums, there were even a few preachers, preaching about the significance of the structure. Proclaiming annihilation or encouraging the people to worship the new deities that had revealed themselves. Amongst them, there was a group ever growing in size and influence.

And the name of the group was:

"Heralds of the Supreme Ones!" announced proudly the man standing on the side of Nanami.

The girl eyed weirdly the strangely clothed man.

His clothes consisted of a strangely designed priest garb that was more of a stylish knee long coat than a real priestly attire, that mixed black and white, lavished with blood red, gold and silver lining. His hands were covered by white, silk gloves that were marked with symbols. Left with an unholy, right with a holy one.

His chest was emblazoned with an infinite ouroboros symbol forming a dilated eight closed in a pentagram and holy looking Viking runes surrounding it. Despite the strange design, his guise, combined with the tie, was simple, yet elegant.

In his left hand, the man held a strange staff with the head of a demonic skull combined with angelic wings, while in his right a leather book covered with a pentagram and runes.

He looked precisely like a person who was a sect leader or a cosplayer who had spent too much time on his costume.

Nanami still couldn't believe she had to interview such a weird guy. The only fact that consoled her was that she had been chosen to visit the other side and deliver a report first hand.

Soon, in a few days, she would get to experience everything her sister had spoken about under their short meeting.

"Is that so…?" she breathed, trying not to cringe out from the strange man behind the glasses.

"According to our information, your organisation is ever growing. When did it start? Since when your 'religion' took roots? Is it a cult?" Collecting herself, she declared her next question, pushing her wireless microphone towards the man's mouth.

The man just smiled, both his style and laugh were like a devil's. Charming and tempting, yet, hiding some attractive danger.

"Answering your first question. Nanami-dono. Everything started a few weeks ago when Lord Beelzebub visited our humble country with his entourage. He gave us the necessary funds seeing our devotion."

"I see…" Nanami's gaze nailed the man, still offering her handheld microphone to him.

The man nodded confident ever smirking, then continued. "Secondly. Yes, and no."

Nanami tilted her head confused, for a moment watching her colleague behind the camera for help. The cameraman in return just pulled the neck of his shirt uncomfortably.

Seeing she would receive no help from him, her attention turned back to the leader.

"What do you mean?"

"Many of you may call us a cult. Many say it is a religion. But it is neither of those. It is a party, an association between people, comrades who believe in the same thing."

Nanami just tilted her head with a twitching eye. _"That's called religion…"_ she whispered annoyed in her mind.

The man spread his hands like a prophet, holding his fancy staff and the leather covered book. "We, my brothers and sisters believe the same thing. With enough contribution, the Supreme ones will recognise us! Take us under their wings and guide us towards a better future! Progress and prosperity await those who join the Supreme Ones in their heavenly realms!"

Leaving a small pause, the leader continued, looking around momentarily, inviting the surrounding people with his gaze.

"Brothers and sisters! The time is rapidly closing! The first signs have already showed themselves! Decline the false gods, abandon the false religions that only exist to stuff the purse of the false prophets, promising false ascension in exchange for money. False hope for praying!"

Hearing his bold statement, many watchers, be they watched the mediation personally or online either scowled angrily, switching the channel immediately, swore to kill the man, or became even more interested.

"Signs? What signs do you mean? Suzuki-dono?" asked Nanami immediately, not even letting the man continue. Grinning and turning towards her, a small, but nonetheless, a present uneasy feeling started to boil up inside Nanami's stomach.

Many people listened to the report, both online and in the scene. A small hub of a crowd started to gather around the duo.

Suzuki chuckled. Gazing Nanami behind his glasses, pushing it up in his nose, making him look like a villain for a moment.

"The disturbing movements on the far east, the thriving corruption of the governments, the appearance of the holy passageway, the appearance of supernatural, the arrival of the Shinigami and his son. All of these were warning signs."

Nanami gulped, knowing not what to say.

"Lord Beelzebub gave us the noble task to spread the news and prepare the people. And finally…" Suzuki pointed in the nearby projector where an interview with Auriel played, her words subtitled in the lower part of the screen so that everyone could understand it.

Her face was beautiful, radiating divine radiance. Above her stylish wimple, a sizable halo floated, constructed from sacred flames. Her every word, her every motion carried the charm befit of God's messenger. The impersonation of Holy Mary.

Many people mistook her for the Holy Maiden's incarnation, thus, fell to their knees and prayed.

"Not only has his son given us his blessing." Suzuki raised a coin he received from Beelzebub.

It was an intricate gold coin emblazoned with Momonga's bare skull, the other side of it engraved with the crest of the Sorcerous Kingdom with the writing around the sides: 'One Hundred Momonga'.

Around the figure of the first side, an engraved text was visible, written on the strange, runic language of the Sorcerous Kingdom.

 _"Ascendit a terra in coelum iterumque descendit in terram et recipit vim superiorum et inferiorum…"_

(With great sagacity it doth ascend gently from Earth to Heaven. Again it doth descend to Earth, and uniteth in itself the force from things superior and things inferior.)

Nanami's eyes glittered, the cameraman zooming on the valuable gold coin that in truth was so pure when it came to the content of gold, and artistically so well made, it alone was worth several thousand EUR. At least, for a collector. It emitted some kind of aura of magic above all.

Waving the gold in the air, Suzuki continued. Flipping then catching the 'holy' coin in the air with style.

"Lord Ainz had sent us many warnings. He even appeared personally to teach us, to give us his personal intent! To warn our leaders one last time before the great descent! We strayed down from the path too much! The corrupt governments and politicians have been poisoning our minds for too long! He even sent his son to give his blessings, then he himself appeared, to correct our mistake, to show us a path! And now…" The leader of the organisation raised his hand once more, herding the attention of the 'lambs' on the projector.

"Now his bride, his messenger has descended amongst us, preparing the descent of the second Supreme One! The one who will judge us in 'his' name if we will not change!"

Somewhere, in a different world, a certain succubus just trashed the meeting room. Feeling someone daring to challenge the position of hers.

Around, the people started to shiver, feeling the malice Albedo emitted. Through dimensions, through worlds, through time, it was so pervasive, it penetrated the fabric of reality.

Turning back to Nanami, Suzuki nodded his head.

"Nanami-dono. If nothing, then this will surely convince you." The cultist placed his hands on Nanami's shoulders, holding her gently, bowing his head calm.

Of course, the petite girl backed, eyes wide, she was not sure what to do.

"The time has come. It is up to us to change. Or we will never reach the domains of the Supreme Ones. Be with the Supreme Beings once more as we intended. As they came to save us."

His tirade was indeed convincing. It made many people around flock to the nearby stand the cult had set up, taking pamphlets, buying shirts or souvenirs.

Nanami shook her head, chasing away the momentary haze. The daughters of Kuribayashi clan were never the ones who could be easily deceived. Neither was she that much of a religious person. She rather preferred real things.

But as a reporter, her work was to smile and oblige, offer a fake picture to the person interviewed. Entertain the audience.

"Interesting. Please tell us more." Just now, her manager spoke through the earplug inserted in her ear. Placing her delicate fingers on it, she nodded thoughtfully. "I see…"

0

Turning back to the man, she needed to end the mediation. "It seems our time is cut short. Maybe next time, Suzuki-san?"

The leader of the cult smiled devilish. "I am sure we can find some time and place to do it. Maybe, a personal interview would better fit to know us a little bit more…"

Nanami's face lit hearing the alluring words of the man. Maybe she was not a strict believer, but the man was just her type when it came to appearance. She couldn't help it.

"Su-Sure…" she shuttered, then turned back to her colleague who held the camera. "Th-This was Nanami Kuribayashi, here and now. Ginza, Tokyo. Stay with us again. Until next time!"

The feed cut, for the jitters of many people.

Outside the weather started to turn spooky. Dark clouds gathered in the heavens, foreshadowing an ever grave threat. Closing, no one could stop it.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Earth: Somewhere: Secret meeting point:**

In a grand, somewhat gloomy room, around a great table, several important looking figures took a seat.

The table was made from some kind of strange material that resembled black marble, yet it was completely different, carrying some sort of godly power. Each seat where the members sat was designed for the owner, directly to fit their tastes and heritage.

Each one of them seemed important enough, still, differed in appearance and style of guise. There were Greek, Norse, African, Egyptian, Infernal and Angelic, Vampiric and many more. Each leader had gathered to discuss the situation, find a proper solution to the problem.

Amongst them, two beings excelled, not only in appearance but about where they came from.

The cyan coloured Cocytus stood vigilantly on the side of the sitting Auriel. Not because the organisers of the meeting would not bring a suitable seat for the burly warrior if he had asked for it, but because he preferred to be standing. Inspecting things from a higher angle was much more comfortable for him.

Besides, Cocytus enjoyed the thought of him being ready and not caught off guard if something unexpected happened. This is why he kept his Godslayer Emperor Blade always prepared. The weapon his creator, Warrior Takemikazuchi entrusted him before his disappearance

Yuri and Entoma had already been sent back to Nazarick, reporting everything they saw and making sure everything was prepared if needed.

In truth, in the room, several muscled men sat with similar stature like Cocytus. Moreover, there were even beings that were bigger than him several times. Menacing figures with the skin of adamantine.

Looking around, what the Arch Seraphim Auriel saw in the faces of the gathered few was the slight desperation mixed with anger radiating from most of the faces. She completely understood, of course; such threat could not be taken easily.

The meeting had started since a half hour, yet no conclusion had been made at the time.

Hitting the table hard, one of the figures stood up with a grimace settling in his face. "This is ridiculous! Why are we holding back our forces!? What are we waiting for!? Let's go out there and show them our might! Let's show those abominations what happens if you face off a god!"

The one who raised his voice was a Norse man with a majestic beard, his face weathered and his eyes blue. A rich fur cloak hung from his back, his body covered by a padded leather armour made from Asgardian Adamantine, the metal used by gods themselves to make armour and weapons. On his side, the legendary hammer, Mjölnir with all its might and magnificence hung, forged from the heart of a dead star.

The man's name was Thor! (as you may suspect) God of Thunder! The Warrior God Par Excellence!

Hearing his yelling statement, a second man snorted in amusement. "And what can we do? Send more of our forces into the meat grinder? If you had read the report, you would have known- Oh! 'God of Thunder!'- the more forces we send, the more of our forces will fall a d the more comes back like those, 'things…'"

The second who spoke was a businessman like a figure in the middle of his thirties. A messy looking black hair sat on his head, his eyes slit emitting infernal light. His tanned skin and appearance were dashing, sporting a devilish red suit.

Thor suddenly hit the table, jumping up. "I will flay you alive, demon!" He was on the verge to use his legendary hammer when a third one raised his hand.

"Please, gentlemen. Be at ease; we are here to discuss the situation and come up with a suitable solution."

"Hmph… you are right. Please forgive us, great spirit, Ananse," apologized the Devil himself, Thor just snorted and sat back in his seat.

The man wearing a spider mask nodded in acceptance. He was from the African continent, wearing simple leather gazelle tribal clothes, painted with snake and spider symbols. He was Kwaku Ananse, the spirit of all knowledge and stories.

"Michael? Any idea?" asked Lucifer the woman sitting not far from him. Despite what the Biblical mythology said, Michael, or in the current case Michaela, was a woman, or at least took the form of a woman.

Her hair golden, messily bob cut, reaching her shoulders. Her eyes were glowing in a light green light, her pupils golden. Her body was covered by a slightly armoured battle priest garb dyed in gold and white.

Yes, she indeed resembled the Commander of the Heavenly forces the Bible described her figure.

She sighed concerned, looking back at the fallen with tired eyes. "Our heavenly forces have been pushed back. The invaders had more allies than we first suspected. The best I could do was to concentrate my forces near the gates of heaven. We can't let them enter that holy place, or all is lost! If they reach father's armoury, or even the warden complex, who knows what they might release? We can't risk that!"

The third figure snorted sarcastically.

"Keeping all that stuff in one place was a stupid idea indeed. Your father was a genius…" ruffed sarcastically the snake-headed woman garbed like an Egyptian royalty. "When I first met him, he always mixed up things. Bringing his annoying light in my peaceful darkness, placing things where he should not…"

"Kauket! That was just rude!" scolded her his colleague, the god with the head of a bird, clothed in the male version of what Kauket wore.

Lowering his head humbly, he apologised. "Please forgive her; she is a little blunt for her own good," Ra glared dangerously at his fellow Egyptian god. The mother of darkness huffingly looked away with crossed hands.

Breaking the descending silence, a fourth impressive figure broke the calm.

"In the current state, we can only do that much. We are already stretched thin. We can't protect every world, not without risking our complete defeat in the first stage of this newly surfacing war. I propose to set up an elite force consisting from the best of our warriors, meanwhile sharing our resources and knowledge about the situation. Together we can find an adequate solution advantageous for all sides," Zeus spoke, like an ageing Adonis, garbed in a golden-lined traditional Greek gown. His beard majestic and flowing, his eyes smouldering, lightning dancing in his blue orbs. Looking at his side, Zeus started to grumble quietly.

"How many times do I have to say it, get dressed properly. You are bringing shame on me if you show yourself like this." Like, father his daughter, he scolded the person on his side. That was a woman wrapped in a modern business dress. A bun adorned her head.

Her brow twitched, expressing her annoyance, crossing her arms over her modest chest. "Zeus! How many times I have to say it, this is the dress code for such occasions! Not all of us are stuck in the past like you and a few present members!" Her brown eyes scanned the room, accusing the present members of the chamber with her glare.

"Young Miss! Why you refuse to address me father, as intended?" inquired the elder man with a sour expression.

"Because you never acted as one," spat back Athena disgusted.

Cocytus and Auriel watched each other surprised but expected such thing after Lucifer gave them a fast course about the relationship between the gods of this universe.

Albeit, they would have never spoken with their creator in such tone, they somewhat understood them after hearing Lucifer out.

Watching them for a long moment, Cocytus and Auriel were aware, the gods in the scene only resembled humans because of their current residence. Similarly to why the sphere took the form of an orb, the reason was that in this way it could ensure it always stayed at the lowest energy level possible. The gods and most ethereal supernatural beings took their current form to make sure no unnecessary energy was wasted.

And because being Earth settled near one of the seven pillars of creation, it was easier to blend when they conducted business.

"Onii-chan! I am bored!" yawned the Goth schoolgirl with fiery eyes, stretching forward on the table with a flattened cat-like expression. She sat near Lucifer.

"Be patient, Leviathan-chan. The meeting will end soon," cooed her the man with a loving smile, patting her long hair a few times. It was kind of strange, not an expression you may imagine the king of liars may offer.

"I am bored, can't I just go out and hit things? I certainly want to taste those bugs," she grinned, her mouth unnaturally enlarged showing her rows of rows of needle-like teeth. Black coloured corrosive saliva poured from the side of her mouth. Droppings that Lucifer immediately cleaned with a white napkin.

"Ara-Ara. Be patient little Levy."

Suddenly, her stomach growled aloud. She immediately gazed around with a flushed expression, searching for a light snack, making many guards around the room to shiver in fear. Knowing her nature, it was not surprising.

The Emperor of Hell for a moment massaged his brow, looking around for help.

Auriel chuckled seeing the childish nature of the monster hidden under the surface. She couldn't help it; she just resembled so much her mother when she was hungry.

Waving her hand, the Arch Seraph recovered some food from her inventory, using her divine magic to re-materialise it before the petite girl.

"Here, here! Eat! You must be hungry, little one."

The Goth immediately dug in, sparing no effort to thank.

'Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!' the meat and the various dishes mixed in one culinary masterpiece broke under her teeth.

Lucifer just sighed seeing the blunt attitude of his protégé.

"Thank you, Lady Auriel. My little niece can be a little…" He watched her eating without reaction, stuffing her mouth with the seemingly endless meal. "Can be a little blunt."

"Don't mention it," she simply waved away the acknowledgement with a gentle crackle. "I always carry some extra food. Master's metabolism is kinda fast, so she consumes her meals in every few hours. And she can be rather…" Auriel looked at Cocytus for help. The frozen warrior simply shrugged his beefy shoulders.

Although he didn't say anything, he gave the expression: _'Don't look at me. I can't help!'_

Giving up, her attention turned back to Lucifer, finishing her sentence with a sigh. "She can be rather moody when she is hungry."

"I see…" Lucifer and a few more supernatural beings gulped, imagining the moody state of the creator of such immensely powerful person as Auriel was. At least, from the radiated power, he suspected Cocytus, and she were the most powerful beings in the room.

A chuckling voice came from the other side of the table. More precisely, it came from a small naked figure with ghostly glowing complexion and sky blue hair. His appearance was that of a child in his teens, missing all kind of genitalia.

"I would like to meet her; she must be fun." His transparent, fairy wings fluttered in excitement.

Auriel just watched the small figure cluelessly, albeit, she recognised his being, he or she was a fairy.

"Oh, please forgive me. I just arrived recently." Chirping in his thin voice, he stood up, bowing. "Erlkönig, the fairy king. At your service, esteemed guests."

 **"You are late, morsel,"** came the booming voice from the direction of the standing giant. It, or more like he was a sturdy man with metallic skin grey in colour. His body was covered by crystal armour, his eyes glowing yellow.

Zeus smirked, turning his attention to the freshly arrived giant king. "Ah! PORPHYRION! Long time no see. I see the wounds I inflicted have healed rather nicely! Up for another round? Eh? Partner?"

The giant growled at the Olympian, wriggling his shoulder scowling, but refusing to answer. On his side, a giant, red, round shield, and a Warhammer made from liquid settled.

"Just to let you know," Erlkönig sat cross-legged, gently resting his head on his folded hands. He was completely calm, even closing his eyes. His mocking attitude just radiated from his posture. "I needed to make sure my people were safe before I departed from my kingdom to attend this council. You know, not all of us can leave everything behind like a mad bull. So, just βάλλ' εἰς κόρακας. Moron!" Smirking, he said nothing more.

PORPHYRION's eyes widened hearing the insult; he was on to raise his hammer when Lucifer raised his hand.

"Please, be at ease. We are here to solve the situation we have been forced into. You can solve your meaningless prattle after we have finished with the discussion. If it helps, after the dust has settled, I am more than willing to offer one of my arenas to settle this difference between the two of you."

"Hnn. Good enough for me," Erlkönig turned his head away.

 **"Fine then!"** The giant king looked away huffish like a child.

Nodding, Michael continued.

"What about the Odin force? Thor, what is your father and the rest of the Asgardians doing? They were supposed to be the peacekeeping force of our coalition. Yet, all we hear about is them retreating!"

Thor was not angry; it was indeed strange. It was since some time he had received answers from his father and his heavenly home. Before he could answer, the woman on his side overtook him.

"My husband and his forces are doing their best, but they are overwhelmed, our forces are not sufficient to protect everything. If we do it, we will spread too thin. Protecting the nine realms and making sure the enemy can't step in Asgard is burden enough. Whatever we are fighting, it is strong beyond our capability."

"I see. Thank you, Freya. That explains a lot. The attack caught us off guard." Michael accepted the answer, nodding slightly towards the redhead woman.

Her bright blue eyes twinkled, clad in an artistic styled coat. Her guise mixed the modern and the ancient arts, adorned with Norse runes.

"What do we do then? Without us intervening, the protected worlds will fall," asked the worried Athene.

A smile curled on Lucifer's face, turning his vision against his 'guests'. "I think, we should ask our guests for help. I think, if we ask them nicely, they will be more than generous to help us out."

 **"Bringing outsiders here was not a wise step,"** stated the giant king, crossing his arms with a frown, eying Cocytus with a dangerous look. In answer, Cocytus just exhaled a freezing gust of air, cracking his mandibles dangerously.

 **"They may be as well the spies of the enemy."**

"I assure you, they are not. Now then, let's listen to what Lady Auriel and Lord Cocytus can add. They have agreed to help us out in this time of need the best they can. The least we can do is to listen to their offer. Any objections?" asked the king of the liars, who in one person was the founder and co-leader of the coalition, gazing around once more. His slit eyes glowed dangerously, scanning the room for grievance.

Aside from a few objecting glowers, everyone nodded in acceptance.

"Good… well then. Lady Auriel, Lord Cocytus. What do you propose?"

Cocytus nodded, watching Auriel start speaking. "Thank you for the opportunity, Lucifer-san."

She stood up.

Her light was brilliant, behind her back six pairs of wings stretched majestically. Above her head, a sizable halo constructed from holy light settled. The two eyes of her dimmed in sacred blue light, scanning the present members. With a calming smile, she started her introduction.

"Please, let me introduce myself and my colleague once again. I am Auriel Michalis, the leader of the Silver Hand, the Paladin Order of the Sorcerous Kingdom and a devoted follower of my master and the Supreme Beings." Everyone nodded.

"It is nice to meetcha!" quipped Erlkönig playfully.

She nodded, then turned slightly to Cocytus. "And he is my colleague, the leader of Lord Ainz's personal guard squad and the ruler of the beast tribes in the Sorcerous Kingdom."

Cocytus just exhaled a breeze of cold air, crossing his four arms above his chest. His mandibles were crackling, making many members of the pantheons tremble in the cold.

Michael watched teasingly the Arch Seraph, some kind of familiarity burning in her bright green eyes. It was like she had seen her somewhere sometime in the past.

"So, what do you propose? What can we do in this situation?" asked Zeus immediately, leaning back in his comfortable, marble chair, pushing his fingers together.

"Honestly, not much…" stated Auriel coldly.

 **"What!?"** multiple chairs creaked, signing that various members had just jumped up from their seats.

"Oh! Care to elaborate?" asked back Michael amused.

Auriel looked up. "Cocytus-san. Please explain them."

"Your. Tactic. Is. Wrong." stated the Knight of Nilfheim coldly. Everyone was silent for a moment.

 **"And what's wrong with it? You say you can come up with something better? A better tactic than the best tacticians of all Pantheons were unable to come up with? Hmm?"** The giant king's anger was understandable, and not without reason.

These unknown people had stepped into their world, speaking like they knew everything better, completely neglecting every other opinion! Trying to claim what's not theirs!

PORPHYRION was right being angry. Fortunately, on his shoulder, a reasonable head settled. Thus, he restrained himself the best he could.

"What do you mean Lord Cocytus? What do we lack? Care to elaborate? Forces? Resources? Tactics? Anything can help." The one who asked was Michael, inspecting the two newcomers with curious eyes. Especially Auriel, some kind of strange interest brimmed in her oculars, searching for something on the girl.

"No. You. Are. Wrong. At. First. Sight. Your. Forces. Are. Sufficient. Your. Resources. Just. Enough. To. Win. This. War. You. Only. Use. Them. In. The. Wrong. Way. In. The. Wrong. Place. Albeit. I. Can't. Say. Anything. More. Without. Further. Analysis. Of. Your. War. Infrastructure."

"What do you mean?" Now, Zeus was frustrated. Those people were just wasting time meanwhile his forces were dying out there. His worshippers!

Cocytus was utterly calm despite the tone of the god, answering honestly. "You. Over. Abuse. Defensive. Tactics." he exhaled heavily. Everyone stared at him, waiting for an explanation.

"Instead. Of. Defending. You. Should. Seek. Out. The. Leader. Of. The. Enemy. And. Behead. It. Before. It. Is. Too. Late. It. Will. Demoralize. And. Confuse. The. Enemy. Giving. You. Enough. Breathing. Room. To. Plan. And. Consolidate. Your. Forces."

"Don't you think we already tried that?" frowned Thor. "We sent our best to assassinate the commanders of the enemy. Most of them were either killed or captured or transformed to those things."

"What about a trap?" Auriel offered. "It can certainly work, right? There must be something the leader of the enemy wants, or it wouldn't massacre so recklessly. Thinning their forces that much just to find that thing."

Cocytus handed her a map. Auriel cleared her throat. "According to our reports, your forces might be stretched beyond measure, but currently, the numbers of the enemy are few. The problem is, most of the time you use your worshippers and mortal people to defend your borders. What's your excuse of throwing away so many precious lives? Hmm?" Her gaze was strict, almost piercing as she gazed around in the room.

"How…" gasped flabbergasted Ra. Kauket just snickered hearing her fellow Egyptian god's reaction. She cared not about the lives of mere mortals. She only wanted fun.

"It is easy. Intelligence gathering," she stated the obvious, brushing her blond lock away.

"Ah. So you are not only lollygagging around here. Clever," Lucifer commended with a cocky grin, not even sparing attention to the glares he received.

"It is only natural. After all, this is an unknown world for us. We always do our homework. Not only at home, but here as well. Our espionage network is the best, don't forget that."

Subtly, the Arch Seraph glanced at her side, feeling like a uniformed young boy with cat ears slipping out of her detection area.

"And what did you learn? I assume you are not here to boost your ego," Freya stated the obvious in a calm tone, resting her chin on the back of her hand.

"Hmmph." Auriel brushed away one of her golden locks. "We learned that if you continue sending your armies against the creatures, you'll only bolster their numbers. Thus, accelerating your defeat. Be they are supernatural or not, be they are space capable or not, or using those fancy magic rings like those lantern guys. Simple beings like them have no chance to win this surfacing war."

Everyone looked at the leader of 'those lantern guys'. In answer, he raised his hand defensively, saying nothing but just sighing in defeat.

"The enemy is evolving at a terrifying rate. Feeding their numbers at this point by sending weak units against them is pointless. It is either you act personally or accept a slow defeat. You need to consolidate your forces and organize your counter attack. Alone, you are weak; together, you are strong. Don't forget; the enemy seeks to divide you, to break you, to demoralise you. Don't let fear spread amidst your ranks. The only thing you can do is to counterattack. Beheading the snake in the best moment will most likely cripple the enemy. If it is some kind of hive mind, eliminating the hubs or the source itself will completely cripple their operation, giving you a chance to counterattack."

Leaning back in their chairs, folding their hands before them, the leaders looked around, waiting for the answer from each other. "Okay. Any idea where we can find a suitable bait?" Zeus actually was sarcastic; he had no idea what should they use. He neither wanted nor was willing to sacrifice his precious treasures.

The crowd was silent, no one dared to offer their own property to stop the invasion.

That's what they were. Greedy little gods with a big ego. Even now, in this time of need they refused to give up their treasures or even their power. They indeed resembled their mortal counterparts at the moment.

In the end, it was Ananse, the African spirit of knowledge who glared at Lucifer and the people around. His eyes flashed, the usually always calm spirit standing up and leaning above the table.

"You really are incapable of changing! After all these years. The people in danger! Yet you fear the worthless treasures of old, the power you received by using these exact people, the mortals! You are still protecting that 'thing' the first one sealed a long time ago! You all know, the unchained beast is seeking its master without stopping! You know it is the key to its freedom! You know its power! Yet, you are ignorant, hiding it!" The masked man hit the table hard, cracking it slightly. "Have you no shame!?" His harsh voice echoed amidst the walls, making the members either shrugging to look away or look down in shame.

"What. Is. He. Talking. About?" Hearing him out, even Cocytus moved, crashing his mandibles hard. His hand grasped hard the handle of his Godslayer blade.

Ananse looked at Lucifer. "Tell them, or I will."

Lucifer just sighed, massaging his temple. But before he could even speak, Leviathan preceded him.

"He is speaking about the one the primordial one sealed before its departure from the living, under the structure the residents of this world call: 'Stonehenge'."

Auriel squinted her eyes; she knew that structure, it was mentioned many times in the archives of Nazarick as well her master's private library.

Actually, her brother had investigated that place before and found it to be lying above the most robust ley line they had ever measured around the nearby solar systems. Perfect location for a prison. An ideal place to lock something away. Not speaking about the nearby pillar strengthening its integrity marginally.

Linking the seven pillars and routing their powers here by using subtle methods could create an ever-growing loop, growing in volume and strength, creating the perfect prison for something immensely powerful.

Auriel sighed tired, shaking her head. Waiting for a few moments for the others to speak, she then stated her defiance.

"You don't have to tell. Of course, in that case, we can't help. Neither we are willing to risk our lives to a lost cause."

"We. Are. Not. Fools. Running. Into. Our. Death. Be. It. No. Matter. How. Heroic. It. Is." The words of Cocytus were cold. He spoke like a true tactician. Indeed, he had learned much under the past two hundred years.

He had learned to plan ahead. He had learned to call for help if needed. He had learned to rearrange the lines and retreat, fight from a more advantageous position if it was neccesary. And last but not least, he had learned, rushing into your death, be no matter how heroic it was, only a fool did that. Even an honourable knight like him could see the truth and measure the worth of life to not be thrown away recklessly. Only a fool would fight without knowing its enemy first.

The whole room was silent. Auriel exhaled a short breath, standing up disturbed.

"Cocytus, we are leaving. We need to prepare our defences at home. Convincing stubborn people is a fool's errand. I will notify Creator-sama. Unfortunately, her visit will have to be postponed for the time being. Embarrassing myself with your incompetence as leaders would stain not only Creator-sama's but Ainz-sama's reputation as well. I would not dare to face the Supreme Beings once again if that were to happen."

With a few elegant steps, she headed towards the double doors leading to the lobby. No guards dared to stop, neither to speak to her.

"Yes." bowed his head the insectoid warrior, grabbing tightly his blue halberd that all along stood on his side. Turning away, he followed the Arch Seraph.

"Father!" Athena glared at Zeus. The elder god's eyes widened in recognition. His daughter had finally called him father. Something was wrong!

"Wait!" Raised his hand Zeus suddenly, the recognition dawning on him. His tone was that of a defeated person.

"Hmm?" Auriel stopped, slightly turning back her head, her elegant brow raised.

Zeus bent his head in defeat. It was indeed a tight situation. "We will tell you everything."

"Good…" She sat back at her place, folding her hands together. "Well then, tell us everything. From the start."

"Huh… very well." Thus, each of the present deities told their own version of the story. How the primordial one battled, struggled, and finally earned a sour victory. At least, according to the tales their predecessors told them.

* * *

 **Scene Change: A few days later: Falmart: Near Hill Arnus:**

Amidst the shadows, unknown entities moved. Moved not by natural, but supernatural forces. Their bodies were ethereal, entirely impervious to attacks coming from the physical plane.

For the naked eye, they were completely invisible. Only using a third eye or similar divination techniques could trace them, and even then, it was hard, being that said creatures specialised in hiding themselves even from such detection methods.

Patrolling the edge and the insides of the JSDF base, they were completely aware what the JSDF was doing. The creatures mentioned above were [Greater Ethereal Wraiths], ghost-like creatures, constructed from pure ether. Taking the form of a floating fog creature without legs and two evilly dimming green eyes floating in the dark fog, their swirling arms ended in sharp-clawed fingers, which were completely capable of hurting physical beings, as well syphoning away their life essence if necessary. Exerting mid-tier mind control was also amidst their capabilities.

While simple wraiths were vulnerable to sunlight and sanctified items; the Greater Ethereal Wraiths were entirely immune to simple sunlight and weakly enchanted holy items. They could only be harmed by attacks generated through supernatural/magical methods.

Although the few earthly supernatural spies hidden in the ranks of the JSDF and the soldiers of the UN peacekeepers were still present, they only served as a minor nuisance for the spy units of the Sorcerous Kingdom roaming through the hexagonal walls of the JSDF base.

But even now, a few exceptional individuals walked the lands of Sadera, coming through the gate. They brought the necessary knowledge to set up a somewhat effective ward around the base. Not enough to completely stop the Sorcerous Kingdom espionage, but enough to make them work for their money a little bit harder.

Two of these individuals I spoke about were not in the base. Oh, no! They were a little bit away. More precisely, they were just visiting the settlement built near fortress Gown.

Above the fortress, hidden by the magic: [Perfect Unknown], several individuals floated. One of them was a masked demon. Suited in a nice British suit, behind his back a metallic bladed tail sprouting.

He was accompanied by several demons, angels, Nephalem High Sages and Elder Liches clothed in dark robes.

According to the rules of the DMMORPG YGGDRASIL, demonic and angelic beings had the ability to lock dimensions. This exact ability could be learned through conventional means, but its full capacity could only be utilized by the creatures mentioned above.

To let you remember, Nephalems were hybrid beings with both angelic and demonic blood coursing through their veins. Thus, they as well were able to use the ability with great efficiency.

The previously mentioned [Nephalem High Sages] were robed in a dark armoured gown, the plates on their robes coloured stained gold. Under the darkness of their hoods, a scaled face sprouted with cracked red and blue scales. Under the cracks, darkness and light sprouted, continually escaping, giving their strange faces the radiation of twilight darkness. Their eyes were dimming in a malicious red light outlined with blue. Above their heads, a black halo stretched bathed in holy flames. And of course, two noble, angelic wings stretched behind their backs, taking the colour of swallow black and white. The metallic tail that sprouted under the robe was an additional plus.

They were high-level summons, mainly specialised for magical support, defence and battlefield control.

Inspecting the scene down below, Demiurge was satisfied with the progress. He should have had simply sent his subordinates to monitor the situation, control the whole operation, then directly pass down the report when everything was set.

But this exact enterprise was important. Not because Ainz ordered him to prepare the environment for this action, but because Zero sent him the grave facts of what's going on on the other side.

As Ainz had ordered it personally, he would have done it anyway, monitoring the situation directly. But after hearing out Zero's fast situation report about the other side and the approaching threat, he couldn't do anything else but to entrust his other tasks to his subordinates and concentrate on this task entirely.

This was too dangerous to entrust it to anybody else!

The Elder Liches, the angelic and demonic beings scattered, floating above the hill in a magical hexagonal formation. On the ground, the hidden units did the same, closing the ring in both above, on the field, even under the base.

Inspecting the formation from afar, Demiurge scratched his chin. "Hmmm… Almost ready. Fluder-san, what do you think?"

He turned to the man on his side. Robed like a true archmage, the man's face beamed confidence. His hair and beard were white, neatly trimmed, he was maybe in the midst of his thirties.

"Hmm… I think it will suffice. But if I may ask, Demiurge-sama, why did you call for me? Forgive me for saying this, but my knowledge cannot compare to yours, either to the Supreme Beings in this area of expertise. True, in the past I had studied dimensional magic, as well since the structure appeared, my knowledge has grown on the topic considerably. Still, I think I am not worthy to inspect such a sacred ritual."

"Kukukuku… Don't sell yourself so low, Fluder-san. You still play an important role in the plan. After all, with your knowledge and unique talent, you can sense disturbances even we are unaware of. So please, inspect the ritual for us. Will you? Say if you detect anything out of place."

Fluder's eyes flashed in an excited light. He almost started to dance in the air for his joy. If not for the presence of Demiurge, he would have most likely lost his cool. But instead, he bowed his head humbly. "I-I see… I am not worthy. To be recognised by such godly beings! I am truly humbled."

Demiurge just nodded his head. "Umu. Observe and report if you see anything suspicious."

"As you wish."

…

A few minutes passed, and a figure materialised near the Prince of Darkness. "Demiurge-sama. Everything is set. At your command, we can start the dimensional separation. Just a warning, the process may irreversibly damage the connection between the two sides. There might be the case where we can't open a stable connection anymore..." Her tone faltered in the end, filled with hesitation.

The one who appeared was a feminine monster, dressed in a tight-fitting bondage outfit with a crow head. She was the Evil Lord of Envy.

"We are aware of that, thank you. Only at my command, only then start the ritual. We need to make sure everything is prepared. It is critical in such operation. Please check everything once again," the Prince of Darkness replied immediately.

Hesitating for a moment, Envy burst out. "Pl-please allow me to refuse the order, Demiurge-sama," bowed the Evil Lord shaking in fear.

"Beg your pardon?" Demiurge asked suddenly. His tone carried no malice, just impatience towards an explanation. Albeit, he suspected the reason why Envy dared to defy his order. Still, he just waited patiently, waiting for the report.

"Ainz-sama and Esdeath-sama, they are still on the other side!" If you ever wanted to see a demon worried about someone, now was the time. Watch and be amazed! Envy's words were filled with concern and fear that she would not see her masters anymore. She literally shook, waiting for the punishment for her defiance.

"An-And… What about Cocytus, Zero and Auriel-sama? They are still on the other side! Demiurge-sama! Please, I beg you! We can't do this!"

Demiurge turned back to the structure in the far. Clicking his tongue, his hard, tail twisted uncomfortably.

"Ainz-sama's orders were clear."

Fluder and Envy froze, unable to decide what to do. "Bu-But! If we separate this world from the other side, there might be a chance he could never return!" pleaded Fluder with a desperate look, flailing with his hands. He would have even dared to grab Demiurge from his collar if he wasn't aware of the consequences.

Demiurge didn't even bothered turning his head. He repeated the order slowly. "Ainz-sama's orders were clear. End of discussion."

"But…" Envy muttered once more, squirming in fear. Hearing the defying tone of the demoness, Demiurge's aura changed, taking a violent red tone. Fluder, the creatures, and even the Evil Lord of Envy felt themselves pressured. It was like they were ants, and Demiurge was a mountain.

"Personal orders. End of discussion." His tone was filled with annoyance, but the trace of worry clearly distinguishable from it.

Although reluctantly. The servants couldn't disagree, they could only oblige.

Demiurge positioned himself back to the covered edifice. In his waist hung a giant-red oriental scroll. Gently resting his hand on it, he could only stare the base underneath him.

"I hope you know what are you doing, Momonga-sama. I promise, if anything happens, I will not rest until I bring the two of you back. I swear to all I hold dear," he muttered inaudibly.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Hill Dalnus: Dreamscope: Near Fortress Gown:**

The settlement near the Grand Fortress of Gown thrived. Since its foundation, more and more people arrived, and it only existed for around four months. For now, its size had already reached the point where it could be called a small city. Its outer borders were stretching around two miles away from the majestic layered walls of Fortress Gown.

Since its foundation, the small settlement had been ever growing, with permanent population reaching three thousand-four hundred and sixty-nine and increasing day by day, while non-permanent, transiting traffic reached the one thousand on a daily base, and was increasing too.

Around and inside of the city, the constant patrols of Death Knights, Nephalem Guards, and every other kind of creature was a regular sight. Though, the simple guard force consisting of simple living and unliving beings was still the majority of the patrolling troops.

Simple people with the work and training of a guardsman, varying in race and kind, wearing uniformed guard armour.

Be the Sorcerous Kingdom had a significant supply of monsters beyond comprehension, even they couldn't risk thinning too far, or it would take expense on their operational capabilities.

The patrols were constant on the streets, and you may consider the small town the most secure place of all Sadera. If we didn't consider Rondel, the Academic city of mages, the shrines of the thirteen deities of the world and the JSDF base itself settling in Hill Arnus.

In the streets, the shops were always open, either operated by the living or their unliving counterparts, offering goods day and night. The freshly built inns were always full, housing the newly arrived travellers, traders, or the passing by adventurers.

The merchants gained generous amounts of money by selling their exotic inventory on this side of the Gate or selling the merchandise that according to the traders was unusual, but in truth thoroughly everyday products in the Sorcerous Kingdom. Of course, governmentally financed Consumer Protection Inspectorate existed in the Kingdom. But it couldn't be present everywhere and the merchants usually found a way to defend themselves from the accusations. As always…

Albeit, it happened fewer times than usual. Being every merchant who wished to set up a shop nearby had to elicit a specific trading license to offer their wares in the area, the license only the strictly regulated Sorcerous Kingdom Trading Association could release. To fake such permit, it was almost unheard of. Being it was a personalised document recorded in the governmental archives and protected by sophisticated magical encryption algorithms to minimize the risk of falsification.

If someone tried to tamper with the document, it immediately sent an alert to the authorised personnel, triggering an investigation procedure conducted by a government-issued investigator team.

Many traders sought to offer their wares in the newly explored world. Thus, even using undead to process the merchandise requests, receiving the license could take a week, if you were unlucky, even two.

Bureaucracy and paperwork were present everywhere, even in the Sorcerous Kingdom, slowing the process in a few cases.

The centre of the small, but growing town was the already multiple times expanded Administrative building where day by day numerous people turned heel, taking care of their shrewd businesses.

Thanks to the Liches who took care most of the administrative work and worked non-stop without pause, the administration took less time than expected. You may say, if you wanted to address your driving license fast, don't look further. Chose the line where the Lich worked and pick-pack, your paperwork had been taken care of.

Unlike living workforce, undead such as the Liches did not need to rest, either to pause, neither to eat nor to drink nor to breathe. Thanks to the undead racial immunity, effects such as mental exhaustion were completely ignored, the undead workforce of the Sorcerous Kingdom could work day and night and still be able to work as effectively when they started. In many aspects, they were indeed superior to their living counterparts.

You may say an undead worker was the dream of a slave driver employer who sought efficiency above all else. The only disadvantage of the Lich administration workers was their inability to feel sympathy towards living beings. Like every undead, they were evil creatures created by the accumulated negative life force of the deceased.

The original purpose of such being was to eliminate their living counterparts. Thus, it was to be expected. Because of this, many social workers of various races worked in the administration office to complement this weakness of the undead, to ease the shock the newcomers experienced when they faced with such unfeeling, undead creatures.

Indeed, in the past, Liches were such dreadful creatures that were considered a grave threat. Only the most experienced adventurers could face them, and even then after strict preparation. Elder Liches were even worse; few lived the day to encounter one, even few returned sane enough to tell the tale.

Yet, in the current day, under the rule of Ainz, undead as they were acted as simple office workers, docile like it was completely natural.

The streets were almost wholly pawed with stones. The dwarf masons and their hired workforce indeed worked fast, even faster after the expedition army ensured its support by sending a few skeletal workers to help them out.

"Come on, lazy poke! Place those bricks over there!" shouted a well fed dwarf overseer, pointing in an empty place.

The fast evolution of the small city was mostly thanks to the architects who masterfully implemented the design borrowed from their home. Also, there were even magic casters who helped the construction, specialised to the art of Magiarchitech, the skill to raise structures and build things with the help of magic.

"Oh! Amazing!" awed a few magic casters. They had come from Rondel just to see the miracles the newcomers could produce, inspecting as one of the Kingdom's Magiarchitech practically raised a residential building from dust. The building would serve home for the freshly arrived refuges near the border of the town. The new, unknown magic made the mages of Rondel agape in adoration.

It was not the most popular field of study in the Magic Academies of the Sorcerer Kingdom, but it paid well enough to worth taking it.

The cistern system under the town worked as intended; only the final touches remained before its finalization. A sewer system that with the help of magic crystals, transmutation, alchemy, and several ingenious methods was able to recycle the waste and transform it into something advantageous and useful.

You didn't have to ask, most likely even Rondel lacked such technological innovation that started to surface in the newly established city. About the Capital of the Empire, they surely lacked such modern cistern system, if they even had one.

Somehow, despite the existence of magic, the world of Falmart was still stuck in the ancient times, middle ages maybe. Something hindered the development of the people. If deliberately or unintentionally, no mortal knew.

Only one thing was sure, from above the skies, several heavenly beings watched the development with the mix of worry and annoyance. Seeing as the people thrived down below, seeing as the newcomers slowly conquered the hearts of the people with their innovations. Fearing, if this went on, slowly but steadily, the people would realise, with a little craft, they could substitute the heavenly miracles they provided them easily.

Amongst these people, several JSDF officers walked, escorting two VIPs.

Amongst the JSDF escorts were the members of the third recon team, Sergeant Major Sōichirō Kuwahara, Sergeant First Class Akira Tomita, Sergeant Takeo Kurata, Leading Private Daisuke Tozu, Sergeant First Class Shino Kuribayashi, Leading Private Higashi and a few UN soldier accompanying them.

"Ah! Man! The First Lieutenant is so lucky! Going on an adventure with so many beautiful ladies! Ah, so envious!" Daisuke bowed his head with an envious expression.

The otaku Kurata looked around, searching catgirls in the crowd.

Not as he hadn't seen a few interesting things around. No, on the contrary, it was the paradise for an Otaku like him. Since his arrival, there was no day he did not encounter something new.

Adventurers, legendary monsters and magic. All of it around himself. From time to time gryphons, unicorn-like horses and other supernatural mounts flying over the skies, either patrolling or transporting the travellers.

"Awww! I wish Perisa-chan was here! Without her, it is not the same." With a blushing face, the Sergeant remembered the cat maid of the Myui household.

Under the short time, the two of them had spent together; they warmed to each other quite well. And since a month, he had even managed to call her on a date, and she accepted it! Can you believe it!? A guy like him calling on a date a beautiful girl like her, and she accepted it!

At first, even he was unable to believe it. But now, he was just glad he gathered the courage to do it. A strange warm feeling filled Kurata's heart as the pink haired cat maid came to his mind.

"Ah, Sergeant. You and the maid. I would have never thought," joked Daisuke with a grin.

"Can you believe it? I am so lucky!" grinned Kurata, boasting with his luck.

Kuwahara just shook his head and watched Kuribayashi for a moment. For a few seconds, she did not react, just inspected her surroundings. Only after a few more seconds of staring the Sergeant First Class responded.

"Sergeant Major Kuwahara, is something wrong, Sir?"

The senior of the squad just smiled under his nose, shaking his head. "At ease, Sergeant First Class. You seem more nervous than usual. Is something bothering you?"

Shino looked before herself, considering her next sentence. "It is just my stupid sister. She made me swear to ask for an interview from either Prince Beelzebub, Momon, Rory or Raidyn. How the hell should I know where they are? How the hell should I ask a royalty, or demigods to give an interview to a simple reporter?"

Kuwahara sighed, recognizing it was not the real reason behind her uneasiness.

All of them were uneasy since the demonic invasion of the capital. All of them had suffered some kind of trauma seeing those horrible creatures. Either facing them personally or helping under the damage control.

Every soldier processed the shock differently. Some sought professional help, some buried their sorrow in some kind of hobby, or work, or got crippled by the trauma, maybe forever. No individual was the same.

It was not surprising if he thought about it more thoroughly.

Monsters impervious to all kinds of regular weaponry and firearms. Monsters defying the conventional sense. Caring not about your humanity or your life, they just chewed and gulped you down brutally. Creatures which were stepping out from the Christian version of Hell, swallowing your soul, damning you to eternal suffering.

If Kuwahara was deeply religious, he would have retired right after the accident. If he had heard it right, several of his colleagues had done it already. Petitioned either their relocation to a different post or their demobilisation from the army, referring to the mental trauma they received after the mission.

It was not easy facing such monsters.

Fighting against them without specialised inventory equalled with suicide. Not speaking about the clash of the Demon Emperor and the Sorcerous King, Ainz Ooal Gown shook the heavens, making many people reconsider if it's indeed worth playing with giants as a simple ant. One misstep and the giant would squish them accidentally. That's how they saw the situation.

Supernatural creatures that were able to throw city-sized rocks like confetti was not in their pay grade. Not in the slightest. Fighting gods and demons was out of Kuwahara's and his colleagues' league.

The battle was so monstrous, even in Arnus the soldiers felt the shockwaves and the lights in the heavens.

Kuwahara needed to fill a form to raise the hazard pay if the higher-ups wanted them to work under such war-like circumstances. Raise it so it could compensate their families if they died.

Kuwahara was aware, mentioning it before Shino would not help in the slightest. It could actually make things worse.

Not under the action, not under escort mission. Neither was he trained to handle traumatised soldiers properly. Albeit, he had little psychological training, just the basic of the basics that the training regiment dictated. But Mari was much more specialised in healing both body and soul. Unfortunately, she performed humanitarian work in the capital of the Empire, which if he had heard it right, soon would be the vassal state of the Sorcerous Kingdom. Thus, it couldn't be helped.

The only thing he could do in the current situation was to comfort her and his comrades. Play along the best he could.

"Well, the small amount of time we spent together with Momon, Rory and Raidyn-dono they seemed to be pretty easy going. I think they wouldn't mind if you asked them when you meet again. Albeit, I don't know about Prince Beelzebub. I only saw him once after all."

"Make sense. Thank you, Sergeant Major," Shino bowed her head with a little smile curling on her face.

"You are welcome."

The chat continued, meanwhile, the two VIPs watched the environment. Inspecting it, peeling it like a weird banana.

"Shuuu…" the man exhaled a significant drag of smoke. His appearance was of a weathered, unshaven man in the midst of his forties, maybe fifties. His hair were dark blonde; his eyes sky blue. Several scars were visible on the back of his hand and his face, signing his veteran, battle-hardened past.

His clothes were like you may imagine, a typical burnt-out private detective from the nineties, that's how he looked. His clothes consisted of a weathered, tan trench coat, a wrinkled white shirt and a loose black tie. Under his eyes were several dark circles signing the fact he was indeed experienced, tired beyond measure.

The smoke permeated towards the slightly smaller blonde woman on his side, making her imitate a coughing motion.

"Cough-cough! Constantine! Please, don't spew your smoke in my face! I asked you before!" she tried to be polite, referring to the age difference. Albeit, her tone mixed a slight irritation and annoyance.

She was a young woman with blonde hair cut into a flare cut and red eyes. She had a reasonably broad-shouldered torso, yet maintained a very voluptuous and buxom figure, which was further accentuated by the fact that she was considerably shorter than virtually all of her allies.

On her back, a gun, no, it was more like a cannon, a weapon that shot various 30mm projectiles. Even looking at it, it easily weighted 60kg. No one dared to ask how she could carry it so easily, therefore she didn't answer.

The man, as it came to light, named Constantine did not bother with her plea, simply dragging one more sip from his silk cut cigarette and spewing the smoke out. "Don't whine; you are supposed to be immune to such minor things."

His voice was coarse, most likely from the chain-smoking he had been doing since his childhood. Coughing a few times, he dragged once more.

The girl just watched the man worried, using her enchanted third eye she was aware of his deteriorating state of health. "You should stop that. How many did you drag since the morning? Five? You will die soon if you continue like this."

"Eleven," answered the man uncaring.

"More reason to stop it," the girl snarled, twisting her expression.

Exhaling once more, Constantine looked up at the skies, wondering the big question.

"I am curious who will get my soul. The big guy up there? Or the greedy bastard down there? Or am I staying in the dark?" His tone was dead, like he already knew his fate, accepting his final destination as such.

The JSDF and the UN members hearing him out crept slightly away.

For a moment, the blond panicked, her tone softened. "Do-Don't say such things! You surely don't want to die, do you?"

"Who cares? Watching them pulling the rope will be satisfying enough," he chuckled, flicking away the end of his smoke and lighting a new.

The red-eyed girl immediately snatched out the cigarette, crumbling it into the trash. "You will die if you continue."

The man reacted under a moment, raising his talisman from his neck. An amulet that although resembled a silver cross was stretched in a pentagram encircled in a rondure and emblazoned by strange demonic writing.

The strange necklace glowed red for a moment, reacting to the presence of the surrounding magic and the girl. "You dust my smoke one more time, and you will spend eternity accompanied by Nergal."

The girl backed away, knowing the man's prowess as the expert of the supernatural and how to take care of such being the best way.

"Geez. So mean…" she mumbled, and the man pulled out one more smoke under his coat.

Shino leaned closer to Kuwahara. "Sergeant Major, tell me once more, why we are escorting this creepy couple."

Before Kuwahara could answer, the blond preceded him.

"We are not a couple!" the blond shouted, her unnaturally pale porcelain skin flushing immediately. Constantine just smiled, his cigarette nodding as his mouth changed curve. "Tell the kid!"

Shino also flushed. "I am not a kid!" she mumbled under her nose, most of his comrades laughing, earning a nailing glare from the short brunette.

Kuwahara shaking his head exhaled a gust of air, raising his hand, starting his explanation. "Sergeant First Class, as the orders of General Hazama's stated, we are escorting the investigation team."

"As if we need it…" noted Constantine sarcastically, rolling his eyes bored.

"Investigation team? What for? There is only an old geezer and a sexy police girl," Daisuke pushed his spectacles up on his nose, earning a slight pink from the red-eyed girl.

"I am not Police girl! My name is Seras, Seras Victoria," she explained immediately, almost clasping her heels in the form of a salute.

"But you were a police officer before," stated Constantine dryly, staring at the passing people.

"That means nothing!" Clenching and shaking her fist, she was getting more and more annoyed. Her mini skirt fluttered, the gap between her stocking and skirt showing her shapely legs. Her burgundy military styled shirt squirmed on her body as she shivered in uneasiness, remembering her first encounter with the supernatural in village Cheddar.

The members of the group laughed at her, even Kuwahara authorised a small smile for himself, shaking his head in the silliness of the situation.

"So, why are you guys here? It is not confidential, is it?" inquired Kurata amused, a small smile angling on his face, the light in his eye mischievous.

Seras shook her head, watching the passing creatures and the people from different races and kinds.

"Sir Integra ordered us to investigate the strange happenings and supernatural phenomena's that have appeared in this world. That's it," she put it short.

Simply put, the Iron Maiden of England ordered them to do that, having finally received the permission from the queen to send a small investigation force to the other side. Find out who these people were, and find a way to deal with them if necessary. If the method ended with the destruction of the other side, it was not her problem.

Being every high ranked member of the supernatural society knew about the existence of parallel universes, Seras wouldn't even be surprised if there would have been a world where she was the Major himself, or herself in her case. Albeit, it caught her off guard at first hearing such things exist. It was even more surprising hearing Constantine actually came from a parallel universe where Superman and Batman existed. Really, it just caught her off guard!

"Wow! So you guys exorcists? So cool!" quipped the Otaku with a broad smile.

Seras just beamed a gentle smile, while Constantine remained impassive. "I am not ordered, I am hired," he added indifferently; his lungs filled with thick smoke before exhaling. "Stupid old wench knows not with what she is playing with."

This sentence earned a glare from the blond Draculina, but otherwise, she remained silent.

"Don't get overexcited Kurata. There is no magic in our world," the cold statement of Shino made Kurata's mood dampen for a moment until Constantine added to his piece.

"Truly, simple people are so blind to the truth. They can't even recognise it. Not even when Lucie is waving his cock in their eyes, or Michael is brushing her pussy before them."

The members of the JSDF escort either blushed, stared or flinched hearing the cold statement.

"What?" asked Tomita cluelessly and a little bit surprised.

"Nothing," dragged his smoke once more Constantine, thick smoke leaving his mouth. "The thing is. They should have had asked for professional help when that hole appeared in the midst of Ginza. Immediately. Not delaying and piling up shit like they did until now. Sending a few tanks and infantry burn down, and bomb everything like savages, then moving a whole fucking base in this world like they were at home, shitting on everything. That's not how it works! There will be consequences of our uninvited intrusion. I am sure the deities of this world are already planning to kick your butt out."

"What do you mean? Emm… Constantine, right?" pointed at the weathered man Higashi.

The sorcerer just rolled his eyes hearing the clueless question of the leading Private. "That means, little man..." Constantine stopped, reaching towards his chest. Taking out a cloth napkin, blood sprouted from his mouth amidst his violent coughing.

The people around watched him with horror, afraid he might die at any moment. Watching him wide-eyed, after a few seconds, he stopped, spitting blood to the ground.

"That means." He slowly snapped his neck, making a few head circulations with a painful face. "You are Pinocchio dining in the table of a woodworker. He is watching you slowly eat because it amuses him. But what happens when he gets bored by it? Or when you finish your meal? Think about it… Little Red Riding Hood. If you like that analogy better."

Merely patting his forehead with two of his fingers, he continued his way.

"Hmm? If I remember it right, the story ended with a happy ending. Isn't the woodsman coming to save the girl and her grandmother?" asked one of the UN escorts in English.

Tomita remembered. It was how his mother told the story when he was a kid. Or at least, the Japanese version of it.

Constantine just smirked. "Not in the original one. In that, the wolf actually filled his belly well enough, then left. The woodsman never showed up."

The people froze, watching Constantine in horror. His statement was cold, not even sparing a glance.

"Man! What a bullshit!" Daisuke grunted aloud.

Seras tilted her head uneasily. "Ah, Daisuke-kun. Constantine is speaking seriously. Believe me. I personally experienced what kind of horrors he is facing day by day. Also…"

Lowering her head, she made small circling motions with her fingers. She looked quite cute at the moment. "I myself as well am not quite normal."

"What do you mean?" Shino questioned, but before Seras could answer, Constantine cut in. "The old wench will yell at you, again," he added in the end.

Seras shot upward like a stake, clenching her jaw shut. "Right! Thanks!"

After a small pause, Constantine continued. "I can't tell you much. But the truth is, we are dangerously outgunned in every aspect. Do you remember those guys from the diet?"

He waited for his companion to catch up.

"Ah! You mean Tuka, Lelei, Rory, Raidyn and Momon?"

"The latter three," raised his finger the aged private detective.

"What about them? True, they were strong, but that's to be expected. They are demigods after all," pointed out Kuribayashi like a smartass.

The ageing supernatural expert just shook his head chuckling.

"They are not just strong; their supernatural presence can rival the Lieutenants of Hell, even reaching Captain in the worst case scenario."

Hearing this, every member of the group gulped nervously, knowing captains were quite highly ranked in the military.

"What the heck!? Hell exists!?" gasped Daisuke in horror.

"How it is like? I mean hell." Now, the one who asked was Kuwahara. He was not a man who asked a lot, but this was what he needed to know. Seras as well was a little bit curious.

True, she was a vampire, but never before she had been in hell. Her master described it as a fancy place when he was around, but she had never experienced it before. Neither she wanted it, ever!

"That depends on." Constantine turned to them.

"Depends on what?" asked Seras curious.

Constantine smiled. "What do you believe? What kind of people are you? Everyone experiences their own personal Hell differently. The thing is, you don't go to hell because God judges you. He has no time for that. You go there because your own guilt is pulling you down. Or the ownership of your soul was passed down in one from the two sides. Because of this, even a total raping asshole can enter heaven, if he or she had the right mindset not to feel guilty for what they had done with their fellow humans. Or died completely elevated."

The people around stared Constantine with a heavy gaze, thinking he was just joking.

Constantine couldn't say for sure it was the same in this dimension, or a world or whatever. He could only tell what he had experienced in his own world before that dimensional portal sucked him up.

Damn that bastard; if he met him once again, he would push his sanctified boxers up his ass. He must have been around somewhere, the artefact that had sent them here laid in broken pieces when he last saw it. His rival couldn't escape without it.

Hell, he was the one who destroyed it, just to make sure it would not fall into the wrong hands.

"Einstein once said." Exhaling one last sip from his cigarette, the smoke flowed out from his nose.

"'God does not play dice…" Angling his head downward, he could only grin. "Fucking wrong. God is the biggest gambler of all history."

Thinking about the pact, the bet between God and Lucifer, he could only imagine one thing. _"What a joke…"_

"What about prince Beelzebub?" Suddenly Kurata interrupted his contemplation.

He was curious of course. His inner Otaku did not allow him to let such a chance go. He needed to know how strong the crown prince was. Since Itami spoke about Beelzebub's strange sword that cracked reality like a mirror, the magnificent attacks of Serene, and the light based attacks of Eleanor. His fantasy just couldn't let him sleep leisurely.

Itami, of course, could only see glimpses from the fight between the three heirs and the appearing shadowy apparitions. But it was well enough to describe them somewhat.

The fact they were too fast for him to see anything relevant was exciting enough. And Itami was not a magic caster like Lelei or by the help of the wind spirits Tuka was. Thus, he only saw Eleanor throwing fancy light based attacks one after another, dismantling the attacking shadows immediately.

Despite his lazy nature, Itami was indeed a good storyteller, the two of them had shared many fantasy stories in their empty hours of service.

Throwing the still smouldering stub on the ground, Constantine extinguished it with his shiners. "I have no idea. Neither I met him, nor placed measuring wards in his immediate vicinity. But if I had to guess."

Stopping, the group waited for the crowd to disperse a little bit. Watching as several Death Knights, Nephalem Guards, golden armoured soldiers and other heavy escort escorted a fancy, yet elegantly simple reinforced self-propelled carriage. Most likely fueled by magic.

Constantine was not sure how robust or what these creatures were any more, since coming near the base, the wards set up near the fortress didn't work, something dampening his every tries to gather information by his usual methods. Only his instinct and almost five decades of experience and knowledge with the supernatural remained.

His talismans worked as intended; he checked it many times. But no clear information was coming from them. It was like some kind of interference scrambling them like he was trying to see the bottom of the lake in murky waters. The whole thing was utterly fucked up!

His third eye worked as intended, gifting him with the grotesque picture of the real world around him.

"But if I had to guess. He is at least at the level of Lucifer or Michael. Maybe a little below them. Maybe above, I have no idea. Beings like them can suppress their powers cunningly." He said nothing more for a while, remembering the Lucifer from his old world:

…

 _Always walking barefoot, his legs covered with blood, usually wearing an elegant white suit, making him look like some kind of godfather figure._

 _A true monstrosity laid underneath the flesh, his presence always dreadful. Time and space were churning in his mere existence. Smelling fire and brimstone…_

 _"No. You will live, John Constantine. You will live. You will have the chance to prove that your soul truly belongs in hell. Oh, you will live. You will live …"_

…

Jonh remembered his words; he remembered them too well. Lucifer engraved them in his mind deep enough to never forget.

In his current state, he would be not even surprised if he would appear just to mock him. Laughing amused by his misfortune. Making deals only for his soul to fall into his possession after he died.

For a moment, Shino disturbed his concentration, asking daring.

"Awww… How strong are they?"

With a bored expression, he turned his head to the small lady. "I assume you know who Archangel Michael and Lucifer are?"

For this question, everyone nodded, remembering the figures from the Bible.

"Well, they can end humanity in less than a day if they wanted it. Or simply grew bored. Or simply annoyed. Mood chooses."

He nailed his eyes on the stone-paved road, thinking hard. "If we consider the one from my old world…"

"WHAAAT!?" Aside from Kuwahara, every member of the JSDF and UN shouted surprised.

"And I wanted to hit him…" mumbled Shino filled with horror.

 _"And I shared a bath with him,"_ gulped Tomita nervously, remembering when Itami and he casually conversed with the first prince in the hot spring.

"I don't even dare to ask that Ainz guy…" Shino lowered her head. A stink like depressive aura infected her immediate vicinity.

"Most likely beyond omega level."

"Be-Be-" For a moment, Kurata forgot how to speak. Then gulped terrified, knowing the exact classification of Omega level mutants from the X-Men series, every UN soldier gasping as well.

If we consider them the same as the ones from the X-Men series. No, even the thought of it was terrifying.

"Beyond OMEGA! YOU HAVE TO BE SHITTING ME!" he grabbed his head, earning many gazes.

"At the moment he appeared the whole supernatural world shook. I was around at that time, investigating the surrounding area of the gate. His appearance made my every security ward dismantle immediately. And believe me, I have been setting up wards since I was a kid. I know how to do it. It was like an incomprehensible outer existence forced itself into our world, refusing to cooperate, still winning easily."

"That means…" Seras gulped. Knowing what Constantine meant, she as well felt the suffocating presence. She felt herself gutted, dying in agony at that moment. Only after hours, she found the strength to stand on her feet once more.

Somehow, she did not feel Auriel's presence as clearly when she visited England. But that must have been because the Arch Seraph hid her real power, as Constantine mentioned.

Even thinking what would happen if Auriel revealed her full presence made the vampire shiver in fear. She would most likely had turned in a handful of dust by now if that were to happen around her.

"That means…" Constantine continued. "He can rip a new asshole in our universe if he wants to. If I were you, I would give my outmost respect to him and his subordinates if I ever met them again. Of course, if you still want to exist. But that's up to you. If you offend him, he might decide to erase Earth."

After this statement, no one dared to ask for a while.

Only when a Sapphire scaled colossal dragon, accompanied by two more crystal scaled similarly in size appeared on the horizon and flew above the settlement, they dared to open their mouths. The dragons were accompanied with several hippogriffs, escorting the dragons.

Even flying above the settlement, the winds generated by their massive wings made everything shake.

"Wha-What!? A dragon? Once again?" Shino gasped, watching Tomita, waiting for him to prepare his heavy weaponry.

Constantine just clicked his tongue annoyed. "Great, now they have dragons. Even better, primordial in classification. Fucking perfect. Cerberus can hide in his hole…"

With a slightly trembling hand, he pulled out a cigarette, lighting it finally, remembering the description and the pictures of the primordial dragons in the Hell's version of Bible.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Around a day later: Unknown location:**

There was a small bar on Earth called Post Hanc. For the outside, it was a simple bar. What made it special was the fact it was modelled as a modern European bar. At the counter, it was lavishly decorated in a Greek/Roman design. And as usual in such chic bars, behind the bar counter, several shelves stocked with fine wine and alcohol complemented the visuals.

The establishment was quite empty. It was always like this, not only now, but in every part of the year. You may ask, how a bar with such elaborate design could keep itself sustained and haven't closed a long time ago. Or even go bankrupt due to the lack of customers.

Well, saying it just like that, it was a special place. A place where 'talented' individuals gathered to have a good chat, or simply drink. And the prices, well, the costs of the site warranted it would not go bankrupt for a while.

Just now, aside of the bartender, a waitress, a woman with dark hooded robes, an old looking geezer with simple clothes (who was most likely the owner) who read his newspaper, and a businessman, the whole place was empty.

 _"Th-This was Nanami Kuribayashi, here and now. Ginza, Tokyo. Stay with us again. Until next time!"_ With the end of the iterate of the mediation, a washing powder advertisement started to play.

Hearing the show, the businessman sighed, leaning above his whiskey. It was Scotch whisky, aged, no added water or ice. The man had some kind of handsome mystical style, the aura of mystery surrounding him.

Slowly tasting, enjoying his drink, he was indeed the picture of a true gentleman.

He looked like a man in the midst of his thirties, with slick back, black hair neatly arranged on the top of his head. His face was handsome, bearing the traces of an Egyptian man, the man with royal heritage. His nose was well cut, wavy. A small goat beard was sitting on his chin.

His suit was well made, stylish violet with a red tie. The only thing that betrayed his spiritual heritage was his strange, coal black eyes with a triangle-like pupil and irises. Triangle in a triangle, upside down triangle yellow in colour, sometimes changing position and shape.

Above his chest pocket a small, golden brooch was visible, resembling a messy helter-skelter turning back to itself in a rectangle design.

Watching his reflection in his drink, he sighed. "Ah…" He was indeed disappointed. "That idiot just woke up, but swirling the shit already…" the man mumbled under his breath, turning his gaze back to the advertisement.

The bartender did not answer, just poured some more drink to his customer. His face mirrored a stoic picture of professionalism.

He was a tall, lean man, with pale-coloured skin and bright blue eyes. His white hair was messy, with most of his long, uneven bangs covering the right side of his face.

His bartender uniform was indeed lavish, consisting of a white long-sleeved button shirt, overlaid with a black vest and a red bow tie. On the bottom, he wore black pants, with a black apron over the top, and a pair of black leather shoes. On the left side of his vest, a pin was visible.

"Hmmm… Why are you saying this? Nyarla-san?" asked the waitress on his side. She was indeed a petite woman, not even reaching the 150 cm.

Her hair were coloured aqua blue, and her braided hair locked with a sky blue ornament. She had small eyebrows, medium sized yellow circular dangling earrings, and she had painted her nails the same colour of her hair. Her eyes were bright purple and had a traditional arbiter cross in her irises.

She wore a white buttoned top with puffy sleeves and a bit too large black suspenders attached to her black high-waist harem pants. Additionally, she had a red ribbon on her collar where her pin was connected to. On her feet, she also sported violet sandals.

The man just huffed, for a moment, not even sparing a glance to his questioner. His charm utterly disappeared. Something gloomy was bubbling up inside him. The old geezer until now occupied with his newspaper raised a brow, subtly eyeing the guest.

The black hooded woman just chuckled, feeling the inquiring nature of the old man.

"First, that idiot Hardy opened the portal to an unknown world that may not even belong to our dimension. Again. Then, those unknown entities started to visit our world. Until now, I found it funny, and even enjoyed the confusion of the humans and the supernatural. After all, Hardy has been doing her stuff for thousands of years. It was always stirring up the usual boring session of the world. I may say, I was even tempted to chat with that so-called 'Ainz' when I first saw him in the mediations. He seemed like a funny guy after all. Messing with him would surely raise my dreary days."

"Then? What's the problem?" asked the violet-eyed woman once more, giving a pleasing look at her customer.

Nyarla, as the woman called him, just clicked his tongue annoyed. "One of my idiot relatives woke up from the sleep. He broke out from the seals that the so-called 'God' and I placed on him, wreaking havoc amidst those pantheons. I don't know what the wardens are doing when I pay them more than they deserve, but they will be questioned. I guarantee it!"

The old man paged his newspaper, scanning it with his eyes, but attentively listening to the conversation. The dark hooded woman with skeletal tattoos in her hands pushed forward a figure on her chess table, smiling ever brighter.

"I thought you didn't care about this world; you are an outsider after all, Nyarla-san," unconcerned asked the girl, delicately raising her pink cocktail to her lips and drinking. The bartender was still stoic, cleaning the counter with a rag.

A small, but gently sad smile curled on the man's face. A warm feeling started to spread across his cheek. Maybe it was because he had drank too much, but perhaps because he remembered something pleasant, or on the contrary, sorrowful. Suddenly, he burst like a balloon filled with emotions.

"Since my birth. I could never really communicate with my father. Always busy, building, dreaming. Only after I woke up from my haze of adoration, I realised what he was doing. What kind of person he was. What he was planning to do to all of us. Why he had created us."

The old man sitting not far from them gave away a snorting chuckle, like he was amused hearing all of this. Ignoring him, the businessman continued.

"Still, even alone, even in my dream like state, I faithfully served father. Relaying the messages he unconsciously gave. Lived a full life. Enjoying everything this 'material' universe could offer to my kind. Not concerned about anything, travelling around amidst the seven pillars of eternity. My foolish relatives never really interfered," Nyarla looked away, grinning.

"And the godlings played each other nicely. Waged wars, fought and loved. Thinking they had some authority over their own fates. But we all know…" Watching the television once more, then eyeing the hooded figure that sat not far from him, an exhalation of tiredness left his stomach. "Death spares no one. Even the immortals fall prey to her. Even my kind is not an exception. We, as well are easily controllable."

Nyarla was not sad; he just stated the obvious. Turning his head against the hooded woman, he bowed respectfully. "Please forgive me, being so blunt, Lady Morte."

"Oh, it is not a problem, Nyarla. We all know, who I am. We all know my eroding nature makes me like this… huh…" A sensual hush left her lips, looking in the far. "I wonder when I can find a man worthy of my time."

The stoic bartender pushed a mixed drink coloured blood red before her, nodding, signing it was in the house.

Morte nodded back, accepting the drink, tasting it carefully.

"What about the Ainz figure who appeared in our world?" asked the violet-eyed girl, sliding closer to Lady Death, praying like a girl asking a girl about girly things.

Lady death smiled sombre, playing the edge of her cocktail glass. "He may do. But I feel some kind of youth in him. I prefer an experienced man with traits of a true gentleman."

The old man coughed, then winked to the tattooed lady. She did not even bother to respond, just shrugged uneasily.

The mentioned man was a skinny old man with neon green, cat-like pupils surrounded by black irises. He had light pink hair with yellow highlights decorated with a lotus flower and locked in a ponytail. His short beard was also styled the same as his hair, only with a lotus bud attached instead. On his nose, pince-nez styled spectacles settled to correct his bad eyesight.

His simple outfit consisted of a collared shirt with violet stripes, violet shorts, and pale brown slippers.

Sighing, Lady Morte looked in the far, wondering.

"Maybe I will try my luck. It has been a long time since I dated someone."

Thinking of it, it was since aeons she had last tried to date someone. Maybe the time was just right to start again. She thought herself as an attractive person after all, and that Ainz person's jawline was quite dashing. She found it attractive when a man had sharp features.

Finishing his drink, Nyarla just stood up, reached under his suit and pushed an intricate coin forward to the bartender.

It was a silver looking coin, with each side decorated with symbols that only promised madness. Marked with the blood of the creature we spoke not about.

"Well, let's hope there will still be a world where you can date, Milady." His eyes flashed. "If father gets out from his prison once again. There will be hardly any world you can date once he finishes with his so-called 'rearrangement'."

With that, he started to walk out.

"Hmm. That brat only caused trouble since his appearance," finally, the old man spoke. Putting down his newspaper, Nyarla did not answer, just left the establishment, disappearing immediately.

"Yes, I remember him. Quite handsome. Better not speak about him when Nyarla-kun is around. After all, he made the biggest sacrifice among us. Betraying your own creator you are bound to is not an easy feat."

The strange, old man shook his head with a grimace. "Don't even mention it. It was indeed a horrible day. We lost so much in such a short time."

"Well…" Morte raised her drink, drinking delicately. "Hopefully, those godlings can take care of this disturbance before oblivion descends once more."

"So you will not intervene," stated the aqua haired girl coldly, a small smile still visible on her face.

"Oh, dear. I was here before the great darkness and I will be here after it descends once again. I am the first, and I will be the last to go. People come and go, but I am eternal. I have no business making a truce between prattling children."

She said it with such a calm, such a calming tone like it would be completely natural announcing such thing. Most people would just shrug off such a comment, but the present members of the secret society could only chuckle knowing the truth behind the person of the tattooed, hooded woman.

Now, the waitress turned her attention against the pink haired old man, staring him intensely, waiting for some kind of retort to the age game.

In answer, he just shrugged his shoulder, burying his face in the paper once more, returning to the article he read previously.

"What? It is not my problem. I am retired. Maximum if the sealed one will break free, I may make a small ditch of an effort. Raising a book, giving away a good tip, or make a call. Just to make sure my hard work does not collapse before its predetermined time. I am an old man; I don't have the mood to Lego together everything once again."

"Ah… So cold…" quipped the waitress grinning hesitantly. The bartender tilted, then shook his head scoldingly, but his expression remained cold.

"You know me too well, Nona-chan. You know me too well," chortling, the man playfully downed the strong spirit before him. Grimacing slightly, feeling the searing after effect of it.

For a moment, silence ruled over the scene. Then the entrance opened, and the small silver bell chirped its particular song of welcome.

'Di-Di-dong'

The bartender and the waitress watched the newcomer, eyed it like it would be some kind of delicacy. Everyone else wasn't bothered by them.

Nona, as the waitress was called, stood up, bowing and welcoming the guest. "Welcome in the Post Hanc."

"Is the bar open?" asked the newly arrived character hesitantly.

The bar maiden just bowed her head smirking. Some kind of proudness radiated from her face. "Yes, we are always open. This is the Post Hanc after all."

The arrived female just nodded, sighing. "Finally the bar with a serene atmosphere. Just what I needed."

"Come. Take a seat," Nona invited the new arrival with a smirk.

And thus, she strolled towards the seats, accepting the call.

The new guest was indeed strange, sporting a knee-length black, stylish overcoat. Metal reinforced butler gloves with strange pentagrams covered her hands, while peculiar metal pieces covered her chest, knees, shins and arm, each of them embedded with different coloured crystals. Each of them contained one such diamond to be exact.

She almost looked like a cosplayer who had spent too much on her disguise. So realistic it was.

For an outsider, the stones embedded in the protectors were just pretty looking pebbles. But those who could sense power levels knew very well. Despite the best effort of the cosplayer figure to dampen the power she and her gear emitted, she still failed to cover the real worth of her equipment entirely. A small leak of might again leaked through her dampening field.

Each stone contained godly power different in kind and nature. Each of them capable of great destruction in the hands of the unworthy.

Many would start a cosmic war for such stones of power and such gear. But for the present members, the gems were only for the eye. They cared not about such petty things as might or conquest anymore. They were all far too old to fight for such childish things as younglings used to.

On her side a katana hung, her head covered by an astonishing metallic helmet with a disturbing design. At first, it was a solid head covering armour, with no visible eyeholes, but everyone around knew, only using your two eyes to see could be really deceptive.

Looking around, the new guest said nothing. Only by making her steps made the old man raise a brow, eying her behind his newspaper with a curious expression.

Taking a seat, her mask hissed. Opening slightly, she placed it on the counter. Her expression was that of a maiden who had swallowed a dead fish. Not fit for her pretty face of a lass. Dark circles were visible under her pretty eyes. She either hadn't slept well or something had traumatised the girl, scarred her for life and making her show such a depressed expression.

Yet, she tried to hide her sorrow under a pretty smile. A smile that somewhat failed to hide her real feelings.

"Give me something strong. Very strong with spirit enough that can put a horse in a coma," she motioned with two of her fingers.

The girl was young looking, maybe in her seventeenth year. Her skin was like porcelain, her eyes sky blue and emerald. Her hair long, flowing white, reaching the middle of her back. Some kind of aura of mystery mixed with primordial unbound power surrounded her. Despite her best effort, she couldn't deceive the present entities.

Every present member of the club was well aware; she was not normal, she was like them. A primordial entity.

Despite this, none of them brought up or asked who she was, or what her problem was. It was an unsaid rule in the club; it would be just rude asking unbidden. If she wanted to speak, she would talk.

The silent bartender mixed a stiff drink, and she choked it down with one gulp.

"Uwaaa! That's what I call a good spirit! One more please!"

The man behind the counter nodded, mixing more liquor with professionalism befit to a machine. His every move was calculated, his every effort crowned with success.

The strange woman continued her drinking session, drinking more and more cocktails. The small group just watched her drowning her sorrow in stronger and stronger drinks, ignoring the mediation that played on the TV.

Every supernatural being in the bar detected that an impossibly strong barrier started to build around the bar. Strong even according to cosmic scales. Ever growing in size and magnitude, cutting off anyone daring to bother its presence.

 _"The unknown force attacked suddenly and crushed our defences. Humanity is lost. May God protect us all…"_ announced the American president in the live feed, then accompanied with his suited bodyguards left the podium hurried. The reporters burst out in panic. This was the last mediation humanity ever produced, at least, before the great nothingness descended once more…

Be the girl had heard it or not, she ignored it, drowning herself in her drink.

…

A few hours passed since the announcement, but the drunk lady cared not.

She just drank, drank her sorrow. Drank because she could not do more. She drowned her sorrow in booze. She swallowed because she was afraid to do anything more. She hesitated to act. She hesitated to show herself. She was uncertain about her worth. And most of all, because her soul was scarred beyond measure. Because, deep inside, her soul was torn apart, lying in pieces since her return from that horrid place. From the warp where her journey had led years ago.

In the warp, time passes differently, so maybe in the outside world only a few years had passed, while in truth, she had been captured and tortured for aeons.

She couldn't stand, she couldn't act anymore, her mind snapped when she tasted the essence heading towards this world.

So familiar, so distant, so dreadful, it made her remember the chaos entities that kept her captive who knew for how long, it froze her!

She didn't want it! She wanted to forget! She wanted to be as far as possible! She dreaded such creatures! Beings that flayed her very body and soul through the aeons in the warp! She remembered it too well, too clear as her very essence had been torn apart over and over again then pieced together like a grotesque puzzle!

Her left eye and face twitched for a moment, a drop of tear escaping from her eye. Then her usual maniac grin returned, continuing her dark coloured drink.

"What a joke…" she let a small pause, watching the blank TV. "Indeed I am…" Esdeath whispered looking down at her drink.

Suddenly, Morte slid beside her, recognising the fake happiness on her face. "Bad day, dear?"

Her very being emitted the stench of death, the primordial force ruling over everything since and before the creation even happened. From time to time, it also surpassed Ainz's own aura.

Whitey turned her head to black, eyeing her strangely with her drunken gaze. "Why do you say that? I am happy! You see?" She pointed at her face with her index, stretching her fake smile even more.

Unfortunately, you couldn't lie to death, as much as you couldn't lie to yourself, no matter how hard you tried. Morte recognized her sorrow immediately.

"Oh dear, to lie to me, it is fine. But to lie to yourself, it is shameful," she cooed her slightly, patting her back gently. "You should remove that barrier outside; there might be guests that want to come in. Don't be so selfish. This place is open for everyone who needs it."

Sighing, Esdeath waved her hand, adding a friend/foe filter to the barrier she constructed.

"That's better…"

Morte placed her hand on the bar, her nails painted pitch black, both in her hands and bare legs. Her skin grey, like the deathly hallows, wholly tattooed with strange bone-like tattoos. And under her hood… under the cowl, a small piece of bone ornament peeked out. It was like she wore the modified skull of a ram on the top of her head. Her hair silvery grey, a few locks fell before her eyes. Eyes that had no pupils just misty scleras.

Sighing, the young girl watched the mediation for a moment. Strangely, the channel changed as she leaned forward, resting her head on her crossed arms. The dark circles clearly visible under her heterochromatic eyes, a drunken haze radiated from her vision. Something really bothered her. Hate, fury and uncertainty filled her slowly changing eyes.

Her pupils changed, turning white and red, her sclera also turning black. So black it swallowed the light around.

Strangely, the channel changed. Showing the struggle of the supernatural forces. How they struggled against the unknown invaders. How they fought bravely, making their last stand against the corrupted beings.

Amongst them, Cocytus and Auriel were fighting courageous, fighting for the survival of the people of this universe, in the front lines not less. Sparing no effort to save the people, to protect the people they shouldn't have cared about. To keep alive the people they had nothing to do with.

Watching them, her heart churned, sadness and self-hate starting to pour in Esdeath's heart.

"A-Am I a bad person?" she asked Morte and everyone, looking around, waiting for the confirmation of her treachery.

She was well aware, she had recognised it at the moment she entered the bar.

This was not an ordinary inn; this was a pub that housed several strong supernatural entities who heavily suppressed their power. Two of them even rivalled, if not surpassed her and Ainz. Yet, somehow she knew, somehow she felt, they were not enemies. Through her precognitive senses, she was aware; they were neutral in her direction. If she attacked, they would defend, but if she remained put, so they would.

"Are you feeling like a bad person?" inquired Morte suddenly, nailing the simple question against her.

She snapped her head against Mistress Death. "No-Yes…" she replied uncertainly. "I don't even know anymore." Esdeath fell on the counter, her face covered by her long, silvery hair, mumbling incomprehensibly, drowning in her sorrow, ever bubbling.

"Kid. This question, only you can answer. I may be old, but there are things even I can't answer. There are things only you can answer for yourself," answered the until now silent old-man.

"What's the problem? What holds your hand?" sat on her side the waitress of the establishment.

"I feel… I feel fear. I fear uncertainty! All right!?" she shouted and a small psychic wave left her body, snapping many bottles to pieces behind the counter.

The bartender just watched the destruction sombre, shaking his head.

Turning back to herself, she continued. "Yet, I want to change. But I don't know what to do! I hesitate! I dread the idea that I'll have to experience pain once more!" She grabbed her head, squeezing it hard, perspiration pouring from her face. Her eyes wide, breathing heavily. Her multiple hearts were pounding in her chest like a freight train. A vast amount of psychic power was gathering around her, reacting her disturbed emotional state.

As an Esper ability user, her abilities directly answered and were strengthened by her emotions, from to time lashing out if Esdeath suffered emotional trauma, or was merely disturbed, rejecting the world around her, pushing it aside merely with her Personal Reality.

The strangely calm bartender raised his brow, confused by the sudden change of demeanour. Feeling the sudden increased pressure, sweat poured down on his face.

Continuing, she burst out like a simmering volcano; she couldn't contain it anymore!

Grabbing her head, she leaned above the bar, only supporting herself with her elbows.

"I am doing the same exact thing day after day! Doing research! Training! Reporting! Eating! Doing business! All of this to be able to protect what's dear to me!" She hit the counter gently. At least it was gentle for her, but in truth it cracked the surface in two, leaving only dust and rubble where her hit landed.

"Oh my…" chuckled the old man. "Youth and their temper," he quoted, returning to his newspaper.

The bartender started to clear the rubble immediately, glaring dangerously at the Esper.

"But I fear I will not be able to do it! Not this time! Not after what happened! Not after my defeat last time! I know it is stupid! I don't fear defeat, less; I know it is part of growing up! Still, I hesitate…"

Leaning backwards, her eyes twitched, staring down with a dead gape. "Yet, even if I win. What will I say to Ainz-san? What can I contribute? How can I face Auriel and the others? Is it even worth to save this world? Is it even worth continuing my empty existence? I am doing the same things day after day since aeons, because there is nothing remaining to do. Showing a fake, retarded smile just to ensure them I am all right! But, in truth, I am not fucking right!" she shouted, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I am not right! I am broken! I am broken to pieces beyond measure! My soul and body shattered to pieces! Not only because there are no interesting things to explore, to enjoy, but because I see no meaning behind an eternal existence! What's the meaning of life without experiencing it then!? Without living it!? What's the meaning behind this stuck existence without the chance to improve?! What's the meaning of such existence!? Even if my friend is around, how much time until he realizes he no longer needs me! How long until our friendship fades into a dull connection between acquaintances and we forget who we once were?! How long before our creations realize they no longer need us! When will I finally lose myself!? What are we after all! Idiot sandwiches! Are we even real!? Or simply part of a meaningless story a meaningless slave kid is writing in his word processor!? Tell me! WHAT I AM!? WHAT I AM FOR!?"

Everyone stared her in silence, seeing her bursting out like a fountain.

She fell on the counter, sobbing without stop.

It had been accumulated since a few years. And now, it had all been released. She shouted out all her frustration to the unknown people she didn't even know. It was so shocking that the remained intact bottles had been blown to pieces.

"I thought it went without saying," a familiar voice entered the scene. Her eyes widened, recognizing that exact voice. Turning towards him, she just gaped. "Momonga-san…" she quipped quietly, turning her head away, wiping her tears away.

As usual, Momonga was clad in his divine set, a black academic gown edged with violet and gold. It was not surprising; this was the territory of the enemy.

"How…."

"Zero and Schrödinger helped me find you. Remember, your servants still had that locator…"

Thinking back at it, she indeed had entrusted such item to her servants. It was not surprising he found her.

"Whe-Where are they?"

"I ordered them to wait in the lobby…" said Ainz. Walking to the broken bar, looking around, he needed to ask. "Vacant…?"

She nodded sombre, turning her head away shamefully. Momonga sat down without saying anything, at least, he said nothing for a moment. "Well…" He looked at her.

"I-I am sorry…?" she said quietly.

Momonga just exhaled a gust of air from his nonexistent lungs.

"I had sensed your uncertainty since a few years back, since our arrival, since the accident that let you get captured. I feared it got worse after the accident, after your captivity. For a while, I hoped you would be all right. And for a while, I falsely recognized that you were indeed happy. Like I wanted you to be."

Momonga looked at her, and she turned her head away in shame, gritting her teeth so hard it almost bleed.

"But I never had thought your depression had progressed this much. Your act was too good for me to recognise. You even managed to deceive me. Please forgive me. I was unable to support you. Under all that time, I failed to recognize; I failed to help you. And you had to suffer, all alone."

"It is not…" she wanted to retort, but Momonga stopped her by merely raising his hand. Then turning his head to the screen, watching the fight for a few seconds.

"'There is no excuse of slacking', as you used to say. I slacked my responsibility as your friend. Please forgive me."

Her eyes widened watching Momonga bowing his head royally. Not as a king, not as the ruler of the dead. Not as a Supreme Being, the ruler of Nazarick. But as a person, as a friend seeking forgiveness for his mistake.

She just watched him wide-eyed, unable to say anything for long moments. "I don't blame you for running away. If you wish, say the word, and I will take care of things. You can even leave if you want. Leave Nazarick to find a place and think things through."

Momonga raised his head, the crimson flames in his oculars flashing dangerously. "I'll just say, you are running out of time. Decide. If you want to save them, you need to act soon. Or Cocytus, Auriel, and even this world will cease to exist. The latter, I couldn't care less."

Every present member of the club flinched hearing the honest revelation. Lady Morte only released a faint chuckle. The white-haired bartender eyed dangerously Momonga but remained impassive.

"But the first two. I care about, more than anything. They all are what remains from our friends. Their children, their legacy, I will not let them die because of your hesitation. And I am sure; if you let either of them fall, you will never heal. You will never forgive yourself. You will never be the person you were before. You will be a broken wretch as you are now. A waste of space drowning in sorrow and cheap alcohol."

Momonga raised the half empty, still intact glass, inspecting it with spite.

First, Momonga hesitated to say out loud, but time was short, using comforting words would take too long. Sometimes you needed to push your friend, to confront her if you wanted to help.

"Hey! That's quality alcohol our establishment serves!" quipped the old man behind his paper, but everyone ignored him.

"Crying in the darkness because you let slip your only chance to conquer your fear. Heal yourself as every existing being is capable of. I am not saying it is easy; I'm just saying it takes courage to conquer your fears."

"What do you know…?!" she mumbled angered, the armoured gloves squirming under the pressure in her hands.

"Hmmm?" Momonga angled himself to her.

"What do you know about fear, Momonga? You know the notion, but not what it is…" She trembled, her body starting to emit a strange violet miasma of destruction.

"You know not what fear is… YOU NEVER EXPERIENCED IT! YOU HAVE BEEN IMMUNE TO EVERY MENTAL EFFECT SINCE AEONS! HOW CAN YOU UNDERSTAND THE FEAR OF A PERSON WHEN YOU HAVEN'T FELT IT SINCE AEONS! I EXPERIENCE EVERYTHING MULTIPLE TIMES EVERY FUCKING MOMENT BECAUSE OF MY FREAKING PASSIVE ABILITY! I HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING EVERYTHING SINCE MY CURSED EXISTENCE STARTED! PAIN, FEAR, SORROW, FURY!"

"But you also experienced joy and satisfaction in that amount, or not!?" Ainz pointed at her. Her aura of malice lessened, but was still present.

"Yes…" she answered quietly.

Exhaling, both of them turned forward. "I can't decide for you. This choice, you need to make alone. Not me. But you. Make it. Or simply bury yourself."

Just now, the screen envisioned as Cocytus got pushed back, green fluid pouring under his exoskeleton. Still, he was fighting without hesitation, without retreat.

"Choose, now or never. Face it, or let it consume you. I can't do anything more to help. Not here, not now."

Biting her tongue hard, then watching the screen where Auriel's golden blood poured on the ground. She made her decision.

"I hate you so much…"

"Same here…" Ainz crackled.

Turning back to her friend one last time, she needed one last promise.

"I ask you only one thing."

"State it," Ainz asked immediately.

"If I lose myself once more and won't be not able to come back, if the same thing happens like back then…" She bit her lower lip so hard her golden coloured blood edged with darkness sprouted. A drop dropped on the ground, eroding the wooden floor right away.

"Please, for the sake of the world… End it! End it once and for all. Use whatever means necessary to stop me! Even if it means my death!"

"I...I promise…" Ainz swore. Although, his sadness triggered his suppression, surrounding him with green radiation, this was the only thing he could do.

With those parting words, Esdeath grabbed her helmet and left the establishment grumbling, but filled with determination, when Zero entered. "Master!" seeing his master the Automaton butler wanted to run after her, just to be stopped by Ainz. "Let her."

"But!"

"Let her! She needs to do this alone."

"As you wish," Zero bowed respectfully, although, uneasily.

His hands were grabbed by the aqua haired girl, pulling him inside. "Come, let's watch the show!" In all honesty, he was somewhat disgusted to having been touched by the humanoid girl, but being in Ainz's presence, he endured.

The Overlord just sighed, glad he could convince his friend, just to recognise the check the bartender had pushed before him. "Oh…!" he gasped, the amount on the note was indeed considerable.

 _"What the hell did you drink!?"_ Ainz screamed inside. Looking around, he recognised the mess. "Right…" He exhaled under his breath recognising the source of the expenses.

Watching the silent butler for a moment, he just nodded, confirming it was indeed the exact amount.

Ainz just reached for his purse when…

"I will pay for him," slid on his side the woman with silvery hair and ram skull on the top of her head, then turned to him.

"Well, stranger," she winked seductively. "What brings you here in our little lonely universe. You came from a different world, right? What's your name, dear?"

Ainz felt some kind of similarity between him and the woman. Both of them emitted the primordial darkness of death. But this was not what made him feel uneasy. The strange, flirting tone the woman used, how she pronounced the word 'Dear' was what made him cringe in his boots.

 _"Albedo will not like this…"_ he thought to cringe. It did not help the old man with lotus beard eyed him dangerously, like a challenger. _"Dammit! What mess did you pull me into this time!?"_

What awaits the world? Will Albedo recognise her new challenger of love? You will know next time!

* * *

 **A/N:**

 ** _Well, that's for now!_**

 ** _I hope the chapter was not too alienating._**

 ** _You may recognise I used characters from several other anime/movie/comics series._**

 ** _To those that will grumble about it, I can only say this:_**

 ** _THIS_** ** _IS A CROSSOVER! GET USED TO IT! OR SIMPLY GO AWAY! YOU ARE NOT FORCED TO READ!_**

 ** _(khm... Sorry my outburst, I had to say it out loud.)_**

 **There might be a few world-building chapters like this in the future just to make sure everything is set.**

 **And beofre you starts to prattle about Ainz could not possibly reach the level of Omega Beyond.**

 **Consider the fact this story plays out after he and his friend journeyed throught the Warhammer 40k verse, leveled up and butslapped the chaos gods. Coming back giving the secret of leveling to the 'children'.**

 **Consider as well, in the warp time and space pratcitally relative, almost non existing thing.**

 **If you don't understand something, don't hesitate to ask in the form of a review or a PM. ;)**

 **In the next chapter:**

 **Darkness, light and nothingness.**

 **The vision of an architect.**

 **Will the key find the hole it fits?**

 **If it turns, the game is over…**

 **(Or not)**


	23. Apocalypse (part 1)

**Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There**

 **by oblivon2991**

 **Proofreader: aGuestfromGreece45**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.**

 **I don't own the _Overlord_ (** **オーバーロード** ** _Ōbārōdo_** **?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **Please review it. I know I will make mistakes that I intend to correct and will try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

* * *

 **Time: Several days before the 'Apocalypse':**

Around the stone construct called Stonehenge by the denizens of Earth, the work of the unseen forces of the supernatural had almost reached its end state. They only needed a little more time and the trap would have been set as intended.

Demons, angels, fairies, giants, Asgardians, strange snake-like creatures emitting darkness and many more different creatures bustled around in many different points of Earth, striving to finish everything for the intended time, aiming to satisfy the need of their masters before the end date.

Their presence was hidden from the mortals and simple Earthlings. Moreover, using his Earthly connections, Lucifer had even made sure no civilians or other mortal authorities would lumber around, isolating the place and using his underlings to make sure everything was set.

This operation was important. They could not possibly allow others to walk around.

Stationing near Stonehenge, inspecting the process from afar, Lucifer sighed, shaking his head. If this went on, they would not finish with the rituals in time.

Still wearing his elegant business suit, the king of liars raised his sleek pocket watch, adorned with the number '666'.

"Is something wrong, Lucy-kun?" a woman wrapped in a divine battle priest attire stepped on his side. Her green eyes with those strange, golden pupils narrowed, watching Lucifer with great concern. Her heavenly white wings flapped a few times, disturbing the air, creating a falling gust from her white feathers.

Lucifer just sighed, shaking his head concerned. "We are too slow. If this goes on, the trap will not be ready on time. Our bait is in place; the enemy is ever closing. Yet, we are far from ready."

"Hmm…" Michaela raised one of her golden brows inquiring. "What about the others? Aren't they as well doing their best?"

Lucifer narrowed his eyes. "Thor and the present Odinguard is guarding the perimeter, the Olympians are patrolling around the system looking for signs of disturbance, Porphyrion and his craftsmen are busy setting things and preparing the trap, Kauket is overseeing them, but she leaves soon to join the Olympians. Ra had to go back to protect his borders from the invaders and Erlkönig volunteered to be the bait. He is the fastest after all, with all of his fairy tricks in his sleeves," Lucifer chuckled remembering the mischievous fairy king. Then, he continued.

"Ananse sent his spider spirits to spy around. And as you know, our present forces help wherever they can. This is but one battle, one plan amongst many. We still have to protect our borders from the invaders. The few present elite warriors are all we can spare. This will be a battle only a few will fight. Them, as well I, are prepared to fall. I've already sent Leviathan back to guard the infernal gate in the worst case scenario."

"Hmph… Is that so?"

"Yep," Lucifer simply nodded. "Every present leader and tactician attaché have gathered and are currently discussing the plan, preparing a solution for each possible scenario."

"Oh! I see…" Michael said mildly surprised. Lucifer just glanced at her, moderately surprised as seemingly she had no idea about the happenings.

"Aren't you supposed to be aware of that? After all, you are the appointed battle coordinator for our main forces."

Hearing this, the girl panicked for a moment, backing away slightly. "Re-Really!?"

"How come you don't know about it?" shrugged Lucifer angry.

"I-I fell asleep after the meeting. I was so overworked in the last few days I couldn't even sleep normally," stated the archangel hesitantly, pushing together her fingers shyly.

"I thought your kind was immune to exhaustion."

"Well…" she gulped. "We can still sleep if we want. The problem is, once we start, it is hard to resist to continue."

"Ah, is that so?" Lucifer turned back to the site. "Michaela, the archangel of sloth. Tch," he shook his head amused. "What would your father say?" Michaela glared at him angrily mentioning her disappeared father so easily.

"Just joking, I already knew it!" A cocky smile was drawn on his face, bursting out in a laugh.

"Wha! You mean! You cheated me!" she pointed at him accusingly, completely flustered.

Hearing her embarrassed tone, Lucifer just smirked, remembering the old times. The times when they were on the same side, when it did not need an ultimatum and a cooperation treaty to meet each other.

"It is good to see you are smiling," commented the angel, her face softened seeing her 'brother' smiling honestly after so long.

Lucifer just scoffed hearing her, turning his head away.

Despite the huffish expression of her old friend, Michaela still smiled, watching him with a warm expression, then continued in a low tone. "About our guests…"

"Lady Auriel and Lord Cocytus? What's with them?"

"Where are they? I would like to discuss with Lady Auriel a few things before the battle starts."

"Humph… They are in their command tent, if you can call tent that fortress they conjured under a moment. They are resting before the event starts, guarded by several of your angels. Why do you ask…?" Turning his head against Michaela, an amused grin curled on his face. "Don't say…"

"No-NO!" she shouted embarrassed, clutching her hands together, flailing like a teenage girl in heat. Lucifer laughed full-heartedly. "I-I just felt a similar presence from her direction, that's all!" She turned her head away flustered.

"Familiar feeling? Hmm? Tell me about it," he raised his brow.

Looking in the far, for a moment, she couldn't even formulate her thoughts adequately. "She is different than us, the angels created by father, yet, I feel some kind of familiarity between us. Some kind of strong tie that binds us together." She lowered her head. "Father gave us, angels, form, shared his light with us. Gave us purpose. And from her words, she as well was created by a similar being. Different, yet familiar to father, a divine existence. As well Lord Cocytus was created in such way. I feel it, yet, in contrast with Lady Auriel, I feel no familiarity between me and the cyan warrior."

"Hmmm, maybe because he is an insectoid. That's why…" added the emperor of hell indifferent.

"Maybe…" obliged the angel with a small gulp. "Maybe if I can speak with her a little bit, in private, maybe she knows a way to bring back father. She is coming from a different world after all, who knows. If her creator is like father was, if that other being (Ainz) is like he was, they can surely help us out."

"Humph…" huffed Lucifer. "You are an optimist as always, Michaela. I would not expect their help if I were you. Even if they help, such miracles always require a great sacrifice. In the best case scenario your life, if not more. Resurrecting 'him' or the infernal god would require none less, not speaking he is part of the seal now, restraining the beast, along with the former emperor of hell. Don't you remember? They both gave their lives to create that seal. Bringing one of them back will inevitably weaken, if not ultimately disengage the locks."

"If it's the cost, then I will gladly take his place…" she whispered with a lowered head.

The commander of heaven gripped her salt-made spear tighter. The white spear that had slain many demons in the past cracked under her grip, then the appeared cracks immediately healed on the body of the weapon. The polearm named [Maltet Salis], the divine weapon made by God himself to serve the most talented commander of The Heavens.

The head of the spear was considerably wider than a normal polearm, entirely made from smooth, condensed, white, holy salt. Millions of angels had shed their tears to make it. The head and the handle were connected by an entwined caduceus, ending in a beautiful angelic face.

Even looking at it, Lucie was being filled with uneasiness, remembering his fights with the being Michael only called her 'father'.

There were times when he and the infernal god triumphed in the battlefield, led their people to victory. But many times it was his opponent who had won their clash.

"Brother?" asked Michael, watching the demon with patience. "Don't you miss him? He loved you as well…"

Lucifer just frowned, remembering, it was some time since she had called him brother, remembering his foster father's false care.

He was unable to comprehend why she was still doing it, why she was still trying to redeem him. After all, there was no blood relation between them, neither had they belonged to the same race. They never belonged to the same race.

When Lucifer's parents died, he was still an infant. He had no idea why he spared him, but 'the one' accepted Lucifer as his adopted son. Raising, training him together with his own 'children', as he called the angels.

In all honesty, remembering the past events, he doubted it was out of God's good heart that he took him in. After all, under the Great War between god, and his infernal counterpart, the so-called 'holy god' slew many demons. Massacred his kind without care, without remorse. Killed more infernal beings than Lucifer dared to count.

Why him though? Surviving, growing up under his protective wings, doubting who he was, he always asked himself why he was different than the other angels in the heavens.

At first, he really believed that he as well was a holy being like everyone in the paradise. Albeit, after a while, he overheard as everyone mocked him behind his back because of his black wings and infernally glowing eyes. And as his power rose by the years, more and more signs of his infernal nature showed, making him stick out more and more.

But he dismissed their words, saying it was only due to some childish jealousy. That he was just different, no matter how ridiculous it sounded amongst the angels.

And after all, Michael was always on his side. Assuring him, his suspicion was unfounded and he was completely normal, cared like everyone else. Maybe a little special about his great power and qualities as a leader.

And in his blindness, in his zeal, in his trust to his so-called 'father' and Michaela, Lucifer followed the orders of the so-called holy god without questioning the reasons. Thinking of him as his father, cutting truce amidst his true kind!

His upbringing had blinded him, being he had been raised as 'God's' blind follower since his infancy that had left its mark on his physique! Blinded him about the truth, that 'God', turned him against his kind! Used his legacy, his inherited infernal power to fight demonkind. And when he realised what he had done, it was already too late!

Lucifer only realised what he had done when he slew his own, original blood brother. When he received the order to massacre innocent demon kids. When his own squad raised their sanctified weapons against him, he realised only then, it was him who had been blind all along. Not the demons, not god, but him all along!

In the past, he was angry, he was furious, and after the event, after turning his weapons against his false comrades, he was the one who was stigmatised with the title, 'the Betrayer', the 'Traitor', 'the King of Liars'. Forcing him to leave his home, live in solitude for a long time, because for a long time, not even his own kind accepted him as their own. Because they as well hunted him.

Hunted him until they realised they were on the verge of extinction and needed his power to end the war, for better or worse.

Michaela tried to speak with him in the past, but he felt betrayed at that time. He even refused to come to his foster father's aid when he fought against the creature and called for his help. In his rage, he only participated in smaller battles, refusing to even aid the infernal god as that would have meant he needed to help his foster father.

Lucifer often thought what would have happened if he had not refused to participate in the main battle at that time.

He was not that bad foster father after all. He had given him whatever he had wished. Yet, in that time, the king of liars couldn't make himself to help him out. He just couldn't help his traitor, even if Michael who took command after 'his' disappearance held a grudge against him for a while.

Maybe if he had just helped him… Maybe, just maybe both the Infernal and the holy God would have been here today.

Watching Michaela's concerned, luminous green eyes for a moment, he couldn't help but feel, maybe it would have been better if he at least had listened to her back then. Maybe their relationship wouldn't be as shaky as now.

For a moment, the fiery light in his eyes lessened, spacing out, only to be brought back from his dream world by his sister's caring, armoured hand.

"Are you all right?"

Smirking, he shook his head. "I am fine, just lost amidst my thoughts."

"Ah, I see…" she nodded, turning her gaze back towards the excavation, smiling a little, saying nothing for a long moment. "I forgive you," she said suddenly.

Lucifer's eyes widened, angling his head towards her. "What? What do you mean?"

"You are concerned about the past, contemplating what would have happened if you had come to help us in the time of need. Don't be; it is the past. Father always said; what matters is the present and the future."

Lucifer just snickered sadly. "Oh, dear. What kind of angel are you? Reading my thoughts is not very saint-like."

"Well, you made me rotten," the girl just beamed a soft smile to her 'brother', sticking out her tongue playfully. Hearing this, Lucifer snorted amusedly.

"Humph…"

Sighing relieved, Michael's gaze turned forward. "But even without it, I just know you, I don't need to read your mind. Remember, since our childhood, we have been raised together. Dined together. Trained together. Learned together. Our teachers were the same. I remember, you always excelled in everything. I always looked upon you as my big brother, a paragon of the heavens, maybe more."

"More?" raised his brow the prince of darkness turning against his 'sister'. And she just bowed her head confidently, but said nothing more for a moment. Then continued with a surprising statement, a statement that could forever change the relationship between angels and demons in the future.

"I forgive you, and I would like to apologize retrospectively in father's and everyone else's name who came to your harm. If I had known about it, I would have stopped them."

"What is this sudden confession? Michaela? What happened?" he turned to her, grabbing her arm suddenly. Fortunately, her bodyguards were out of hearing range.

Her eyes moistened, and several drops of tears ran down on her cheek. "I-I read father's journal and realised, he may have done things he shouldn't have. Done things to keep the balance."

Hugging her shoulder with one of his arms, he nodded, for the surprise of the archangel. "So you read it. I admit, I as well read the infernal god's journal. It seems, there is no clean side in this eternal struggle."

She bowed her head sadly. "Yes."

"Well then…" after a significant exhalation, his gaze hardened. "We can't change the past. We can only strive to better the future. If we survive this, I propose to start everything with a clean slate, both sides. But not as forced allies who bare their teeth against each other, watching who will violate our hard earned pact first, waiting only for when they can jump on each other's throat, but true, honest partners."

Michaela just watched him wide-eyed, with disbelief frozen on her face.

"Do you think it is possible? I mean, it was hard enough to convince our people to work together for this one operation. Most of the Angiris council heavily opposed the idea, defying every evidence that stated we needed help, that we are on the verge of collapse."

"So as well the infernal one reacted the same. Bureaucrats remain, bureaucrats, no matter the race," Lucifer chuckled like the devil he was. "But we have always defied the odds, haven't we? Despite the odds, not only we managed to make them accept the sharing of the seven pillars, if not forever, but for a long time, but in the recent days made them accept the hard truth and force them to work together for the people's sake. Organizing a united defence and to construct a trap that needs our utmost cooperation. That's progress in my book. Think about it, what will happen if we survive, our opportunities if not infinite, numerous."

"You are right. If we survive this, that will be a historic day for all races. It will show we can cooperate if we wish."

"Well then, didn't you want to visit our guests before the battle?"

"Yes, you are right…" she nodded, giving one last smile to her 'brother'. "We should speak more. We have a lot to catch up."

"As you say, sister…" Looking at her for a moment with squinted eyes, he needed to ask one more thing. "I hope you are aware if our plan succeeds, humanity might not survive the cataclysmic event."

Michael looked back at Lucifer with a hard expression. "I know, but from time to time, there's just no other way…" With that, she left.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Auriel and Cocytus's 'tent':**

The accommodation of the two servants was lavish, furnished according to their status as guardians of Nazarcik. Using a basic base construction tool, the two guardians immediately set up a small fortress on the edge of the operation zone.

Sitting in her seat, gently slurping her afternoon tea and sharing cakes with Cocytus, her mood was calm. The cyan warrior although didn't really liked sweet things like cakes, ate it, not to accidentally offend his friend.

His mandibles although unable to normally eat the soft, but friable sweets, he did his best to comply his duty. If not for the enchanted cups that kept the temperature of the drinks, the liquid would have most likely frozen solid at the moment it had reached his crackling mouth.

Watching him doing his best to consume the food, Auriel just sighed. "Cocytus, if you don't like it, you don't have to eat the cake. I have already mentioned many times, I can prepare for you something you like."

"No. It. Is. Fine. Really. I. Was. Not. Hungry. Anyway."

"Nonsense. Please wait for a moment." Clapping her hands elegantly, the nearby masked servant collected the cutlery, replacing it with something edible. A food Cocytus liked.

It might have sounded disgusting for the reader, but it was roasted bug mix specially made and bred by Entoma herself, specifically made for Cocytus.

Albeit, the maid at first complained that roasting the bugs would only take away the flavour of the prey. And usually, Cocytus didn't eat his own kind. (He was especially not used to do it.) Yet, somehow he loved the bug mix Entoma bred. Thus, it was a delicacy to him, especially when the recipe had been directly made for his taste.

"Hmmm…" he crackled his mandibles enjoying his meal. Auriel just smiled watching him.

"I am glad you like it. Please forgive me, in the recent times it is not often we share tea. And others usually like the cakes Sous Chef and my brother prepare."

"Oh. Then. It. Is. Their. Work. You. Brought. Them. Straight. From. Nazarick?"

She nodded confidently. "Yes, Onii-sama always make sure we are well stocked before leaving Nazarick. Even if he always grumbles about it, he takes his time and prepares our food himself."

"I. See…" Cocytus crunched even more bugs under his mandibles. "Indeed. From. Time. To. Time. He. And. Albedo. Are. Just. Too. Perfectionists. Even. With. Themselves. They. Always. Work. Despite. Ainz-sama's. Warnings. He. And. Albedo Should. Relax. A. Little. Bit. Demiurge. Also. Warned. Them. About. It. But. It. Seems. It. Is. Without. Effect."

"Ah! What should we do with them? They are so stubborn! Even if my brother is an automaton, he should rest a little bit. As well Albedo, they are really workaholics." She nibbled one mouthful from her specially prepared shortcake, muttering under her nose with a slightly pouting face.

Cocytus agreed with a head bow. Indeed, despite his duties as a guardian and the governor of the beastmen province, from time to time even he enjoyed a proper training regime with the selected few, spending time instructing his soldiers on how to be better warriors. The new Armat unit under his care showed great potential to become the new sword of their forces.

"We. Can't. Help. It. Only. Hope. For. The. Best. I. Am. Sure. Once. Ainz-sama. Will. Have. Some. Time. He. Will. Take. His. Wives. To. A. Deserved. Vacation."

Looking at the glowing fireplace, Auriel pondered. "I wonder when Creator-sama will take us as well, like Ainz-sama. She as well is always working. And we never took our time to spend a vacation together, ever. Maybe, if I ask her after all of this has been taken care, I am sure even Onii-chan would be delighted and willing to participate if she asks him."

"Hmmm… Not. A. Bad. Idea. They. Deserve. A. Good. Rest. After. All. That. They. Have. Done. For. Us."

"Let's discuss it with Albedo after we have returned to Nazarcik. I am sure she as well will agree."

Cocytus just agreed, angling his head.

The two of them discussed a few more things, when an eerily familiar figure, wrapped in his jet black academic gown appeared from the shadows.

"I hope I did not intrude on anything important," Ainz stepped out from his hiding, disabling his ability, [Augmented Perfect Unknown]. On his side, the automaton butler slid out from the dark, creeping the room with his glowing, blue eyes, making sure no one had heard him.

In the end, a third figure appeared, taking the form of a young, thin boy around the age of 14. With cat ears on the top of his head and a perpetual smirk plastered on his face, the boy was dressed in a military youth uniform which consisted of black shorts, a yellow dress shirt, black knee high socks and a black tie. He also wore white gloves and black dress shoes.

"Guten tag, schwester und Herr Einfrieren," he made his introduction, bowing slightly. Cocytus just exhaled a gust of cold air; he did not like it when the young cat teased him like that. Auriel just smiled softly.

Then, as their gaze reached Zero and Ainz, the two of them kneeled down immediately. "Ainz-sama!" echoed the name through the magically constructed chamber at once.

"Umu, it's alright. Raise your heads." Ainz raised his skeletal hand, and the nearby masked servants offered him a seat that he immediately refused due to the short nature of his visit. "Thank you, but my visit is short."

"B-Brothers! Ainz-sama! What are you doing here! Please forgive us, receiving you in such unruly place…" She bit her lower lip hard.

"It is fine…" Ainz waved his hand.

"No! To receive a Supreme Being in such a place, it just won't do! Please wait, we will prepare something adequate." The arch seraph clutched her hands above her chest excited. Cocytus nodded in agreement, heading outside to demand something befit to Ainz's status.

Before Zero could open his mouth to stop him, Ainz preceded the butler. "I said, it is fine. Don't bother with it. I just came to check that everything is proceeding as intended. Has my friend arrived? I expected to see her with you."

Cocytus, as well Auriel looked at each other surprised, not knowing anything about Esdeath's arrival. "We have not seen her."

Ainz exhaled tiredly. "Ah, as suspected, she wandered away once again. What a tiresome fellow she is."

"Please rest assured Ainz-sama, we will find her in no time!" With a pleading gaze, Auriel was confident she could find her master.

"Is that so…" Ainz chuckled, covering his jaw. "Unfortunately, as much as I'd like to see you doing it, we have no time for that. You have duties to attend. The enemy will arrive soon. My summoned [Primordial Shadow Reapers] at least said that much."

Auriel and Cocytus watched Zero for confirmation, who in return only nodded with an empty expression. His one intact eye was brimming ever intense.

"Bu-But! At least allow one of us to accompany you! You can't just walk around without an escort. Please, Ainz-sama! We are on the verge of a fight, what would Creator-sama say if, I, the leader of your paladin order left you without escort in a soon-to-be war zone?!"

Looking at Auriel, then back at Ainz, Cocytus couldn't do anything but nod. "I. Agree. With. Auriel. It. Is. Too. Dangerous."

"Well…" Ainz looked back at his two escorts that waited behind him patiently. The Overlord of Death chuckled as he inspected the amusing situation. Zero slightly angled his body, signing he was ready to fulfil Ainz's commands.

"I think I already have my escort. Zero and Scrhödinger-san will suffice, as well, if it comes to that, I can endure the beating. I am not a helpless infant after all…"

"B-But…" Auriel bit her lower lip nervously, sprouting a small amount from her golden blood.

"Don't worry Schwester! It will be fine! We can protect my Führer." Smirking, the boy with the heavy German accent patted Ainz's back without fear, smirking at him like they were old pals.

Knowing his style, and how he was designed, Ainz just rolled his eyes, shrugging off the easygoing manner of the servant.

But Zero, he couldn't tolerate such treason, immediately grabbing the arm of the cat boy and tearing it out from its place.

"Au… Bruder that was not nice." the cat teased the automaton with a smirk, sticking his tongue out and jumping back, then waving playfully.

Strangely, the previously torn arm was wholly restored without any trace of injury under mere moments. Ainz only needed to look away for a flash, and when his gaze turned back, Schrödinger's arm was back anew.

This was the cat messenger for you. His abilities, manners and appearance were designed to resemble its anime counterpart in the best possible way. Of course, amidst the frame of what the game engine of YGGDRASIL allowed for the players.

Maybe the messenger boy was not max level; he was far from it. Compared to his level, his attack and defensive powers were pathetic at best. What made him unique as an area guardian was the combination of his race jobs and job classes he was bestowed. They made him able to pass almost any divination, anti-teleportation measurements without care, like a walk in the park. Only using world items or similar methods can stop him passing by without a care.

Moreover, his passive racial ability, [Quantum Existence], gave him a body and soul that could only be destroyed, banished, or perished when certain prerequisites were fulfilled, prerequisites only Ainz and Esdeath, his creator, knew. Giving him the ability to be, and not to be, at many places at once. To exist, yet not. Even using death magic on him was only a temporary solution, as his state of existence always changed between existing and not.

Knowing he was unable to simply erase the presence of the annoying brat, Zero just frowned, looking away, cleaning his white gloves from the crimson essence with a brushing motion. Maybe his face remained motionless thanks to the nature of his race, but his utter disgust radiated from his being.

"Well, they are at it, again," watching them a moment, Ainz muttered displeased, sighing. "Well then. Khnnn…" Clearing his throat, the Overlord turned back at Cocytus and Auriel. "Please be careful with the approaching enemy. It is strong, the strongest enemy you may have ever faced under the entirety of your existence. Cocytus, use the sword we bestowed you if necessary. Auriel, use the sealed magic crystals we gave you. Don't risk defeat."

The servants nodded, the light of understanding lighting anew in their eyes, kneeling before Ainz, showing total submission.

"Do not underestimate this enemy, or you will fall! I will try to find my friend as soon as I can. But don't forget, I ordered Demiurge to seal the entrance to the other side, as well commanded him to collapse the tunnel if something foreign tries to invade us. And as I said…." the lights in his sockets intensified, giving more weight in his next words, raising his bony index in a warning.

"I say again. Do not be hasty! Before acting, use your heads. Plan your attack and steps. I'll try to find my friend as soon as I can. But even then, we will only help when it is absolutely necessary. Give your best, but don't forget, only those who deserve will receive our help. I know, you are aware of it, and always works hard to make us proud. I just want you to remember. In my kingdom, salvation comes at a price. Only those who work for it will earn it. Do your best, earn it! Show them the might of Nazarick! Make us proud! And if it comes you fall, don't hesitate to seek help! Two is always more than one. Remember that. United, you are strong, but alone, you will fall."

Auriel and Cocytus arched forward, posturing themselves as low as they could. "As you wish, Supreme Overlord. We will do our utmost, you will see. We will make you proud. We will make the Supreme Beings look down at us with joy and satisfaction!"

Seeing their dedication, Ainz could only beam a proud smile behind his skeletal façade. The proudness he felt almost triggered his emotion suppression.

"Good then…" turning around, his eye glanced at them from the corner of his socket one last time. "Equip your best gear; this will be a thought fight. Do not falter; the enemy feeds on your fear." Stepping forward, his royal garb fluttered. "Schrödinger, show the way. Use your ability to find her."

"Okie-Dokie, my Führer!" he threw a mock salute, leading the way, marching goofily, smirking.

With that, Ainz and his escort disappeared amidst the shadows once more, using his [Greater Gate] to defy the dimensional lock around the encampment. Zero grumbled, and his hand slightly trembled, itching to annihilate the boy before they disappeared amidst the shadows.

Auriel only smiled sweetly, watching them leave.

"Well. Then." Cocytus stood up. "Let's. Prepare. For. Battle." his grip tightened around the handle of his Godslayer Emperor blade.

Auriel nodded and when she was on to equip her gear, just to the next moment a knocking sound came from the direction of the sturdy door of the makeshift fortress. (Which was bigger from inside than from outside).

The masked servant opened the sturdy entrance, and it was Michaela who stood before the door. "Good day to you. Is Lady Auriel and Lord Cocytus around? I would like to speak with them."

* * *

 **Scene Change: Several days later: Zero hour:**

The skies had turned dark; horrors darkened the heavens. More and more unsightly beings poured against the once green planet. Corrupting, twisting the skies above. Like a grotesque tentacle, tasting, hugging around the planet. Like a toxic cloud, infecting everything.

The fallen supernatural soldiers fell from the skies like dry leaves. Asgardians, demons, angels with heavenly wings, Spartan ghosts, hieracosphinx, fairies garbed for battle and using magic.

Chaos ruled over the lands. Humanity struggled, sending more and more armies against the twisted forces. Using their best equipment, utilising their most terrific weapons to stop the advancement. But all for the ruse, as most of the human nations yet hesitated to use their most terrible weapon, the atomic bombs. They still hoped they could turn the tide. Thus, the mutated foot soldiers advanced, crushing the defensive lines of the desperate human fighters, pushing towards the population centers, enslaving every human in their way.

The fallen human soldiers rose, twisted, taking the place of the fallen creatures, turning their modern firearms against their former comrades.

Struggling not only against the newly appeared enemy but against their own people, the fight for humanity was hopeless.

Maniac, twisted, humans. A hiding cult that only waited for the right moments appeared just to sabotage the attempts of counterattack in the worst possible moments, betraying their own comrades. In the higher echelons of command, the cultists only needed to slip the wrong information in the wrong time and they could easily throw the carefully set plan into chaos. But the time had closed, the time to reveal themselves was rapidly arriving.

Fear ran deep, but corruption ran deeper. And believe, all around Earth, the Earthly governments were filled with it, it was embedded in their very core. Only the sanctified fire could purify them now.

Amongst the higher-ups, amidst the military leadership more and more people turned against the command, taking over control, sabotaging the movement and the coordination around the world, or held back the much-needed reinforcements in time of need.

In the meantime, more and more cult movements rose, helping the invaders by sabotaging the rescue and evacuation attempts. Disguising their acts as simple terrorist actions, striking when it was the most effective, killing many leaders in the process.

The newly appeared heralds of the apocalypse spouted their mad words about the end, convincing the population it was better to give up, to give themselves to the invaders so they could survive. Turn against the soldiers who just wanted to protect them.

It was anarchy in the highest level. A planned anarchy that made many governments collapse in the first day. Chaos ruled, and no one could stop it now.

…

Deep in the continent of America, in the United States, in the state of Colorado under mountain Cheyenne, a military complex settled deep inside, embedded deep in the stomach of the mountain.

The bunker's doors were tightly shut, hastily reinforced and supplied, and guarded by veteran soldiers armed to the teeth.

The commotion was big, and numerous technical staff was trying to overcome the terrible situation, putting more and more effort to coordinate the movement of their forces, trying to find a new way to patch their failing communication channels around the world, discussing with their own allies a solution, trying to recover from the sudden shock.

Several generals and tactical advisors with fancy looking badges surrounded the neon green tactical map, watching as more and more red dots disappeared, signing their total loss over the units around the continent. Cursing, hitting the electronic device furiously.

One by one, the present staff lost control over their armies.

The unknown enemy either knew how to hit them hard or was lucky like the devil himself.

The first thing they lost was their satellite network. One after the other, the military lost the artificial bodies around Earth. Not only the USA, but every major nation experienced the same thing.

Something coming from space destroyed them in quick succession. One after other they went silent. The debris fell on the ground even now.

Now, only a few functional satellites operated, most of them belonging to private companies like Google, CBC and similar mammoth corporations. Their survival only thanks to their irregular orbital movement and concealment.

Cooperating the best they could, the nations tried their best to work together to find a solution, connecting each other through secure lines, organizing the defence together in the best way they could. Yet, they kept failing, yet the enemy somehow knew their every move.

The lines were hot as more and more antennas went silent. The only stable connection with the outside world was the few remaining telecommunication antennas and the vast underground cable network they had built under the cold war, the network that was designed to be redundant even in the time of an apocalypse.

"Bravo One, Bravo One! This is command! I can't hear you! I repeat, I can't hear you!"

 _"Command! We require reinforcements; we are overwhelmed! I repeat- Oh my God. Oh, my God! Heeelp! Ah-Ahhh!"_ With that, the line went silent. The only thing remaining was the static sizzle, the growl of monsters and the terrible bleating. _"Meeeehhhhhh!"_

"Dammit!" the operator threw his sturdy headphone to the ground. "Those damn sheep have crushed our armoured division!" Everyone watched the operator, but knew very well why he acted like this. Since this whole nightmare had started, every attempt to counterattack the invaders had been met with failure.

Meanwhile, deeper in the mountain, in the most secure meeting room of the complex, President Dirrel and the present staff met, before them on several screens the leaders of different nations being projected, discussing what to do.

"Dirrel, if this goes on, we will lose all control. You need to decide now, before it is too late!" said one of the shadowed participants.

Dirrel sweated, leaning forward, the only thing that still held his head was his two arms, grabbing his blonde hair roughly.

"Why has it come to this?! How can we lose so fast! They don't even give us time to react! They just fucking appeared out of nowhere!" the president hit the meeting table hard, making several ministers and senators flinch. "What are these fucking monsters!? Whatever we throw at them they just brush it off."

"We can still use our stocked atomic armada, Dirrel. Don't forget that, we can still turn the situation," offered one of the Senators on his side. Every participant turned silent hearing the dreadful offer.

"Senator Armstrong, please forgive me saying this, sir. But are you mad!? We may manage to win some time for our forces to recover, if we are lucky even win the war. But at what cost!? The environmental damage and the radiation will linger for hundreds of years in the affected zones. Moreover, the monsters are mostly concentrated near our centre of the populace, holding our citizens in captivity. Are you seriously advising to bomb highly populated areas such as New York or San Francisco?! What about the civilians? What about our people!?"

The president of China and Russia eyed each other through the feed. They were well aware of what they had done with their own people.

Senator Armstrong just shrugged, pushing his spectacles up in his nose. "It is that, or there will be no United States to save. China, India and Russia already did it. Draw the enemy then blow them up with an atomic bomb. Of course, the damage the action caused is not yet clear. Am I correct, president Dong?"

Cleaning his spectacle, the Chinese man nodded coldly. "Yes, we did what we had to. Currently, and thanks to it, our forces are holding themselves steadily. The future generations will remember them as valiant heroes."

"Monster…" "How could you?" spat several leaders, but they all knew, their opportunities were slowly stretching thin.

"What about evacuating the selected few through the gate? Did the Japanese prime minister authorize the action? Has the ark project succeeded?"

"According to our report, no. Something is blocking the entrance. We are unable to reach the other side." The one who spoke was the Russian president.

"Damn bastards!" Dirrel hit the table hard, with disbelief frozen on his face. Everyone knew who he was speaking about. "They will leave us to die here…! Damn that monster!" Exhaling heavily, he needed to make the hardest decision.

Everyone watched Dirrel, but he hesitated to answer. He was well aware of the utilisation of such weapon of mass destruction. The weapon that made Japan capitulate at the end of the Second World War. It was a horrible weapon they should not use no matter what.

Clutching his hands together, the president tried to calm his nerves. "What are our other options?"

"Not much," stated the defense minister sitting near him strangely calm. "It is either this or releasing the slumbering ancient. There must be a way to break that hard diamond shell around it!"

"What is he speaking about? Dirrel?" numerous voice questioned him confused.

"A creature we found deep inside the Amazonian jungle a few years back." Preceding the president's answer, Senator Armstrong pushed his spectacle up in his nose, giving a serious face. "We don't know its nature. We only know our supernatural experts fear to even get in its immediate vicinity. They say it is ancient, they say it is evil incarnate."

"Did you manage to wake it up? Or receive any signature from it?" Dirrel turned towards the three-star general who was the director of the project. In return, he only sighed.

The others just watched them through the live feed, it was no surprise. Every nation had something to hide in their closet. And in times like this, it was a pleasant surprise to have.

"We managed to wrest some strange life signature through the crystal shell. It is alive; though, the life signature is quite weak, and strange. Still, the creature is quite sturdy. Just now, our scientists are trying to break through the insulation by changing the temperature. But I believe, we are close to cracking the surface of the sealing crystal surrounding the creature. It is only a matter of time."

"I see…" Dirrel nodded worriedly. "What about the ancient tablets found near its resting place. Did the experts manage to decrypt the contents of them?"

"Somewhat. The tablet spoke about some kind of great disaster, a calamity that the creature will bring once it will be released. According to the text, that goat thing is the bringer of grand catastrophe."

"Where did you found it once again?"

"In the south American jungle, five years ago."

"Make those scientists haste; we need to give it a go. We either win, or everything goes down with us!" Dirrel hit the table, his gaze brimming with slight madness. "Do your best! The eggheads will get seven hours, not more! If the situation does not change, we will use everything we have! Prepare the keys in that case!"

The general nodded, standing up, heading towards his office. Dirrel only hoped the released creature would not bring greater calamity than the one that came from space.

"God, help America. God, save humanity." Leaning forward and clutching his hands, he prayed one last time. From the ceiling, dust poured as more and more tremors shook the mountain.

He had no idea, but that was his last day on Earth. As later in that day a bullet would find its way through his skull.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Well, that's it. A little teaser chapter before the grand battle. A little world building.**

 **The next chapter is already texted, only waiting for my proofreader to finish. (It will be a lot longer than this little morsel) :)**

 **Don't worry, after the next chapter, we return Falmart, preparing the stage for the visit of the Sorcerous Kingdom and the events of the later chapters.**

 **Be safe, sailsafe. Good night! :)**

* * *

 **Codex:**

 **[Primordial Shadow Reaper]:** The limp body of a child floats along the reeds of a marsh. A dark hooded figure in flowing black robes descends on the tiny body and reveals a wicked curved scythe. With a single slice, the body yields a small soul. The hooded figure can be heard inhaling deeply, and the soul is sucked beneath the hood, into darkness. As silent as it came, the Reaper is gone.

Ainz learned to summon these level 90 creatures under his travels through the warp. He can summon four a day. Thou, he can summon the level 100 variant in the price of he can only summon two a day.

The creatures remain a maximum two days period without a sacrifice. Their presence can be hardly detectable even those with supernatural senses. Their main purpose is spying and attacking the foes from the shadows.

 **[Greater Gate]:** The improved version of the basic [Gate] spell. Summons a portal, allowing travel of a large number of people over great distances. It had no limits on distance and a 0% chance of teleport mishaps. It is considered to be the highest tier of teleportation magic. With its enchanted version, (only Ainz can use it). It can go around restrictions such as dimensional locks or anti teleportation measurements to a certain degree.


	24. Apocalypse (part 2)

**Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There**

 **by oblivon2991**

 **Proofreader: aGuestfromGreece45**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.**

 **I don't own the _Overlord_ (** **オーバーロード** ** _Ōbārōdo_** **?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **Please review it. I know I will make mistakes that I intend to correct and will try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

 **(A/N: I put up a vote on my profile page. Vote if you want.)**

* * *

 **Scene Change: Near Stonehenge: A few hours later:**

Earth was devastated, charred.

Be it out of desperation, or thanks to the infiltrating cultists, humanity had committed the gravest crime. Using their nuclear arsenal, that had charred the planet, drawing as many enemies in one place as they could, scorching mother Earth's face with the hellish bombs, maybe forever

Yet, it was not enough. Earth had become an apocalyptic burnt out rock. All around the world, twisted, horrific creatures, constructed from black tentacles, blinded eyes and throbbing organs roamed the almost empty streets of the ruinous cities, herding the still living, marking them with horrific tools, turning them into human slaves then forcing them to labour, slowly brainwashing the survivors.

Holding twisted firearms and primitive weapons, with their guns fused with their arms, no escapee could get them. Around the world in a few places, a few groups of rebels still held themselves somewhat. But organised governments as such were no longer a possibility. People rioted, soldiers left their post at the worst possible moments. It was like hell had come to reality.

The sky was dark, shadowed by a thick cloud, covering the sun entirely, offering only endless darkness. Living tentacles sprouted from the earth and from the sky, ripping apart the human-made constructs, twisting them apart. Skyscrapers were no more, only half standing ruins remained, either on the verge of getting crushed to pieces or being suspended from one of the feelers reaching down from the sky.

In a few areas, from the ground, dark trees grew, trying to reach the dark skies, forming thick, unnatural forests. Amidst them dark creatures roamed, bleating in a corrosive voice.

 **"Meeehhhh!"**

The life-giving sun had been replaced in the heavens, a dark heart drawn on it, throbbing ever intense. "Lub dub. Lub dub. Lub dub. Lub dub. Lub dub" the whole world was filled with the sounds of constant beating, never ceasing, never slowing, ever maddening.

Just now, two strange figures landed near the stone circle, also called Stonehenge by the past civilizations, surrounded by their tentacle servants. The duo indeed excelled.

Both bore the qualities of royalty. With dark garbs and battle armour, one of them was a man, wrapped in a full clad samurai armour constructed from pure darkness and madness. Many smaller eyes ran through his limbs, one big gaping on his chest. His eyes were missing, covered in darkness.

The second one was a woman; her lower part bore the qualities of a goat. Her face was beautiful, two horns protruding from her head. Her voluptuous body was covered by a black cloak, with her eyes also being hidden by a black cloth.

The black sword crackled on Komamura's side. The traitor of the sun god, Amaterasu. Albeit, maybe it was not his fault. Perhaps it was the fault of the invading presence that had taken over his mind and body.

The black-bladed, godly-made sword on his side clanked. And it was strangely familiar. How could it not be!?

Komamura could feel the sword urging to reject him, to disown him. But his presence was stronger, suffocating the weapon's every attempt to hurt him more than necessary.

Looking around, their conquest was proceeding as planned. The humans were easier to conquer than he first hoped. And on all fronts, his forces won battles one after the other. His creator's hiding allies and servants had answered his call, coming out from their hiding immediately, to help his cause ever vigilant.

All those years of planning, all those years of sowing the seeds of chaos using subtle methods, leaving small traces for the cults. Just to free him in the end. Free the key to his father's reveal. Free him so he can finish what he started. Break the seals of the infernal and holy God.

Being imprisoned for so long had taken a toll on his power, but after eating the fox and that stranger, he felt his power had been renewed. The one previously called Komamura had been reborn as a dark entity. And after freeing his sister from her eternal prison, he knew, there was no way back. Win or die. That was the only option.

Watching her for a moment, he was confident; they couldn't be defeated.

The man still felt the struggle of his 'meal' inside, but the ingestion process soon woukd be finished. They would be a part of him forever.

On his side, his sister walked, clad in black. Sharing his powers with her, no one could stop them to resurrect their creator. Not even their traitorous relative who had betrayed their creator in the time of triumph.

 _"tHeY ArE WaTcHiNg uS,"_ his sister on his side whispered, using many voices. Her speech was maddening, mixing many sounds and cries at once, making every mortal who heard her go mad immediately.

Komamura was not his real name, yet, he enjoyed this new body. With his power of madness and fear, it was agile and strong. Glancing around, the chaos covering his eyes swirled in excitement.

In the far, horrifying, pitch-black monstrosities, seemingly made of ropy black tentacles with drooling mouths covering their bodies gathered, bleating ever intense, fighting against the struggling supernatural forces. A fight, they would most likely win.

 **"Ah, HeRe iT Is. HeRe iT Is! I AlReAdY FeEl oUr cReAtOr's pReSeNcE. iNdEeD, tHeY WeRe cRaFtY, hIdInG HiM In sUcH FaR PlAcE, nEaR OnE Of tHe sEvEn pIlLaRs. We wErE BlInD NoT ReCoGnIsInG It sOoNeR."**

Their walk was more like ghosts, hovering, cutting through the churned landscape.

Stopping for a moment, their attention turned towards the skies. Feeling the planet would slowly get encompassed by a force field. A force field that would cut them from further reinforcements.

 **"SnEaKy bAsTaRdS…"** Komamura smirked, feeling the dimensional space closing around planet Earth.

He knew something was wrong, and he expected this would happen. Oh, but he was not afraid, he was prepared to walk in the trap his enemies had set up for him. With their new power, the opposition would all fall!

 _"ThEy aRe cLoSiNg tHe pLaCe. YeT, iT Is tOo lAtE FoR ThEm…"_ the woman on his side hissed, gloating a devilish smile, her needle-like teeth showing.

Sniffing in the air, he felt satisfaction. Not fear, since he was a fear incarnation. The magic the morsels used to close the place was ancient. Older than him and his sister. The mix of many things. Norse, Greek, fairy, holy, unholy and something eerily familiar. Similar, yet different in nature than the magic the great destructor had used. All of it fueled by the redirected energy of the seven pillars.

But as expected, if they used that energy to fuel the barrier to keep them in this exact place, then… His face stretched wide in a smile as he realised that the seal integrity around the prison would weaken considerably.

In the small island called Japan, the strange construct that fool goddess had opened was still standing, which would be the key of their escape. No matter if it was currently sealed from the other side, once their creator had been freed, he would solve this minor annoyance.

The skies were ever covered by the dark flyers, made from tentacles and always gazing blind eyes, looking back at their creators, searching for possible targets, clashing with from time to time with the appearing supernatural guards.

The forces they had encountered were strong, but not numerous. He expected more. But after considering they would walk into a trap, it was to be expected. Anyone who were to fight on this battlefield had cone here fully prepared to die.

Spotting their opposition standing before their intended goal, the beings before them were indeed impressive. One was a cyan warrior, carrying two mighty bergs on his back. His exoskeleton was shining, almost hurting his shadowy eyes. With four arms, he was the incarnation of the most excellent insectoid warrior he had ever seen. An insect reaching more than two and a half meters, walking on two feet, a fusion between a mantis and an ant, holding a great halberd made from cold metal, and an odachi with the length exceeding 180cm.

The second was a buxom woman, tip to toe clad in a radiating golden plate, armour that was covered by black markings in hexagonal, hive cell style, emitting darkness and light at once. The design of her armour was not fit for a medieval styled warrior, no, it was more like what a futuristic paladin would wear for battle.

With hexagonal symbols drawn through the whole composition of the plate, it was made to protect her from harm's way, to help her move and maneuver easily. It was a plate, yet, it was designed to help her move smoothly, with many joints and with extra reinforcements near the weak points.

Her shin and arm guards were embedded with a white crystal. Her chest plate was adorned with a red diamond. And in the end, the mask she wore had no eyeholes. Instead, it only had a vertical slit emitting black light where the eyes whould be. Two similarly styled Valkyrie wing decorations bulging backwards on the two sides of the head guard, supplementing the futuristic design.

Her humongous holy wings stretched behind her back were covered by a similarly styled plating akin to her armour, ending up with glowing edged blades.

The auto crossbow she held had been designed correspondingly, ready to fire the enchanted bolts at any possible moment. It's mouth ended as the head of a lion, gaping to devour her enemies, augmented with energy edged bayonets.

As you may surmise, she was Auriel Michalis, the leader of the paladin corps of the Sorcerous Kingdom.

She and Cocytus faced the appeared enemies, leading the few similar figures standing on their side.

Clothed for battle Michael with her holy battle priest gear, Lucifer wearing his elegant infernal, spiked, scaled armour and a sleek longsword on his side, Thor bearing Mjörn and garbed in his ancient Norn armour constructed from furs and tempered Asgardian Adamantine, and the mighty Porphyrion, wearing his crystal made armour and holding his Warhammer. His skin might have been strong, yet, under such decisive battle, there was no place for error.

Their numbers were few, but as said, this was not but one battle. Only the elite of the elite had a place amongst them. Those who had prepared to die and could come. Other specialised units like this also fought on different battlefields or helped to fuel the force field around Earth. The barrier that kept the enemy at bay under the battle. Or, there were even beings that had refused to participate in the struggle out of stubbornness or unwillingness to work together with old enemies. Their reasons varied, but they indeed existed.

 **"HmM. oH, jOy. EnTeRtAiNmEnT,"** the fake Komamura mused, watching his opponents with great satisfaction. The shadows in the place of his eyes swirled up in excitement. **"WhAt dO YoU ThInK AbOuT ThEm, SiStEr?"** Turning to the hooded woman on his side, she just chuckled.

 _"iNtErEsTiNg lItTlE MoRsElS. iF YoU DoN'T MiNd, I WiLl tAkE ThE StUrDy wArRiOr. He sEeMs tO Be aN EnTiCiNg lItTlE CrUmB."_

Cocytus crackled his mandibles menacingly, gripping his halberd tighter, but said nothing; between warriors, there was no need for words. Between two opposing sides, acts were louder than mere words.

"So you finally arrived." Auriel pulled back her crossbow's string, the string that was constructed from pure light energy.

 **"AnD YoU ArE?"** asked the corrupted being with a raised brow. **"I ReCoGnIsE ThE LaTtEr tHrEe. HmM, oDiN, yOu aRe mUcH MoRe yOuNgEr tHaN YoU WeRe lAsT TiMe. ChEaTiNg, Ah?"**

Thor frowned and spat. "Don't dare speak father's name, you beast! Or annihilation will be your reward!"

 **"Ah, ThEn iT Is hIs lItTlE BoY! oH, jOy! ThE OlD GeEzEr iS ToO AfRaId tO ShOw hIs fAcE, aS ExPeCtEd fRoM An oLd mAn lIkE HiMsElF. bEcOmInG A DeCrEpIt bEiNg Is iNdEeD A TrAgEdY, sUcH TrAgEdY ThOu hE WaS SuCh a fInE WaRrIoR. yEt, I FeEl hIs mAgIc fAdInG FrOm tHiS WoRlD. dEsPeRaTeLy sTrUgGlInG To pRoTeCt aSgArD. oH, bUt dOn't wOrRy, I WiLl mAkE SuRe tO FiNiSh hIm mYsElF AfTeR I hAvE SoLvEd tHiS MiNoR ElUsOrY."**

Thor tightened his grip on his weapon, ready to jump, only for Michael to stop him raising Maltet Salis. "Don't let his words reach you, Thor. He only intends to throw you off balance."

 **"HmM. mIcHaEl, Or rAtHeR I sHoUlD SaY, mIcHaElA. hOw iS YoUr fAtHeR DoInG? oH, sOrRy, He sAcRiFiCeD HiMsElF. aNd wHaT FoR? fOr nOtHiNg! ThE SeAl wIlL SoOn bE OfF, wItH YoUr tEmPeRiNg, YoU hAvE OnLy bRoUgHt cLoSeR ThE InEvItAbLe."**

"Treacherous being," Michael narrowed her strict eyes and was on to act, if not for Lucifer preceding her.

"Oh, you really think so. Think again," smirked the prince of hell.

 **"WhAt dO YoU MeAn?"**

 _"BrOtHeR, wE HaVe bEeN DeCeIvEd,"_ whispered the woman.

Sniffing in the air, Komamura finally recognised. **"SnEaKy bAsTaRdS YoU ArE."** But the only thing he did was smirk. He was not disturbed in the slightest, clapping his armoured hands applauding. **"DeCeIvInG Us sO BaDlY, bRaVo."**

The present opposition just watched each other surprised. Their enemy was either mad or knew about the trap. No, he was just crazy. He was defiantly mad.

 **"BuT As eXpEcTeD. uSiNg a fOrEiGn sOuRcE To fUeL ThE BaRrIeR AnD SePaRaTe uS FrOm oUr rEiNfOrCeMeNtS, uSiNg tHe tReMeNdOuS FeEdBaCk tHaT ThE SeVeN PiLlArS PrOvIdE. tRuLy, GeNiUs."** Tilting his head, he watched Auriel and Cocytus. **"TeLl mE. yOuR EnErGy fEeLs sO FaMiLiAr, YeT DiFfErEnT. aRe yOu tHe cOmRaDeS Of tHaT GoAt? CaMe tO TaKe rEvEnGe? I CaN TeLl yOu wHeRe hE Is iF YoU StAnD OuT of ThE wAy. I HoLd nO GrUdGe aGaInSt yOu. I MaY EvEn cOnViNcE OuR CrEaToR To sPaRe yOu aNd tAkE YoU In."** Raising his scaly hand, Komamura offered a chance. **"TaKe iT, oR DiE."**

"It. Will. Be. You. Who. Will. Be. Defeated." Cocytus tightened his grip, ready to jump at any moment.

"What are you speaking about? What goat?"

Lucifer turned his head to Auriel, answering her question. "He is speaking about the Lord of the Grand Catastrophe. He disappeared under the battle when we sealed the entity, and since then, no one has seen him."

Auriel watched Cocytus for a moment. The title was eerily familiar, but neither of them knew exactly where. Twanging the string on her crossbow, the arch seraph nailed her gaze back at the entity.

"Cease your words, foul being. Or I will make you. Instead…" she stretched her armoured hand. "Hand over that sword. It does not belong to you. Your presence is simply tainting its pure existence."

 **"Oh, ThIs."** He raised the black blade. **"I EaRnEd iT. iT Is mInE NoW. aNd It sUiTs mE RaThEr wElL. i wIlL SoOn bReAk iT, aS InTeNdEd."**

"Humph! So be it! Then taste the wrath of the Supreme Beings!" Nodding, she snapped her fingers and the runic traps lit up around the two, closing them amidst an always moving barrier made from devilish and angelic pentagrams.

Komamura and his companion probed the barrier, with the sword and their own energy that took the design of darkness, tentacles and mad blind eyes. **"sTuDy bArRiEr yOu HaVe cOnStRuCtEd. BuT It wIlL nOt Be eNoUgH. iT Is oNlY A MaTtEr oF TiMe uNtIl wE BrEaK ThRoUgHt."**

"Kukuku… it is not intended to keep you in."

 **"WhAt!?"** His darkness covered eyes widened as Auriel sheathed her weapon behind her back, and a blue sealing crystal, the size of a head materialised in her palm. Lucifer, Michael, and even Porphyrion sweated feeling the primordial power the item emitted. Cocytus produced a similar item, only it emitted purple energy and was coloured black instead of pure white.

"Be graced by the power of the Supreme Beings! Their sealed power will purify you. Now! Cocytus!" With a swing, both of them released the sealed Super Tier magic at the same time. "[Oblivion]!" "[Fallen Down]!"

Initially, using two super tier spells was impossible, as it had the nasty nature once any member of a team cast a super-tier spell, every member would be penalized by being unable to cast such spells for a specified period — in other words, a cooldown period. This restriction was put in place to prevent guild wars in YGGDRASIL from being decided by who could vomit out the most super-tier spells.

Fortunately, in the New World, a few rules had changed. Under his travels, Ainz found a way to cast them simultaneously. Though, it was a little tricky and required a specific preparation as well to sacrifice high capacity magic crystals.

The releasing operation required perfect coordination from the sides who aimed to succeed in the endeavour.

Sealing the magic, then releasing it from the crystals at the same time guaranteed the explosive effect. Though, if one of the sides delayed the activation even one moment, the second Super Tier ability simply did not activate, and the crystal cracked, making it unusable afterwards.

First, a dark miasma descended in the sealed off space, surrounding the invaders, munching on them, evaporating their very being bit by bit, slowly deleting them from existence. Then, as if the world turned white, it was like the sun itself descended to the Earth, cleansing everything with its heavenly heat.

The onslaught of a white pillar went on for several seconds. The first ability's erosive nature strengthened the second's searing power. And the enclosed place exponentially increased the effectiveness.

The specially prepared barrier cracked and trembled, but did not crumble, it held even after the attack had crashed in the ground.

For two hundred meters, everything seemed to wither and burn away. The little group backed slightly, feeling the intense heat mixed with the power of nothingness that had started to affect them. Covering their eyes not to hurt their retinas, the light was so intense that even looking at it was threatening to burn them to cinders.

When the light ceased, only smouldering ruins remained. Michael looked around with horror drawn on her face. Even her father was hardly capable of such destruction with only one ability, yet, these newcomers carried apocalypse in their pocket.

Auriel smirked under her helmet. "Witness, the power of the Supreme Beings."

The barriers around the two slowly shattered, slowly revealing them. Covered by burnt marks, strangely they were still alive. But their bodies indeed had started to crumble from the intense attack. "Well then…" Auriel equipped her weapon, pulling back the string. "Let's finish this."

 **"Wait! What is that?!"** The giant king pointed towards the two. In the middle of the charred landscape, Komamura held the charred corpse of a child above his head.

 **"Kukukuku…"** Darkness covered him entirely, opening several more eyes on his body, his hands replaced by sticky tentacles. **"ThE BoDy oF ThE FaIrY KiNg iNdEeD wAs A GrEaT MaGiC DaMpEnEr. WiThOuT It, We mIgHt HaVe GoTtEn HuRt rEaLlY BaD. fOrTuNaTeLy, We mAnAgEd tO CaTcH ThIs lItTlE ThInG UnDeR OuR WaY HeRe. HiS ScReAmS WeRe lEgEnDaRy uNdEr oUr sMaLl sEsSiOn."**

The goat-like woman on his side nodded, gloating like a maniac, her body, for now, built from squirming tentacles.

 **"Erlkönig!"** Porphyrion shouted with fright. He was not always the nicest with the fairy king, but they shared a good, reasonable relationship in the past. **"Whaaa! I will crush you!"** A red haze clouded his vision, nudging him to charge against the invaders.

"Wait, Porphyron! Erlkönig knew what he signed up for!"

 **"NoW ThEn… LeT'S StArT!"** Grabbing the neck of the former, still twitching fairy king, and his companion the leg of the limping corpse, the two of them sucked out the remaining mystical energy from the king, healing themselves. The attack weakened them more than they liked. Not as it mattered, they would massacre everyone.

 **"Now then…"** darkness slowly descended, revealing Komamura's sightless eyes. **"fEeL ThE TeRrOr oF ThE 'oPeNeR Of tHe wAy, FeEl tHe tErRoR Of yOg-sOtHoTh!"**

Porphyrion charged like a wild bull, his hammer falling with the strength of the ancients, yet, before it could even collide with the enemy, he froze, his arms, his legs, his whole body stopped. Trembling, just watching the creature before him, he had been frozen completely. Terror filled his guts.

"AfRaId, ArE YoU NoT?" teased him the woman, walking in circles around him, grabbing his balding head. "My cHiLdReN WiLl fEaSt oN YoU, gReAt gIaNt. WiTh yOuR EsSeNcE DeVoUrEd, ThEy WiLl gRoW EvEn sTrOnGeR."

Porphyrion felt terror, and yet, he also felt the pain as the tentacle hands of the woman urged to tear off his titanic head. "[Sanctified Barrage]" Just in the next moment, a volley of holy barrage filled the ground with whitely brimming arrows. Each of them hit the targets, turning them into pinch cushions in quick succession. Yet, none of them hit the giant king. Moreover, it severed the corrupted hand that slowly invaded the head of the giant king.

Like a flash, charging forward, Cocytus tackled away the giant's sizable form, carrying him to the backlines. In his burst, he even managed to slash a piece out from the bodies of Yog-Sothoth and his mysterious companion.

Breathing heavily, the giant watched the cyan warrior wide-eyed, eyeing his unrelenting form taking a stance. Saying nothing, he just nodded approvingly, calling his crystal made Warhammer.

"lEt's sTaRt. CoMe to mE ChIlDrEn." At her command, the ground trembled, and countless twisted beings emerged amongst the nearby dark woods, tearing themselves out from the corrupted earth. Spires of tentacles rose from the nothingness, reaching down from the skies, seeking the defensive force.

The elite forces in the background struggled, fighting to hold back the invaders but all for the ruse. As more and more started to materialise, coming through the portals that appeared seemingly from the nowhere.

It was Thor who charged first, sending many unclean beings back from whence they came, spinning his hammer and calling down the great storm from the skies. "Die, filthy things!" A lamb, or more like a set of tentacles and gaping mouths, larger than anyone had ever seen charged towards him. But with one strike, he charred the unholy being unrecognisable.

Yet, after the mighty strike, it moved. Still, it dragged itself against its opponents, the mouths at the end of its tentacles gaping, reaching for the fresh meal.

But before it could even reach the group, Lucifer commanded the shadows, pinning down the attackers, finishing them with a wall of infernal fire. "I will burn you to cinders!" the infertile fire in his slit eyes intensified as his flames turned from crimson to black, eating away everything they had been connected to, and unsheathing his infernal sword, the king of liars charged against the enemy, finishing off everyone who had been either injured or was unaffected by his fires of purgatory.

The battle raged on, and no one could stop it now. Under a moment, the giant king recuperated and joined the battle.

Just when the battle intensified, Michaela joined, seeing Porphyrion would soon get overwhelmed by the monsters charging against him. His titanic body may have been sturdy; his might monstrous. But even he could be overwhelmed against an overwhelming opponent. And his enemy was legion.

"I will take care of them." Michaela jumped up, swinging her holy weapon, Maltet Salis. "In the name of the holy father! Begone!" A wave of salt emerged, washing away everything, turning all those that vitiated the taboo into salt. Lucifer jumped away, knowing what happened to those who came in contact with the holy salt. It might not have killed him, but it was quite painful.

Cocytus did the same. Though he was not a demon, he suspected the end result. And he was well aware, under the battle to be hit by your own comrade was dishonourable.

But Auriel, she enjoyed the holy salt washing over her. Filled with purpose, her trigger finger never ceased to move, releasing her sacred bolts one after the other.

It was strange, but her mother also had a similar ability. The skill Michael had summoned was not as potent as hers, neither contained the corrosive nature of her demonic powers. Thus, she enjoyed this holy bath of salt. Moreover, it filled her with vigour.

She and Cocytus fought against the main enemy Yog-Sothoth and his mysterious companion. Meanwhile, the others kept the continuously arriving cannon fodder at bay.

Auriel fought, bombing her opponent with her holy bolts, never ceasing to move, because she was programmed like that. For a ranged fighter like her, staying in one place was the best way to be eliminated.

"[Seeker's Continuous Barrage], [Triple Maximize Magic: Sanctified Pillar]! [Grace of the Goddess]! [From Below, There is Light]!" Combining her abilities, Auriel's muscles increased, being filled with a new power. Her attacks became extra effective.

Her companions also felt the effect as her passive, [Divine Aura of the Goddess' Grace] radiating at them. The aura that continuously healed everyone and slightly raised the ability stats of everyone around her. Be it holy or unholy, they enjoyed the effect.

Many holes opened both on the ground and on the skies. Drawing holy symbols closed by a circle, always moving, her sacred attacks connected, charring both evil and good by a sanctified blue pillar.

Her enemies burned horribly as they were unclean beings. She and Cocytus worked like a well-oiled machine. Her blessed ranged attacks and blessings helped Cocytus to take the brunt of the damage and slice the enemy to pieces. Their weekly group training had paid out as they were unstoppable.

The menacing opponent duo regenerated of course, but it was harder than they first expected. The small attack group started to push them back. Step, by step they lost ground.

After blocking a mighty upward slice with his icy halberd, his God Slaying Emperor Blade was raised high.

"[Freezing Torment]! [Acalanātha Strike]!" Cocytus' combined attack shook the whole area, releasing a mountain-sized iceberg, breaking apart the very ground and freezing everything in a fifty-meter radius.

The area where the sides fought turned white from the massive strike, the ground still shaking for a few long seconds, making many surviving creatures turn imbalanced and fall in the opened crevices screaming horrifically.

The black blade held by Yog-Sothoth creaked, burning his hand as the edge urged to reject him, but he just smirked. Cocytus' might was indeed considerable, pushing his enemy down to his knees, perforating the bones and muscles in his arm after each strike.

The pressure the sides pushed on their weapons was so intense; it vibrated the air in a white heat. Small force lightings released after each strike, scarring the battlefield even more.

Even Auriel needed to jump back from the might of the two sides, halting her attack against the mysterious woman.

"Lord Cocytus is indeed fierce," commented Thor, breathing heavily as blood poured from his forehead.

"Indeed. He is the Knight of Niflheim, after all," added Auriel smirking, remembering the merciless training regime they performed each week.

"Hmm. A great title, and a nice place. I used to hunt there with my father when I was a child," Thor commented, a smile curling on his mouth, remembering the frozen landscape of Niflheim.

Finishing even more Dark Young, Porphyrion jumped back, twirling his Warhammer. **"Come on! That's all you got!?"** he roared fiercely, watching Erlkönig's charred corpse hanging on his side. **"Don't wory little morsel, I will avenge you!"**

Under the wild battle, he had managed to fetch his corpse back. After the battle, he would make sure it would be returned to his people. As a king, Erlkönig deserved at least this much.

Porphyrion was aware; no reinforcements would come, as they were either outside of the barrier fueling it with ancient magic and divine power, or were home, protecting the borders from the continuously rising creatures. They were alone, trapped with the enemy. All around them, it was the place you may describe as the twisted, darker version of Hell.

Michael landed near Auriel. "Lady Auriel! Are you all right! Sorry, I did not mean to hit you with my wave of holy salt."

And for her relief, the Arch Seraph just waved away her concern. "Don't worry about it. It was kind of refreshing…" Michael felt Auriel's smirk under her mask. Still, she felt uneasy.

"Still…" Watching her weapon, her eyes narrowed. "The weapon made by father can kill even a divine being."

"Mother has a similar ability."

"Oh! Really!?"

Auriel nodded in answer. "Yes, just hers is stronger. As well, mixing the infernal and divine qualities of her hybrid blood, she can infuse it with demonic energy, giving it new qualities."

Lucifer shrugged, landing near her with his wings of darkness. "It is very interesting, but I doubt angelic and demonic blood can even mix." Michaela watched Lucifer with a slight sadness, then turned her attention back to the battle.

"Let's continue to push; we can't let Lord Cocytus fight this battle alone."

"Agreed," obliged the Arch Seraph. "Ainz-sama, Creator-sama. Watch over us as we win this for you," she prayed deeply inside.

But before they could even move, they felt as a humongous pressure pressed on them. On the sky, numerous closed eyes appeared, opening slowly, revealing their various contents, freezing them in terror.

For a moment, Auriel felt horror like never before. Completely helpless, her fear resistance had been overridden immediately.

Porphyrion flailed like he was fighting something invisible. Thor vomited, curling on the ground trembling. Michael fell to her knees, grabbing her two sides, golden tears pouring from her eyes. "No! No! No! Not again! Father! Don't go!" she shouted in agony.

Lucifer held himself better than the other participants, as in hell many nightmarish creatures resided, still, he was barely able to stand, whatever it was that assaulted their minds. It was impossibly strong, able to overcome their considerable mental resistances.

Auriel started to feel her mind slipping. Illusions played in her mind as everyone she loved dying. Playing before her eyes over and over again. They had been tortured; they had been punished without reason. And in the end, they all had died. Her friends, her relatives. Her gods, her mother. All of them!

"Aaaaahhhh…" wailing, she fell on her knees. The true nature of Yog-Sothoth had been revealed, bringing horror and dread.

"tHaT WiLl tAkE CaRe oF ThEm," hissed the goat woman, turning towards Cocytus who still held himself. "HoW Is It PoSsIbLe FoR yOu To Be sTiLl StAnDiNg?!"

Yog-Sothoth also watched him curiously; the all-knower was unable to think a reason he was unaffected.

Cocytus breathed deeply, bowing his head, crackling his mandibles. It was like he was laughing, enjoying the thrill of the battle. "It. Has. Been. Some. Time. Since. I. Enjoyed. Myself. This. Much." Raising his head, his crystal eyes glinted with excitement. "How. Should. I. Fear? A. Warrior. Should. Not. Relent. In. The. Midst. Of. The. Battle. No. Matter. The. Obstacle. Or. The. Enemy." His third arm reached forward, summoning a blade. A majestic edge, made entirely from white ice, perfectly formed, taking the form of a Japanese ōdachi with a white, snowflake-like tsuba, a white hilt, a white blade, and a long white ribbon on the end of the pommel appeared.

"Sode no Shirayuki." Cocytus exhaled, announcing the name of the blade. Everyone felt the temperature dropping considerably with the appearance of the weapon, and the remaining small moisture on the ground started to freeze solid.

"Feel. Honoured. It. Is. Not. Every. Day. I. Use. My. Godslayer Blade. And. This. One. At. The. Same. Time."

The creatures narrowed their eyes knowing not what he was speaking about.

"The. End. Result. Of. Warrior Takemikazuchi-sama's. Unfinished. Work. And. The. Last. Two. Supreme. Beings. Constant. Effort. To. Make. The. Perfect. Ice. Blade." Pointing it against his enemies, Cocytus took a different posture. "Now. You. Will. Face. Its. Ability. I. Ask. You. Then. What. Is. You. Fear?"

Yog-Sothoth and Shub-Niggurath looked at each other surprised.

"Tremble." The ice warrior announced, and snow started to fall from the skies as the temperature started to drop rapidly. "[Dance of Death: Activate]" Cocytus activated the unique ability of his weapon, stabbing his tool in the ground.

The world around Cocytus turned white, freezing everything. Auriel felt every fear, every doubt, every emotion suppressed, disappearing from her being. Like everyone else around them.

Looking around, Yog-Sothoth could only scoff. **"Do yOu rEaLlY ThInK YoU CaN StOp mY FeAr wItH SoMe iCe? DoN'T Be rIdIcUlOuS! mY FeAr dOeS NoT NeEd aN OpEn wOuNd tO InVaDe, sImPlY GlAnCiNg aT Me iS EnOuGh tO FiLl yOu wItH FeAr."**

The woman part of the duo continued . "In sHoRt, sToPpInG It iS FuTiLe. EvErYoNe… HaS SoMeThInG ThAt aCtS As tHeIr sEcUrItY BlAnKeT Or mAkEs tHeM BrEaK OuT In a cOlD SwEaT. wHeN An iNdIvIdUaL Is iN A StAtE Of cAlM Or pEaCe, AnD AsKeD WhY ThEy aRe iN SuCh sPiRiTs, ThEy cAnNoT PiNpOiNt oR IdEnTiFy tHeIr rEaSoNs. BuT WhEn tHaT SaMe iNdIvIdUaL Is iN A StAtE Of fEaR, EvEn tHe mOsT MeNtAlLy iNePt cAn gIvE YoU A LaUnDrY LiSt oF ReAsOnS… iT'S DaRk, CoLd, StEeP, cOnFiNeD, pAiNfUl, FiLtHy. At tHe mOsT FuNdAmEnTaL LeVeL, A StAtE Of pEaCe iS AsSoCiAtEd wItH LiFe wHiLe tHe sTaTe oF FeAr iS ClOsElY AsSoCiAtEd wItH DeAtH. sO EvEn iF SoMeOnE CaNnOt aRtIcUlAtE ThEiR ReAsOnS FoR WaNtInG To lIvE, tHeY WiLl wAx pOeTiC AbOuT WhY ThEy fEaR DeAtH… tHiS NoT OnLy aPpLiEs tO ThOsE ThInGs tHaT HaVe a sOuL, bUt aLl lIvInG ThInGs. By tHeIr vErY NaTuRe, ThEy eXiSt tO AvOiD DeAtH, AnD aS SuCh cAnNoT HeLp bUt fEaR… aS LoNg aS YoU BrEaThE, yOu wLl sPeNd yOuR LiFe tRyInG To rUn fRoM FeAr, YoU GaIn sTrEnGtH In oRdEr tO RuN FrOm fEaR… aNd iN ThE EnD, yOu gRoW OlD WiTh tHe hOpE Of rUnNiNg AwAy fRoM FeAr…"

The creature watched Cocytus with its blinded eyes. **"So yOu sEe, yOu cAnNoT InCaPaCiTaTe fEaR. bEcAuSe iT Is tHe vErY EsSeNcE Of lIfE. eVeN If yOu mAnAgEd tO DeLaY ThE InEvItAbLe. It iS OnLy a mAtTeR Of tImE UnTiL DrEaD FiNdS ItS WaY ThRoUgH YoUr sHiElD Of cOuRaGe. It iS InEvItAbLe."**

"Well said…" stated Auriel coldly, standing up.

Strangely, the previously trembling group rose, one by one, but their gazes were empty; their faces were motionless. Pale. Like they were dead. "For that very reason, from now on, we are immune to fear."

"wHaT HaPpEnEd!? I fEeL No fEaR FrOm tHeM!" hissed Shub-Niggurath, standing near her brother. The man part of the duo just tried to find the reason why his ability had been overridden.

"I. Have. Been. Trying. To. Tell. You. That. We. Can. No. longer. Be. Considered. Among. The. Living." Cocytus breathed, and his breath froze the smouldering air solid.

Thor and Michael inspected themselves, this state for them was quite unnatural. Lucifer just smirked, lowering his head. "Lord Cocytus, you really deserve your name. Lake Cocytus, the frozen lake of the ninth circle."

Porphyrion tried his hand, his fury had strangely subsided, and instead of it, he felt some kind of strange calm.

 **"MoRe nOnSeNsE."**

"bRoThEr, Be cArEfUl. ThEy aRe pLaNnInG SoMeThInG."

"Sode no Shirayuki. Does. Not. Act. As. A. Conduit. Itslef. Rather. It. Actually. Functions. By. Bringing. The. Body. of. Its. Wielder. To. A. Temperature. Below. Zero. The. Affected. Allies. And. The. Wielder. Temporarily. Turn. In. An. Undead. State. So. Anything. The. Wielder. And. The. Affected. Allies. Touch. Will. Freeze. To. Solid."

Using the momentary confusion, Cocytus lunged forward. "The. Wielder. Is. Just. An. Extension."

"Of the blade itself…" Auriel continued aiming her auto crossbow.

 **"YoU CoNtInUe tO SpOuT AbSuRdItIeS. iF ThE WiElDeR's bOdY ReAcHeS TeMpErAtUrEs bElOw zErO, mOlEcUlAr rEaCtIoNs wIlL ReAcH A PoInT WhErE SuStAiNiNg lIfE WoN'T Be pOsSiBlE. eVeN If yOu aRe a sUpErNaTuRaL BeInG YoU NeEd a cErTaIn sTrUcTuRaL InTeGrItY To fUnCtIoN. iN OtHeR WoRdS YoU CeAsE To lIvE."**

"Didn't we say that?" Auriel scored a headshot on Shub-Niggurath, blowing away half of her head.

"Now. We. Can. Be. Considered. As. Undead." Cocytus's strike cut the hand of Yog-Sothoth, but blood did not sprout as previous, instead freezing solid immediately.

"Hmm, I see. Our molecules are currently in a suspended state. So, the fear that tried to invade our bodies previously has nowhere to go. Genius! Truly genius!" Lucifer smirked, using his flames of pandemonium. But instead of burning the targets and being hot, the hellish flames turned cold, dancing in a blackish blue hue, causing frost burn damage.

Thor jumped, using his mighty hammer and lightning hitting chunks out from his half solid foes. It seemed they were susceptible to cold and ice damage, as their regeneration had considerably slowed.

 **"ThAt cAnNoT Be!"** Yog-Sothoth was barely able to block Cocytus' strike, who in the next moment made a fast pirouette and sliced his shoulder.

"One. Hundred. And. Forty. Degrees. Below. Zero. Human. Blood. Usually. Freezes. One. Hundred

And. Eighteen. Degrees. Below. Zero."

"That is the freezing point of blood and will prevent leaking from an open wound," Michael continued, remembering the usual freezing point of blood. It differed between species, but even species constructed from pure energy were affected by the temperature difference as it affected the molecular movement.

The cut Cocytus made sprouted no blood, it had been frozen solid as his blade met the flesh, then, as the moisture froze under their feet, the earth started to quake violently.

"Fifty degrees below zero. The moisture in the ground we are standing freezes… resulting in an earthquake," Thor continued, remembering his father's old hunting ground in Niflheim. It was a dark, damp, cold-cold place, with many earthquakes taking place because of the same reason.

"273.15. Below. Zero…" Cocytus' breath froze the air solid. "Absolute. Zero." Auriel's frozen bolts connected with the targets, freezing them to the core.

Dismissing his other weapons back to his item box, Cocytus grabbed Sode no Shirayuki with all of his four hands.

"Let's. Make. Sure! Ugghhhhh!" Pouring even more energy in his blade, Cocytus made the impossible possible. "280. Below. Zero!"

 **"Impossible!"** Porphyrion's and everyone's eyes widened as Cocytus dig through the Absolute Zero temperature, conquering the impossible temperature barrier.

Around his body, time and space froze, the molecular movement stopping entirely.

 _"I. Have. Only. A. Few. Seconds."_ he thought while charging, raising his blade. _"Warrior Takemikazuchi-sama. Look. Down. For. Me. Be. Proud. As. Your. Son. Pushes. Beyond. The. Realm. Of. Possible."_

His blade fell. "[Zettai Towa Tōketsu Sutoraiki]!" The new ability Cocytus had trained so hard to master, he could finally use it.

The world completely stopped as Cocytus' strike collided, shattering everything in his faze, annihilating his enemies completely, cutting not only air, but space, time, material, and the corrupted souls.

A big shockwave left the blade, shaking the whole island, a strike that could be felt even on the other side of the world. Tsunamis rose, the earth breaking apart all around. The cataclysmic strike was merciless. No one could stop it.

The corruption shattered around, and the ice started to melt. Slowly, Cocytus lowered the temperature, giving back everyone their existence as living beings. Though, thanks to the hard battle, and the over taxation of his ice power, his hard exoskeleton had cracked in a few places.

"It's over?" asked Michael.

Lucifer just nodded with a big gulp.

Auriel walked to the black, still frozen sword on the ground, and kneeling before it, she started to pray. "Blessed by your name. We'll see this through…"

Michael and Lucifer scouted the region, making sure everything had been settled. No traces of their foes remained.

"I will make them know that we've won," Thor said, twirling his hammer to give the signal, when...

A humongous amount of magic charged behind them, filling the air with dread and desperation, an ancient presence that should never have seen the light once again emerging amidst the chaos. "Hmm. You really are fools. Thanks to you, the way has opened. The lock and the key have been shattered. Thanks to you, he is free. I couldn't have done it any better; please accept my congratulations. If it were to me who had destroyed these two fools, my creator would have been stuck sealed, maybe forever."

The group turned towards the voice, towards the still standing stone construct, spotting a well-suited man with the qualities of Egyptian royalty.

His black blood poured on the stone table in the middle of the circle. "The ancient text said, 'Don't shatter the key and the lock, or it might open the way to the traitorous son to redeem himself'. But of course, kids today never read the small text. For this, I thank you," he bowed, his strange suit fluttering by the unnatural winds. "Now, to open the way, the only thing needed is my essence. And as you see, my own key has already turned the emergency lock. Not literal lock of course."

The power rose as the one, who should have never seen the light again had been released from its eternal slumber. "Behold. The Architect of Fate has returned! I, Nyarlathotep, call upon you! Father! See the light once more!"

Up above them, the until now steadily beating heart rhythm increased, becoming more irregular until it burst, sprouting black blood on the ground. Birthing a single figure, descending it to the ground.

Coughing violently, after a short rest, the boy stood up, his back arching like his gaze. His appearance was that of an androgynous teen without genitals. His hair was moppy, white, ending up in black. His eyes were pitch black, dotted with infinite stars.

"Where…" Looking around, his gaze was groggy. "How long has it been?"

"Father. You have finally returned!" Nyarlathotep kneeled before him. And the boy just watched him without care.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"It has been thousands of years since your enemies sealed you. Your work has been delayed for too long."

"You are right…" he nodded, looking in the direction of the exhausted group. "So, it was they who ended them. I feel their presence no more."

"Yes," Nyarlathotep stood up, bowing respectfully. "Should I eliminate them for you? You are still exhausted. You need time to recover from your long slumber."

"No…" the black eyed boy shook his head. "It is fine." Turning towards Auriel and Cocytus, he just smirked, bowing deeply. "Thank you for making my revival possible. In exchange, I offer you the chance to join me. Witness my grand work as I reorganise the universe. Giving it its deserved new shape."

Michaela of course immediately spat. "No way, thing!" She readied her weapon. "Because of you, father died! I will end you, once and for all, creature!"

The teen just tilted his head amused, chuckling. "Oh, my. So the girl of that old bastard, here of all places. I am truly a lucky one. Ah, and an Odinson. How is the old geezer? It has been a long time since we drank something strong."

"Shut your mouth, creature!" Thor snarled, gripping the slightly cracked Mjölnir.

"Lucifer is also here, good. The infernal god mentioned you many times before his consciousness slipped into oblivion inside the seal. He was kinda tiresome and annoying with all of his fetishes. I am glad he is no more."

Lucifer's expression did not even flinch; he just glared at the 'creature' with narrowed eyes.

"Ah, so many familiar faces, but I also see a few unfamiliar. Who are they, Nyarlo?"

"They are the servants of the newly arrived primordial beings. Caution advised in your weakened state, master."

"Nonsense. It is the least I can do, introducing myself." With a flash, he appeared before Auriel and Cocytus. "Hello! Unfortunately, I can't really give you my real name. It would be really foolish. You know, names carry great power. But…" With a shy chuckle, he offered his hand. "For now you can call me, the Architect."

Looking at each other, Cocytus and Auriel refused to shake the offered hand, glaring at the man. "Not really a handshake guys I see. Well, not a problem. No two people are the same." He lowered his arm. "Well, care to join? I assure you, you will witness a magnificent show. You will have fun under the way!"

"Please allow us to refuse." In a blunt tone, Auriel simply rejected the idea.

"Hmm. I see," sighed the 'Architect' as he introduced himself. "Then, it cannot be helped. What a pity, really…" With a shaking head, his star-dotted black eyes were disturbing. "You know. Just now re-watching the battle between you, Yog-Sothoth and Shub-Niggurath, I am really impressed. You are creative. Your creators must be proud of you. Care to call them here; maybe we can chat. Maybe they will not be as negative as you."

"Aren't. You. Angry. About. Their. Death?"

"Death?" He could barely hold his laughter. "Such a minuscule thing. Only a fool lets death stop them. But I have spoken enough." His gaze softened from the laugh, waving commanding. "Call them here, will you? From the information and quick mental notes I received from Nyarla, they must be quite interesting. Changing plans and blueprints must be really interesting with them. Along with a good meal? I am quite hungry…"

"I refuse. I would never let mother meet a stain like you!" Auriel raised her weapon, her trigger finger held before the trigger steadily.

"Oh! So bad. Then, I suppose I can't do anything more just to retreat. Have a good rest. But first of all." With a twitch of a hand, the Architect snapped his fingers, and one of his eyes turned white. The previously dead Yog-Sothoth and Shub-Niggurath started to gain shape once again, coming back from the dead.

Cocytus immediately used his sword and tried to behead the creature before it's too late, but instead of the expected effect, despite his monstrous strength, the insectoid warrior was unable to cut the boys' thick skin. His sword had been stopped by an invisible force only several millimeters away from the neck of his opponent.

"What? How. Is. It. Possible?"

Auriel and everyone froze, seeing the impossible surfacing before their eyes.

Sniffing in the air, the Architect just shook his head, ignoring Cocytus' attempt to behead him. "I feel the ward you put up around the place. It is quite considerable. So be it. After taking care of you and have finished my work in this universe." His glance turned dangerous, filled with the pity of a lazy man. "I may visit the other side."

Cracking his hand, circling his neck, his smirk turned devilish. "Well then. Let's play…"

The battle started once more, but as the Architect was there, the chances of Cocytus' group winning, or even surviving, had been lowered considerably.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Falmart:**

It was a hard day for the First Lieutenant. Because of his actions near forest Schwarzt, he had to work extra hard to finish his missed paperwork. Not speaking about General Hazama waiting for his report about the operation.

How should he explain the whole thing? After going camping with the girls, they strangely encountered an adventurer band, then clashed with two dragons and a demigoddess, saving an elf clan in the process.

Yeah, he should write that. And the higher-ups might believe him because amongst many things he was sent to build connections with the local tribe. But how should he explain the miraculous recovery of King Duran and that speaking dragon thing that simply pinned down that other dragon? A freaking speaking dragon! And a huge wolf that almost ate Giselle! It was crazy!

Not speaking about the fact, after the small adventure, Clan Dushi awarded him with that honourably elder title and called him and the group the heroes of the Dushi clan. Yet, Itami felt himself no differently. He was not a hero. Neither a Lord as right after the event, Duran, the king of Elbe, awarded the adventurers and him with the Lord Title.

At least he was a noble now, though, only in the Kingdom of Elbe. But what it's worth when it couldn't save him from the paperwork towering above him.

At least Zeno shared the reward with him, Tuka, Lelei and Rory. Some money to buy doujin magazines. Oh, wait!

Opening his phone, only one message awaited Itami. It was several days old. And he could only sigh reading it.

 _Please! Send money! I am starving!_

 _Risa._

It was bad enough they had no internet connection for a few days. Now, something had made their portal unable to function normally. The whole base was a mess. Everyone was panicking. They needed to carefully manage their resources until the command solved this momentary isolation problem.

In the worst case scenario they would have to ask the help of the Sorcerous Kingdom, maybe they knew some method to restore the connection between the sides. After all, they were a magic-based society where teleportation was an everyday thing. They surely could help.

Their ammo and food reserves were enough for a few months at least. In the worst case scenario, they could manufacture more ammo, grow or trade food and ingredients. The only problem was the fuel. They couldn't produce it without the certain machines refining the oil first. Or at least, not in bulk.

But as he had heard, Lelei found magic in the book she had received from Meguminoi that could produce sugar, salt, flour, food, water and similar things.

If it came to that, maybe there was a method to conjure fuel using magic. Giving her the formula after she learned the spell would do the trick, right?

Reading his ex-wife's message once more, Itami could only click his tongue.

"What the hell she is doing with her money. I thought selling those drawings she made from the girls and Momon had earned her some cash." Drinking his steaming coffee, he had no idea how that woman had managed to survive until now.

Turning his head towards the snoring Tuka, who somehow had sneaked into his room and fallen asleep, he couldn't help but nudge his aching neck, leaning back in his chair and watching a nasty spider on his ceiling. "After the battle, her mind seemingly calmed. Yet, she still calls me papa." Nibbling on some snack, he couldn't help but sigh.

That Dark Elf princess had taken Giselle in custody. How she was called? Ah, Akemi.

That tomboyish dark elf girl who accompanied her must have really scared poor dragon. She just ogled it with her two coloured eyes, and the creature peeked around for help. "She must be a scary person…" the cold ran down on Itami's neck. "Yeah, like my math teacher from elementary." Thinking back, that old plumper always made Itami shiver.

Although, Itami wondered even now. What happened to Yao and her tribe? After all, after they received their reward, he had been called back to the base because of the emergency situation that had arisen in the meantime.

Lelei, regarding the circumstances, was working harder than usual, sharing the new things she had learned with her master all day long after she returned. He never had heard her speak so much and so excitedly.

And Rory, she was the old Rory they all loved, though she was a little bit anxious feeling some dark presence lurking around the base. But it was just like that; she was Rory for you.

Well, not that way. For Itami, she still looked underage and was a big no. He might got handcuffed if someone found out he had done anything improper with her. She was a Loli, and no matter how tempting a relationship with a nine hundred plus years old Goth Loli sounded, it was a big no in the eyes of the law. And after all, he was not a perverted old man. Being a healthy man he had desires, but he kept them in check.

He only hoped that 'your soul belongs to me' thing was only a joke and his injuries only transferred to her because of some kind of magical trick.

All in all, Itami's schedule was busy. And for all his luck, before the connection was lost with the other side, the higher-ups chose him, from all the skilled individuals, him! To be one of the escorts of the diplomats on the other side under their visit to the Sorcerer Kingdom.

To finish the shit sandwich that had started to pile since his arrival, not long ago, Rory received an invitation to visit the shrine of Hardy. And of course, the only one she managed to convince to accompany her was him. Of all, him! True, it was more like she nagged him until he said, 'ok'. But who can say no to a Goth Loli demigoddess who can tear you apart bit by bit with her bare hands!? No one, I say.

He had no idea where Momon was, but Itami really hoped he would show up soon. With him around at least Rory would nag the dark warrior and not him. And bringing Raidyn was a plus. She was actually a good chat partner if you dug deep enough. Who knew she was a geek deep inside? Pretty girls like her usually cared more about their appearance and girlish things than Otaku things like games and manga.

The First Lieutenant had no idea how - maybe because of her slightly insane persona - but somehow she really knew her stuff when it came to manga she read and similar things. And she was not like other girls. Itami and Kurata actually could chat with her about Otaku stuff, which several people (no offence Shino) couldn't stand.

Not speaking about the crazy, but entertaining things she and Momon could come up with under the DnD (dungeons and dragons) session they 'unintendedly' walked into and joined.

Living in a magic fueled fantasy world really made you a pro-DnD player and dungeon master, that's for sure.

Exhaling tiredly, the first lieutenant continued his report, hoping it would be soon over. Smiling, remembering that crazy DnD session that turned absurd after the first hour. Momon being the dungeon master guaranteed its absurd accuracy.

Embracing the good memories, his door burst open. "Rory, what the!?" before he could do anything more, Rory jumped in his lap, burying her head in his chest.

"Itami! It is horrible!" She looked up at him with tearful eyes. "It's terrible! It's terrible! I feel the world dying around me! Something horrible is happening with the souls of the other side!"

"Wait, what?" He raised his brow. Just for in the next moment, a voice from his radio started to speak. "First Lieutenant Itami. Report in the mess hall. I repeat. Report in the mess hall."

Patting Rory's head and exhaling deeply, it could not be helped, when the duty called, you had to go.

"Please look out for Tuka."

"You are just leaving me?!" she screamed, making Tuka wince.

Itami just raised his finger and shooed her. "Shhhh… Please be quiet. Tuka is sleeping." He only said as much before leaving, closing the door behind him.

Rory pouted, crossing her hands and turning her head away. "Dammit! I almost got him!" It seemed the tactic she had read about did not work as intended.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Back on Earth: Battlefield: A little time later:**

The battle...had been lost. Mjölnir laid shattered not far from Thor's mutilated corpse. Michael was dead, impaled by her own spear, slowly turning her body into solid salt. Her golden tears were pouring from her half missing eyes, pouring down on her cheeks as her dead face gaped like a dead fish.

Lucifer had been tore in two, his upper self still crawling, but with his regeneration being hindered, he could only drag himself towards his past love before his power left his body. "Michaela…" he whispered one last time before his blood loss took a toll on him, pushing him into the land of dreams.

Porphyrion, the former proud giant king was like a zombie, a strange, tentacle creature with many eyes having drilled itself into his brain, making the former proud titan into the slave of the enemy. All around twisted trees rose from the ground.

Auriel curled on the ground, her golden blood pouring, staining the twisted ground with her holiness, purifying it a little bit before the corruption returned. Mumbling, her armour was full of holes, dented and shattered. Her once proud weapon laid boltless.

"No. No. No," she wept continuously.

All around, there was no time. There was no space anymore. Darkness and corruption had claimed the world. A dark heart pulsing with eldritch energies replaced the sun, then shattered right away, whispering insanity in the air. Horrific clouds dark in colouration covered the skies, from them terrific tentacles reaching down. Corrupting, churning the very existence. Reality was being warped, leaving behind strange entities in stranger forms.

Substantial black trees were forming slowly, reaching and darkening the skies. Strange creatures walked amongst the woods, towering over even the skyscrapers in their magnificent horrific selves.

The ground was littered with dead, slowly churned by the otherworldly energies, claimed by the earth. Be they were previously supernatural entities or simple humans, they all fell. Near the circle constructed from standing stones, Avalon had fallen. There was no escape… everything was lost.

Only one figure was kneeling on the battlefield, breathing slowly a freezing gust of air. The creatures were slowly surrounding him. His appearance was peculiar, strange, like a cyan coloured insect, leaning against his peculiar blade. An odachi with its length exceeding 180cm, emitting divine and freezing energies.

On Cocytus' face, a pained expression settled. His previously brimming blue exoskeleton was cracked, losing its perfect light. From the cracks his greenish blood poured. Two of his four arms were missing.

Looking up, the horrors approached him once more. Recovering from his last devastating strike, heading his way. Gaping their twisted mouths without end, trying to devour the very existence.

"Hmm. They were good; I expected a good game and I received even more. Hehehe…" The Architect laughed mockingly, waving his newly resurrected children to finish his work.

"You can have him. Just leave some souvenir so I can remember this magnificent battle," he waved, and Shub-Niggurath obeyed her master's words, ordering her children to devour the enemy.

The proud warrior lowered his head, spotting Auriel's twisted visage. Crying, the former noble Arch Seraphim's golden armour was stained, her divine crossbow lying broken. Her flawless beauty churned and twisted by the agonising horror that tangled on her face. "Save me… Oh, Creator-sama, save this lost little lamb, please. Ainz-sama… Save your faithful servant…" she mumbled maniacally, slowly bleeding out.

 _"The creature knows the gate. It is the gate. It is the key and guardian of the gate. Past, present, future, all are one in the creature. He knows where the Old Ones broke through of old, and where They shall break through again. He knows where They have trod earth's fields, and where They still tread them, and why no one can behold Them as They tread..."_ this one thought played through Cocytus' mind over and over again, he had no idea why it just wormed itself in his mind. And it was maddening.

He had failed, they all had failed. They had failed to stop the horrors lying under the horizon. "Forgive me. Ainz-sama..." he muttered, looking up once more."Forgive me. Esdeath-sama. Forgive. Me. Warrior Takemikazuchi-sama."

 **"Meeeeehhhh!"** The last twisted bleating of one thousand and one goats was what Cocytus heard as darkness descended.

…

"Oh my… what a mess…." Except, one light still shone in the darkness. Or, if you like that better, greater darkness rose to devour the lesser.

Before the closest Dark Young could reach Cocytus, a familiar figure stepped before him. With a swing of her divine katana she cut the space and time, and space slid in a forty-five degree angle, like a single swing of the blade damaged it. The first creature that came in the line fell to pieces as she slowly sheathed her blade. Like many blades cut it, many flashes ran through its body before the beast crumbled on the ground in pieces.

Her stature was short, barely reaching the 160cm. Yet, just now, for the mighty Cocytus, her form had grown sizes. She was a giant in his eyes. She was the one person that stood between them and total annihilation.

"Esdeath-sama," he muttered, bowing his head in respect.

For a moment, the terror Auriel was feeling ceased, feeling her creator's radiating dubious presence surfacing not far from her. Feeling her, a new kind of light started to fill the Arch Seraphim's heart, chasing away the darkness that until now occupied her previous bright world. "Mother…" she smiled, tears of joy pouring from her sockets. "I knew you wouldn't abandon us."

The enforcer of Nazarick just stood before Cocytus. Saying nothing with a crossed arm over her chest, she just watched the approaching enemies completely calm.

Her knee-length black, stylish overcoat with the white kanji writing 'enforcer' on her back fluttered by the unnatural, corrupted winds that had been coursing planet Earth since the invasion had began.

Metal reinforced butler gloves with strange pentagrams covered her hands, while peculiar metal pieces covered her chest, knees, shins and arms, each of them embedded with different coloured crystal. Each of them contained one such diamond to be exact. All of it to protect the important places but to not hinder the movement of the wearer in any way. Despite all of this, her armour remained stylish and elegant.

From her back, two humongous feathered wings grow, one was black, meanwhile the other was white. The two wings stretched more than four meters between the two ends. From her rear, a sharp metallic tail ending sharply, blades adorning it sprouted. Its surface cracked, darkness and light mixed emanating under the fractured surface.

"What a mess. Where is the Doomguy when you need him the most?" The first words that left her mouth were sarcastic ones, resting one of her leg on the huge demonic skull before her left leg. Her tone implied her slight annoyance. Or it was pity mixed pride? No matter what, she cared not meanwhile watched the huge army of Dark Young and many different creatures charging against her.

Her voice was slightly distorted, almost robotic thanks to the filter embedded in her scientific looking, strange mask. A restraint helmet with no eyeholes. A hermetically closed helmet that looked like a shortened xenomorph skull from the Alien series, moulded to fit the human head without the elongated rear skull. Designed, so that the wearer would feel the sense of entrapment.

(if you still can't imagine it, 'Diclonius Restraint Helmet')

Despite the nature of her mask, it seemed she was still completely aware of her surroundings.

Above her head a sizable halo floated. A halo constructed from chaotic black energies outlined with white holy light. Mixing, releasing twilight coloration.

Waiting for a few more moments, tapping her feet on the charred skull she sighed disappointedly. "Well, it seems Doomguy will not appear. I have to do the stuff myself." Placing a little more weight on her leg, the skull under her feet shattered to pieces.

With a simple swipe of her arm, she incanted her racial ability, a racial ability that would change the battlefield forever. "I incant the [Second Trumpet]. Feel despair as Abeloth descends on your world. Feel the dread as Apocalypse arrives!" Heavenly trumpets with distorted sounds roared through the heavens, shaking the very earth and skies as the apocalyptic power washed through the landscape.

Howling, stirring up the air, creating miniature tornados, the second trumpet of the apocalypse had spoken. Crimson and black blood rained from the skies, as the end of times started.

Behind Esdeath's back, her wings crystalized, transformed of an extensive network of branches, constructed from salt both dark and holy in nature.

"That's…" Auriel muttered wide-eyed.

The struggling Lucifer was filled with terror. He was on the verge of death, yet, he recognised the salt that had annihilated armies of demons in the past, and he felt fear, honest fear. But after a moment, drifting between consciousness and unconsciousness, now he felt the holy feeling mixing with the corruption of darkness, mixing in the appeared girl.

Light and darkness formed a symbiotic, balanced bond as a corrupting twilight miasma appeared around the black and white salt wings sprouting from her back.

"It's all over…" Esdeath whispered with a lowered head. The Dark Youngs still charged, bleating like no tomorrow, the ground rumbling with their every step. **"Meeeeehhhh!"**

"All those who've broken the taboo shall become the pillar of salt!" The always moving circle signing the activation of the Super Tier ability only flashed for a moment before the ability triggered.

"[Mare et Salis]!" She swept her arm before herself.

The ground shook and rumbled. The wind howled in a horrific voice. An ocean of salt rose from the nothingness, mixing black and white particles. Holy and darkness. Burning, destroying, sanctifying then turning everything it touched to salt. Not only destroying the body but corrupting, devouring then annihilating the soul those it affected, producing more and more salt in the process. It was a chain reaction.

There was no escape, the Dark Youngs and the other creatures charging against her had no chance. Even the dark beings that roamed the skies had been caught by the suddenly conjured salt tentacles that shoot out from the sea of salt, turning them into white and black dust, making them join the great abundance.

The demonic corruption had this strange effect on the holy salt. It not only strengthened the bonded sanctifying/corrupting impact, but it also gave new effects to the attack. It animated the crumbling sea, giving it its own, unholy conciseness, turning the crumbling abundance into a sea of salt monstrosity.

Each particle had its own mind, and joining together they became more and more intelligent, following their master's order, turning the whole thing into a dubious abomination.

 **"Urggggghhhhhh!"** the animated salt roared, shaking the entire island. Its hunger was ever growing, splitting as it grew, forming great mouths, faces, and various animals, eating away everything in their way.

Like a mad conductor who conducted her musical serenade, Esdeath waved her arms ever intensely, making every participant watch her fearfully. Under her mask, she smirked like a madwoman; no one could stop her insanity anymore.

The salt continued its way, systematically annihilating everyone who resisted, turning them into fine dust, making them join the great legion.

In the end, Esdeath turned around, watching Cocytus and Auriel. Bowing as she reached the end of her grand opus, Cocytus and the struggling Auriel applauded the serenade. Though, the salt continued the massacre in the background, even without she controlling it.

"Oh! Sorry. You did well. Please forgive my lateness. Because of my uncertainty, I almost let you die. Please forgive me." she bowed gracefully.

Despite their injuries, both servants kneeled deeply, lowering their heads and prostrating.

Auriel trembled, barely able to hold herself straight, keeping the hole on her side from where a massive amount of her blood poured on the ground.

"No," she gulped in a trembling voice. "Please forgive your unworthy servant, mother. I brought shame on your head, once again…"

"You know very well, Auriel, I am always proud you." she raised the Arch Seraph's chin, looking into her eyes through her mask. Auriel just bowed her head, tears of joy pouring down her cheeks.

Turning to Cocytus, she nodded. "Good work Cocytus. Takemikazuchi would be proud of you if he were here today."

Crackling his mandibles happily, the ice warrior was indeed happy hearing such praise.

"Well, I don't like using this ability because it makes me feel weird and my mana storage is scarcely pitiful compared to Ainz-san. But…" Looking around, Esdeath exhaled hard. "This one time I will make an exception. [Maximize Racial: Mass Twilight Restoration]!"

Auriel and Cocytus immediately felt as their bodies healed. The pain was gone, the wounds closed, Cocytus' missing arms regrew as the wave of twilight coloured energy ran through the area. Also, Lucifer's lower half had been completely regrown; the life previously glimmering in his veins had been restored completely.

Sitting up, the only thing he could do was just laugh, before falling unconscious again, watching Michael's corpse that had almost entirely turned to salt now. "Michaela…" he whispered before closing his eyes.

Watching him, Esdeath nodded to Auriel. "Take care of them."

"Them?" Auriel tilted her head as there was only one survivor.

Her question soon was answered as in the next moment the zombified Porphyrion appeared behind her master's back, trying to crush her with his blackened Warhammer. On his bald head, a tentacle creature dangled, filled with blind eyes. **"Urghhhh!"** The previous proud titan drooled as his mighty hammer fell. But it did not found its mark, as Esdeath disappeared, just to appear behind his back once more, holding the corrupted creature, squeezing it like a balloon.

The parasite squirmed amidst her fingers, but it was unable to penetrate her gloves. Channelling the power of destruction, it crumbled to violet coloured particles under a moment.

After a moment, Porphyrion fell forward unconscious with a big hole in his skull. "Heal him before he dies, if you want, you can resurrect the other two." she commanded and Auriel immediately obliged, jumping and channelling her divine power to heal her ally.

"Now, this is interesting," smirked the Architect, caressing his chin and leaning forward, inspecting the rampaging sea of salt his 'daughter' had tried to stop, with less success than more, as from time to time it almost consumed her wholly.

"Master, she is dangerous. Do you wish for me to take care of her?" offered Nyarlathotep, bowing slightly.

"No, let's see where things develop. That girl seems interesting. And after all, we are not savages. Who knows, there might be a new ally in her."

"My creator, I advise against it. That individual bears the power of the holy and the infernal god. Both darkness and light perfectly bonded in her veins. She is extremely dangerous. Let me say this again. I advise against the further delay of her annihilation."

"Shush you," the architect shrugged off his creation's warning. "You spoil my fun. I slept who knows for how long. I need some fun. I need some people to chat. I need information you dummy."

"As you wish."

Not far from them, Shub-Niggurath was on the verge of explosion, cursing, flailing with her hands sharply as her body had almost entirely turned to salt.

"My cHiLdReN! yOu dEsTrOyEd aLl oF ThEm! HoW DaRe yOu!" Under the dark robes, the tentacles that made up Shub-Niggurath's body squirmed, endangering everything bursting out. "I WiLl rAiN DoWn aGoNy, EvErY ViOlAtIoN ImAgInAbLe uPoN YoU. i wIlL PaRaDe yOuR CoLd bOdY, fRoM EvErY CoRnEr, To eVeRy rEaLm, AnD FeEd yOuR BoDy tHe vIlEsT FiLtH In tHe nOnExIsTeNcE! tHaT'S My pRoMiSe!"

The mother of the Dark Youngs stepped forward, salt crumbling down from her failing body. In her rage, a dark haze washed through the field, killing everything in its way. But with a wave of a hand, the enforcer of Nazarcik cut a wide path in the deadly miasma, clearing the way. "You are annoying…" she muttered as she strode forward unopposed.

Yog-Sothoth stepped forward, lowering her hand. **"yOU ARE STILL WEAK FROM THAT SALT WAVE. rECUPERATE."**

Turning her attention to her hand, despite her best effort, it indeed turned to salt entirely, slowly starting to crumble to dust. She had tried to stop the salt ocean previously, trying to save her children from becoming dust. Her attempt was successful in the most part as most of the salt had disappeared. But she paid a steady price as her body still suffered from the after effect of touching the wave.

Half of her face and body had crystalised already, and the process accelerated as she used her power for anything else than keeping the infection in check. It was like a virus steadily infecting her cells, affecting her dark soul. Crystalizing everything it touched. She felt, if she lost the inner battle, she would cease to exist.

If not for her constant concentration she would have turned into a salt sculpture long ago.

The two of them were resurrected, true. Given new life, but after such attack, she still felt herself weakened.

 **"i wIlL TaKe cArE Of hEr. I WiLl aVeNgE YoUr cHiLdReN."**

Shub-Niggurath nodded to her brother's offer. Letting him step forward, his armour had been completely restored. Many blinded open eyes were adorning it, always watching, turning to twist, carrying madness.

 **"yOu wIlL ReGrEt wHaT YoU HaVe dOnE To mY SiStEr. YoU WiLl sUfFeR! tHoU LoCkEd wItH Me. dOn't fOrGeT ThAt."**

The architect watched the sides with great interest, analysing every motion of the black-clad woman. He couldn't help it, but he felt he had seen her somewhere. Her presence was so familiar.

Esdeath said nothing for a moment, watching the creature behind her mask, tilting her head as she stopped.

"You are wrong," she said in her robotic voice, then, one moment to the other, Esdeath removed the restraint helmet, facing dread itself. "Boy, you seem to misunderstand something." She raised her finger. "I am not locked here with you. You are locked here with me."

The two dark circles were still visible under her slightly upturned prominent eyes. Promising only doom who faces her.

In her sockets, her eyes double-coloured; the left was crimson, blood red with a black pupil and several red veins running in the black sclera. The right was a very distinctive eye, characterised by a blue pupil surrounded by a blue and white flower-like iris.

Watching Yog-Sothoth for a moment, she blinked lazily. The creature expected her to start screaming, turn mad from fear and sobbingly curl on the ground after a few moments. After all, his ability that brought out the primal fear from everyone who entered his presence activated at the moment she was in the range. In the past, even divine beings felt its effect.

It was already strange enough the ability had failed on the freshly freed Angel and insect thing since they as well were in the affected range. But what was the problem? Yog-Sothoth had no idea.

"It is strange. You know," she chuckled amusedly. "Previously. I felt fear, dread. Thinking, you were in the same category like my previous captors. Thinking, you were one of them. Due, your presence was similar. But now…" She glanced at him, her face and eyes only radiating pity. "I feel only pity. Momonga was right, even if he didn't say it. I am really a pathetic being for fearing such minor thing."

Chuckling quietly, she spread her arms wide, offering her body to openly be attacked. "Come on then. If I were you, I would use my full power until there is an opening. Come on! Hit me! Kill me! Come on! What are you waiting for!? This is your only chance! Hurry! Hurry! Do it! Use your full power! Rain down me your true might! Bathe me in chaos and instanity!"

Yog-Sothoth just shrugged, towering above the girl. **"yOu HaVe aLrEaDy lOsT YoUr mInD."**

"Many said this before." Smiling, her expression was impish.

Turning her head away, she sniffed in the air. "Looks like it is going to be morning soon. Good, I feel myself a lot better."

 **"ThErE Is nEiThEr mOrNiNg nOr nOoN In OuR EnVeLoPe oF NothiNgNeSs. mErElY StEpPiNg In oUr dOmAiN WaS YoUr uNdOiNg, LiTtlE GiRl."** Yog-Sothoth swung the black blade, slicing her shoulder, sprouting some of her golden blood that was outlined with black haze, hitting her face with his full power. But her head barely moved an inch, and her smile never faltered.

 **"HaUgHtY WoRdS cOmInG FrOm A CrEaTuRe tHaT WaS CoWeRiNg, HiDiNg bEhInD HeR SeRvAnTs iN FeAr uNtIl nOw. WhY ShOuLd i uSe mY TrUe pOwEr aGaInSt sOmE VeRmIn?"**

Her face only slightly moved, smiling. The cut on her shoulder had already regenerated. "Good for you then, you should start using your full strength." Her smile was serene, not even winching when the hit landed.

 **"It iS ThEn, YoUr lAsT WoRdS."**

"No. Simply, hand back my sword and apologise."

…

The Architect was getting more and more excited. Bitting his index finger, he watched the happenings with an intoxicated face. "Creator, please! I beg you! Yog-Sothoth is unable to sense it, but with every passing second, power is swelling up in that individual. Now, even I could hardly do anything against her. Soon, her power will grow to the level she'll be able to challenge you in your weakened state."

"Hmm…" the Architect looked at Nyarlathotep with a twisted brow. "I am aware of that. Everything is under control. Don't worry. I am just curious." Watching her, the boy exhaled. "She is familiar to me. Yet, I don't know where I have felt this dubious energy before."

"As you wish." the traitorous son bowed, turning back to the battle.

…

 **"YoU ReAlLy HaVe lOsT YoUr mInD."**

"Apologise to me, that you were born into my world." Her words shocked everyone in the battlefield, making them shiver as her tone was so cold, hell's deepest point froze solid from her voice.

 **"hAh! So yOu wErE So tErRiFiEd tHaT YoU'Ve GoNE MaD. vErY WeLl. I WiLl sHoW YoU My tRuE PoWeR, jUsT As yOu wIsH. pRePaRe fOr oBlIvIoN!"**

The world turned dark as Yog-Sothoth cast his dark magic. A colossal pressure washed over the whole environment, pushing everyone to their knees.

…

"Ugh…" Cocytus groaned before the radiating power that forced him to his knees.

"Well, I came just in time." In the next moment, Ainz stepped out from the appeared portal. Knocking his golden staff on the ground, he created a barrier of negative energy before Auriel, Cocytus, and the two survivors.

"Ainz-sama!" Auriel gasped. Just now, she had finished with healing Porphyrion and was on to remove the saltification of Michaela.

Cocytus bowed his head, exhaling a gust of cold air. "Ainz-sama."

Merely nodding to them, the Overlord turned back to the battlefield. Zero and Schrödinger stepped out from the portal behind him. "Onii-sama! Scrhödinger-chan! You are here!"

Zero just nodded, while Schrödinger waved smirking. "Aye-aye, schwester. We just went around sightseeing a little bit. Nice place it is. And look, we brought both of you souvenirs!" The German boy showed his sister the samples he had picked up under the way.

Auriel didn't know what to say, just nodding uneasily watching the squirming tentacle things the cat teen had collected. Her younger brother always had weird hobbies.

"Ainz-sama. Creator-sama will be…"

"Don't worry about her…" Ainz waved away her doubts with a single word. "She will be fine. She erased her doubts at the moment she stepped on the battlefield. Rather than that, I fear without her doubts, there is too much pride in her heart now. Prepare yourself; it will be blinding."

Looking forward, Ainz could only mutter. "Damn Chuunibyou, fooling with your enemy once more…" His grip tightened on his staff.

…

The dark cocoon completely swallowed Esdeath, burying her into the nothingness.

 **"Be uTtErLy cOnSuMeD By tHe lImBo wItHoUt a tRaCe. ThIs iS An eNdInG BeFiTtInG FoR A CrEaTuRe wHoSe iNsOlEnCe kNoWs nO BoUnDs!"**

Just as Yog-Sothoth smirked, accounting for his victory, a glint of light flashed through the dark cocoon, shattering it completely in the next moment, bursting out in a blinding light. The mere presence of her was so intense he was pushed back. It was like a real sun had manifested before him. Bright, hot, ever-changing. Yet, cold tentacles of darkness mixed in the essence of light, giving the whole thing a twilight colour. A dubious, corrosive nature.

 **"GuawwW!"** Yog-Sothoth was barely able to recover by sticking the sword on the ground. **"YoU! hOw!? hOw aRe yOu nOt cOnSuMeD By mY CoCoOn oF NoThInGnEsS!?"**

 ** _"WHaT dId ShE Do!? No… ShE dId NoThInG; sHe JuSt PuShEd mE BaCk with HeR MeRe pReSeNcE,"_** he thought, barely able to resist.

…

Everyone felt the intense heat and darkness Esdeath emitted, raising their hands to cover themselves. Everyone did it, except Ainz and the Architect who watched excited the happenings.

"Oh, I see… I see… Interesting thing you are. Kukuku…"

…

"The nothingness feared me… That's all there is to it."

 **"WhAt nOnSeNsE YoU WeRe gOiNg tO SpEw, ThAt nOtHiNgNeSs wOuLd fEaR A MeRe GiRl LiKe yOu? ThAt's lAuGhAbLe!"**

"You lack the thing, which would make my [Sunshine] exhaust. You lack the thing, which would make you the king of monsters."

 **"WhAt aRe yOu sPeAkInG AbOuT…"** Yog-Sothoth raised his arm, feeling the intense heat and darkness soon overwhelms him, starting to melt his armour and body more and more with each moment. Although, the presence of darkness mixed in the light lessened with each moment. Giving its place to purifying, scorching holiness. **_"wHaT Is sHe? HeR PoWeR LeVeLs aRe sUrGiNg... ThEy'rE SwElLiNg uP EvEn gReAtEr tHaN ThEy wErE BeFoRe...!"_**

"In this realm, creatures such as yours are as numerous as grains of sand… But I am no such thing. I am an existence unlike any other in this world. I am Darkness, and I am Light. I am the two sides of the same coin. I am the last of my kind; I am Esdeath Gorgon. Though, it is not my true name. Creatures like you deserve not to hear my true calling."

Yog-Sothoth's body and soul crumbled as the light intensified. Trying to swing the blade, the girl did not move from the way. The edge did not reach her, stopping a few inches from her forehead.

Yog-Sothoth struggled to move, but his body was completely frozen. **"WhAt iS ThIs…!?"**

Around them, all around the planet, the heat she emitted could be felt. If not for Ainz's precaution at the moment she activated her ability, the atmosphere would have ignited long ago.

"You are very strong, indeed. But you lack the thing that would make you the leader of your kind. The thing that makes you deserve the title, king of monsters..."

Shub-Niggurath tried to move and help her brother. But Ainz raised his hand, squishing a dark thing that appeared in his palm. "[Soul Shatter]" He couldn't possibly let his friend have all the fun this morning.

Shub-Niggurath fell to the ground. Her soul was strong, but it had already been weakened by the dubious salt and the intense heat that was emitted by the girl. Ainz crushing her dark soul to pieces was just the peak of the berg.

The Overlord was aware; these two were not the real things, the outer beings from the Cthulu mythos, just cheap imitations created by that boy. Still, their power almost reached cosmic levels.

Yog-Sothoth's eyes widened, feeling his sister leaving the plane of existence forever. Her soul disappeared completely.

"You lack the terror," Esdeath continued as the heat she emitted intensified even more. Forming a miniature sun above her head. Ever grooving in size, heat and magnitude.

She breathed heavily, looking happy, gazing in the far as she started her little piece of art.

"Hair with the colour of Raven."

"Lips with the colour of fresh rose."

"A perfect Harmony of sweet Aroma."

"Oh, a Wild fox with many tails."

"When you will recognise me."

"Oh, tragedy, there is a second."

"White hair."

"A royal heritage."

"Two dubious eyes make the damsel go looney."

"What should I do?"

"How should I chose?"

"Wild, yet rational."

"Two mysteries locking me in an eternal prison."

"Always angry, yet, merry, like the morning berry."

"A choice, impossible."

 **"WhA-WhAt iNcAnTaTiOn Is tHaT?"** Fear incarnation trembled, feeling the end was close. His body slowly turning to charred dust in the presence of her.

"Incantation?!" Esdeath raised her brow; her expression turned to one you might call uppity, scornful, and pitiful, looking down on her enemy. "You dare hurt my daughter, my friends' creation. You dare to ruin this world and many others, and now, you dare to mock me by calling my poem an incantation?!"

Yog-Sothoth trembled, the epitome of despair experiencing everything his past victims had to, and dread filled him as she looked down at him with those scornful eyes. His body slowly dusted to nothingness in her presence.

 **"sPa-sPaRe mE... I aM SoRrY..."** the fake Yog-Sothoth pleaded. She just stood before him, watching him the same way. Leaning closer, she said only one thing.

"You should watch out what you eat; eating me is pretty unhealthy." All of his eyes widened knowing the end was near. "Boom!" she whispered, leaning to his face.

The last thing running through Yog-Sothoth's chaotic mind was only one word. _"[Hakai]"_ The incarnation of fear, the key and the lock evaporated into nothingness, leaving only one thing behind, or, more than one thing.

The black sword of Esdeath started to fall towards the ground, heated, glowing white from the heat. Just in the next moment to be caught by an armoured hand.

"Took you long enough, boss." Surprisingly, Raidyn landed on the ground after the disappearance of the creature. Battered and filthy, but fine, holding the unconscious kitsune goddess, Amaterasu, under her arm. "If you had waited just a moment longer, I would have had to step in. You really like dramatic entrances, like always."

"Humph…" Esdeath turned off her [Sunshine] aura, brushing her hair off the side. The environment was still liquid, bubbling all around, but slowly it started to cool. Albeit, it still needed a few more hours, maybe days to completely cool off. "You know I love dramatic entrances."

The authoritative figure nodded. "Yes."

Turning back to her authentic self, her brow was raised. "Oh, I see you found a new friend." Watching Amaterasu's still sleeping form under Raidyn's arm, her elegant kimono was bloodied with her golden blood.

The original Esdeath just smirked.

"Yeah…Well, that." the dark elf impersonator massaged her neck, sighing. "I kinda picked her while wandering in the insides of this thing. It was kinda a big place, you know?"

"Right…" Esdeath deadpanned uncaringly.

"You should really hurry next time. You don't know how hard it was balancing out the adequate power level that was enough to satisfy these things but not raise suspicion I am just fooling them under all that time. I had to concentrate really hard all along allowing them to access just as much power as I intended. Not more, not less. Simulating her power signature and protecting her was also a bit of its own game," she flailed with her arm, explaining everything scientifically.

"You must be tired. You did well. But…"

"But…" Raidyn eyed the original suspiciously.

"Ah, sorry. I thought you would fall. Thus, I almost forgot you were there. Sorry. Hehe…" she scratched the back of her head with an embarrassed face.

"Yes. I really need a good rest. What! What did you just say!?" Raidyn only realised too late what her original, authentic self-said.

"Oh, nothing," the original one chuckled.

"Well then," flashing on her side, Zero took care of Amaterasu, simply bowing at the flabbergasted authentic copy. Esdeath snapped her fingers. "[Authentic Me: Erase]." She activated her ability.

"Wait! Wait! Hold on! You really intended for me to die!?" The authentic Raidyn flailed as she slowly evaporated into nothingness. Then, under her last moments, an amused smirk curled on her face. "It does not matter. It was a fun game. Call me again if you need my help, or simply want to play something, boss." With that, she disappeared completely, returning to where she came from, the imagination of Esdeath.

Smirking, the original one massaged her neck, only to feel a heavy hand landing on her shoulder. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, I think so," she nodded, looking at Ainz.

After a short sigh, Ainz shook his head. "You play too much with the enemy. You should have killed them right away."

"Maybe…" she smirked deviously. "But that would be just boring. Without style, what's worth the roleplay?"

Hearing this, Momonga jumped behind her and started to give her noogies. "Auuu! That hurts!" She grabbed the sides of her head painfully. Groaning aloud.

"That's what you get because you role played once again! Do you know how serious the situation was!? You damn Chuunibyou!"

"Au! I am sorvvy! I am sovvy!" she pleaded as the Overlord of Death pulled her cheeks hard, stretching it to the limit. His [Negative Touch] activated accidentally, burning her face slightly with his energy.

Their passing fool play was disturbed by a slow clapping sound. "Well, well, well. What a show…" smirked the Architect, approaching them slowly.

"So, you are the Architect," Turning to him, Ainz commented, measuring the thin boy from tip to toe. The androgynous teen had managed to get some pants, from somewhere; Ainz had no idea from where.

"Indeed, my artist name is well known by some," he chuckled.

"Cocytus and Auriel told me everything. Before the situation worsens, we will stop you." Ainz raised his staff, making it glow in violet energy. The air died around it as his power flowed through his weapon. "You hurt my friend's children and delayed my plans. Your last mistake!"

"Oi! Oi! Before you attack!" The architect raised his hands defensively, making Ainz slightly lower his staff. "If you do allow me a question, who convinced you it was me to blame? It was that old hag, or the old man, or…" he glanced at Nyarlo who shook his head.

"No, I would have never. You wished to sleep, Creator. So I made them think you had been defeated. Though, their seal was stronger than expected. I couldn't release you without the help of the outsiders."

"Hmm… It's okay…" His gaze turned back to Ainz and Esdeath. "Before we continue. You already know my stage name, but who might you be, if I may ask? Your performance was splendid! I give you nine out of ten!" he showed a thumbs up with a big smirk.

"Why not ten out of ten?" asked Esdeath suddenly, making Ainz glare at her.

"It was a little bit dragged," explained the boy slyly. "But aside from that, it was a nice performance. I am aware; you could easily kill that servant if you wished. With a move if you wanted. Resurrection weakens them slightly after all."

"Aren't you angry because of them?"

"Well, pfft…" sticking his tongue, he made a fart sound. "Who cares? Old products of old age. Potentially useful but not a big loss. They served their intended purpose. I need not them from now on."

Nyarla narrowed his brows watching his master but otherwise remained silent.

"You know we can't let you go," Ainz stepped forward.

"I know, I am aware. The lies of the old ones have already infected your mind. It cannot be helped. And I am sorry to hurt your children, really. But don't forget." He raised his index finger in a warning fashion. "I was polite. They started the microaggression game, not me." Esdeath glanced at Auriel and Cocytus, who lowered their heads in shame. "Knowing you will not believe me whatever I say in your current mental state, I have a business offer to you."

"Business offer?" asked Esdeath with narrowed eyes, turning back to him.

"Business offer," the Architect smirked, turning his back to them and raising his gaze towards the slowly clearing sky. "You see. I know how I am. What I planned to do. I can't do anything with it. It is in my blood. I always loved neatness."

Momonga just waited, his cold, dead heart made him patient, a person who's head filled with rationally.

"The only problem is people by nature are dirty, untidy. Because of this, I wanted to reorganise things in the past to be more… what is the best word for it…hmmm…" Clicking his tongue and snapping his fingers a few times, before he could find the adequate word, Esdeath preceded him.

"Orderly?" she inquired with a raised brow.

"Yes, that is…" he pointed his finger at her in return.

"What has this to do with us?"

"You know, they lied to you about me. They lied to everyone, painting me in a bad light, simply to turn everyone against me. I am childish, a roleplayer if you like that better. But maniacal? Don't joke with me!" He glanced at the duo lazily, only offering a lazy gaze, clicking his tongue. "I know. I am not spotless. Full with negative qualities. And did things in the past I myself am not proud either. Cataclysmic events, the annihilation of whole races, etcetera… usual things. I am sure you as well have done similar mischevious acts when you were young."

Glaring at him, the fires in Ainz's sockets intensified. "What are you speaking about?"

"The old hag and the old man. They made everyone think I am the big bad who needs to be stopped. I found it funny at first. Allowing this little game to spread. Everyone needs a little entertainment after all." The boy exhaled bored. "It was not my best idea. I admit, it was a stupid idea fooling with them around for too long. And in the end, no one believed me. As I mentioned, I always liked role play after all. Unfortunately, they caught me off guard. Betrayed by your own parents hurts. You see…." Leaving a momentary pause, he shook his head.

Ainz and Esdeath looked at each other, knowing not what the heck was going on.

"But it does not matter anymore… The only thing that matter is I don't intend to go back to my slumber. I have slept enough. I am fully awake now. But I know. In my current state, I have no chance against the two of you. Thinking of clashing with you two right now makes me feel…" he shrugged, like the cold ran through his spine. "Breezy. I have no intention to die. I would rather speak, but I know, in the end, we will clash either way."

"How do you know? We are pretty reasonable," said Ainz calmly.

"Because I know. Once we start to speak, they will appear and take care to see me in the same light as they want it. That's it! I want to go on vacation for a while. Because of this, I have a business offer. Because I know, in the end, our clash is inevitable." He pointed at them, then stretched his arms a few times.

"You let me go and in return," he snapped his fingers and a wave washed through Earth, slowly returning everything as they were before the invasion, reversing time to three days ago. "I return this world to its previous state and have made the onslaught stop in every front as a sign of my goodwill. All minuscule human lives and original denizens of this planet will be restored. They will remember nothing from the horror they have experienced. The outsiders, the Supernatural beings as you call them, not so much. I leave that at you. I am strained enough as it is. You as well need to earn your pay, after all."

In the far, Cocytus cracked his mandibles viciously, ready to jump in the battle. Around them, a wave washed through the environment, and the world had been restored completely. Green and lively as once it was.

"We have no business with this world. I ask you again. What is in for us?" Ainz stepped forward, pointing his staff against the androgynous boy.

"Geez! Geez! Okay. Aren't you greedy, Mr Skeletor?" he asked, then slightly turned his head against his servant. "Nyarla?"

Nyarla nodded. "As you wish." With a snap of a finger, a humongous floating crystal appeared. A strange creature was imprisoned inside of it. "The Americans found it a few years back."

Watching the creature inside the gem, the Architect nodded a few times, humming. "Yes, I remember him. Quite fierce. Always posing and incanting his ridiculously powerful magic. "Roar, my secret arcana! Descend, o ultimate disaster! Flow, ye tears of despair and regret! — [Grand Catastrophe]!" and puff, everything had been destroyed. He was not a neat guy, but I liked him. So bad, in the end, he as well turned against me. He was too dangerous letting him roam free. Yet, I hoped until the end I could convince him otherwise."

Both Supreme Beings watched the item wide-eyed. In the confinement, the creature was dangerously familiar, a figure that resembled that of a humanoid grey goat crowned with a pair of wickedly curved golden horns.

"Ulbert-san…" they mumbled at the same time.

"Yeah… sure, whatever. He never said his real name. Annoying guy. Now then…" He clapped his hands, and just as he turned to Momonga, Esdeath raised her sword.

"I will slice you to pieces. Release him this moment!" she shouted, fury starting to boil inside her and solid objects rising in the air, reacting to her power and crumbling to dust. Several black lightnings also hit the environment, creaking reality.

"Ah… That harsh voice again. I don't like it." His hand was raised in an upper angle under a moment, twitching to snap his finger. "Sorry to say this, but If you attack me, I will shatter the crystal forcefully, destroying his core. That would surely kill him. Please don't force me; I hate unnecessary violence."

"What do you want?" The fires in Momonga's sockets intensified, glaring at the boy furiously. Ready to trigger his abilities at the moment notice.

"As I said, simply, let me go. And I'll release him."

"We would…!" Esdeath was on to step forward and tear this boy apart, but Momonga stopped her, raising his staff. "Ainz-san!?"

Ainz just shook his head. "We can't risk it. If the person in that crystal is really Ulbert, we don't know everything. Don't be so hasty. We need to investigate things before we state our final judgement."

"Still, they hurt Auriel and Cocytus. Unforgivable sin! I will annihilate him…" Her eyes flashed, the pressure increased around as her psychic powers started to leak, cracking her skin as her power surfaced. All around the world the ground trembled and lightning hit the ground, clouds started to gather on the skies once more.

The Architect thought did not showed it, was prepared to defend himself in a moment of notice.

"That's enough! You can have your revenge in another time!" Ainz placed his hand on her shoulder. "If it is really Ulbert, then you will put him at risk with your action! If you don't stand down, I will make you…" His tone was cold, bone chilling. Making even Nyarla shiver in his skin.

With gritted teeth, she turned her head away, watching the crystal for a moment.

In truth, both of them felt similar energy emitting from the enclosing, but neither of them knew for sure if it really was their past comrade or a simple ruse. "I know…"

"We accept the deal," Momonga nodded in the end, and the Architect just smiled, offering his hand to seal the deal, accompanied by a pleasant smile.

"Wise decision. You really are different than other creatures. Maybe one day we can even be allies." His smirk was sly, offering no good as they shook hands. The crystal confinement around Ulbert was disabled, but before he could fall on the ground, Esdeath flashed, catching his goat-like, naked body.

"Oh, and before I go. One last gift." Suddenly, the world shook and the until now stable magical defensive grid broke around the planet, shattered by a country-sized meteor. "Just something to make you seem like a hero in the eyes of the humans. Beware, if that meteor lands in this place, it will shatter the lay line, causing a chain reaction that will destroy everything in several solar system ranges. Have fun!" the Architect mock saluted before disappearing. "So long!" Nyarla bowed and followed his master.

Ainz shrugged, knowing the annoying situation. "I will deal with this rock, protect Ulbert and deal with the fragments. And please, if you can take care of the escaping antimatter. We can't let it get incontact with the air."

Esdeath only nodded with a confident expression.

With a wave of his staff, Ainz raised himself on the air. Pointing his tool against the humongous rock, a rock that was constructed from pure, unrefined, and solidified anti-matter surrounded by a force field.

Ainz was aware of what would happen if the field around the falling rock weakened or leaked. Matter and anti-matter didn't mix well. If the two of them got in contact, there would be a big boom. And looking at the magnitude of the meteor, it would be a firework worthy of the biggest supernova explosion ever produced in the galaxy.

The ordinary people unaware of what had happened in the last few days, of course, started to panic all around the world. A country sized meteor appearing out of nowhere this close to Earth warranted they would be thrown into a state of chaos.

"Bloody hell…" Ainz muttered before raising his staff. "[Maximize Magic…!" Casting his magic, Ainz saved the day.

…

Two days had passed since the event. Ainz and Esdeath's appearance was made public, forcing them to attend annoying public diets and meetings with the UN, various political leaders of Earth, and the leaders of the supernatural world. To the annoyance of both of them.

"I hate kimonos…" Esdeath fidgeted in her lavish cloth that she found uncomfortable, pulling it left and right to make it feel right with a subtle angry face. Though, because of the public, she did her best to mask her annoyance with an awkward expression.

As said, it was a royally made kimono with a black obi, adorned with golden and silver flowers.

"Wearing formal clothes sucks balls. Why do I have to attend that stupid meeting with the UN? You are the king, not me." she waved to the crowd with her forced smile.

"Muu… Stop fidgeting and smile at the camera. You know we can't attend official meetings armed to the teeth," announced Ainz walking on the draped red carpet, waving to the flashing cameras, wearing his crimson don royal garb that was adorned by gold and strange plumes. In his neck, a strangely made, silver necklace hung.

"I hate you so much pulling me to this," she spat.

"What? It was not me; it was the humans who saw you contain the antimatter and saving people after my magic shattered the meteor to tiny pieces. You can hardly escape the media once they recognize you. As well, don't you remember your promise to Auriel?" The red dots slid to her momentarily.

She just shrugged, looking away, remembering her promise. "Fine then… I would rather do paperwork at home than doing this," she mumbled and Ainz could only chuckle hearing her.

"I agree… it is much more pleasant."

Sighing, her gaze softened. "Ulbert-san is still sleeping."

Momonga nodded. "Yes. I authorised Demiurge to stay on his side."

"Good. That's the least he deserves."

With that, the two friends continued their way, entering the meeting chamber of the UN.

Some said it was them who summoned the meteor two days ago, fooling the public. Some praised them for saving the world. For the press, the two Supreme Beings only said it was Jaldabaoth and his masters who committed the terrorist action. But in truth, both of them knew. The Architect would return. Sooner or later, it was only a matter of time.

Be he would be an ally or a foe in the future, no one could tell.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Great Underground Tomb of Nazaracik:**

His mind was hazy, tired, strained. Darkness had been surrounding him for so long, floating in the nothingness. Slowly opening his eyes, his vision was still blurred, only after several long moments, it cleared, staring the vast ceiling above him.

"Where?" the goat of destruction gulped confused, feeling his throat dry from the elongated sleep.

"Ulbert-sama. So you are awake. I am so glad you have returned," an elegant voice of a man welcomed him.

Ulbert turned his head in the direction of the voice, making his eyes widen. "It cannot be!" The archdevil, his creation Demiurge, just smirked devilishly, watching his master's confused state.

Behind him several maids stood, holding trays of food and drink on their hands. "Welcome back in the realm of the Supreme Beings, my creator," he bowed deeply.

Ulbert needed to process this. Turning back his gaze towards the ceiling, he could only mutter in disbelief. "What the heck…"

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Well, that's for now.**

 **In the next chapter, we will return to Falmart and continue with the events.**

 **In the next arc, we finally visit the Sorcerer Kingdom, the shrine of Hardy and several other places.**

 **As well Zorzal will make his move together with Eleanor. What will the two of them have in store for the Empire?**

 **Jaldabaoth is on the move once again, as the gears of his revenge start moving, shaking Falmart to its very core.**

 **How Ulbert's appearance will stir up things?**

 **How will the gods react?**

 **Will Pina and Beelzebub manage to find a way to save the people of both sides?**

 **And many more things!**

 **Read, and you will find out.**

 **RnR!**

 **Good luck! Sail safe! Good day!**

 **A question before you go.**

 **I put out a vote in my profile page.**

 **Do I change the category to Gate x AnimeX series or let it as Gate x Overlord?**

 **Vote! And you shall recieved the heavens! :) (not really XD)**

* * *

 **Codex** :

 **[Fallen Down]:** Upon casting the super-tier spell, the user calls upon a huge pillar of blue light from the sky that burns so bright and hot, it will appear like the whole world has turned white. After a few seconds, it will leave behind an area burned to cinders, devoid of life. This spell deals massive damage, especially to undead, demon, or dark-type enemies.

 **[Oblivion]:** One of the Super Tier spells of the Esper race job. Erases the enemy's existence from the battlefield, manipulating causality in an erosive way. If the enemy does not die from the strike, a crippling negative debuff will be cast on them. A debuff that ignores the karma and race, constantly draining away health points.

 **[Seeker's Continuous Barrage]:** The ranged weapon shoots continuously target-seeking missiles. The projectiles will seek the enemy until they either find their mark or are neutralized.

 **[Sanctified Pillar]:** Summons a pillar of light that strikes the enemy, causing massive holy damage.

 **[Grace of the Goddess]:** The paladin prays to her deity to fill her with strength, vigour, agility and luck, shield her from harm's way, granting her shadow and negative energy damage resistance and giving her the will and the power to strike down her foes. The blessing increases the attack power, agility, mana capacity, luck, and critical strike. It also grants physical and magic defence. The ability gains a massive buff if it is cast by a person who has either job classes belonging to the holy caster archetype, for example paladin or cleric, or belonging to one of the angelic races. The higher the racial standing of the caster, the more bonus stat they gain. The effect is stackable, and its strength grows the more positive karma the user has.

 **[From Below, There is Light]:** A pillar of holy light bursts from the earth, turning to dust every unholy being. Massive damage bonus against characters with evil alignment, demons and undead.

 **[Freezing Torment]:** Used as the first part of a combination attack. Infuses the weapon with the deadly chill of Nilfheim, increasing the existing frost damage, armour penetration rate and cancelling every regeneration effect on the target.

 **[Zettai towa tōketsu sutoraiki]:** Strikes the enemy with a temperature below the absolute zero point (-273.15), not only freezing it, but shattering its time and space presence. Freezing, shattering, destroying the soul of the opposition.

 **[Second Trumpet]:** Seven trumpets are sounded, one at a time, to cue apocalyptic events that will follow. Incanting each trumpet opens closed racial abilities (passive and active), different in nature and kind. Only one trumpet can be active at one time. Each of them brings out different locked abilities and passives. (the ability originally belonged to the highest ranked angelic species, but hybrid beings like Nephalems can use it as well thanks to the divine heritage running in their veins. In their case, the demonic corruption laying in their blood further strengthens the ability, giving new effects to it.)

 **[Mare et Salis]:** Second trumpet Super Tier ability. Summons a tsunami of salt, sanctifying, turning the enemies into a crumbling salt sculpture. (Hybrid blood further enchants the effect, giving new qualities to the ability)

 **[Maximize Racial: Mass Twilight Restoration]:** The Nephalem race racial healing ability. Able to restore the health and the mana of everyone around, extra effective on demons and angels. Heavily damage undead beings or anything else that uses negative energy as fuel.

 **[Sunshine]:** Aura skill. Can be turned on and off. The strength and the effectiveness of the user's holy abilities increases dependent on the time of the day, pushing their effectiveness to their absolute limit. The strength gain drastically increases closing to noon, in exchange of the drastic weakening of skills connected to darkness.

The user's body emits extra hot holy energies. It reaches its peak at noon, and loses its power in midnight. The ability's counterpart [Abyssal Darkness] works the opposite way. (Esdeath had the abilities before, but they were limited in usage by the game rules. Leveling up under their journeys with Ainz removed several restrictions, making the ability OP.)

 **[Soul Shatter]:** Shatters the opponent's soul, killing them instantly. If the target survives, they will be debilitated for a long time, suffering negative consequences and debuts, and locking several specified abilities.

 **[Hakai]:** Erases the target from time and space, destroying them completely. Instadeath ability.

 **[Einherjar]:** Shalltear's trump card. Creates a construct-type avatar almost visually identical to Shalltear. This Avatar can't use magic and some of the skills of the original, but its equipment and stats are the same.

 **[Authentic Me]:** Ability connected to an ultra-rare Esper Job Class. Reality warping in nature. Similar to Einherjar, it creates a second avatar. But instead of a construct, it is the perfect copy of the user with all the abilities, skills and stats of the creator. Although, it exists only as long as the original one lives, or is able to sustain its elongated use. The ability can be used to create multiple copies in the price they will be weaker than the original. The more authentic copies, the more their stats lower.


	25. The Second Coming

**Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There**

 **by oblivon2991**

 **Proofreader: aGuestfromGreece45**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.**

 **I don't own the _Overlord_ (** **オーバーロード** ** _Ōbārōdo_** **?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **Please review it. I know I will make mistakes that I intend to correct and will try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

* * *

Chapter **25: The Second Coming**

He still couldn't believe it. After all that time…

"Do you wish for anything more, my creator?" Sitting on his bed, his musing had been disturbed; the goat-like creature turned his head on the side.

Before him, his creation stood proud — His skin caramel colored, pleasantry tanned. Sporting an elegant British suit orange in colour, the demon Prince awaited his creator's next order.

His horizontally slit eyes blinked a few times. He still couldn't believe it was "him". His own creation was standing before him, just as he had dreamt him, just as he had designed him, just as he had created him.

The image of his own "idea of evil".

It was strange; it was a weird feeling. I mean, after his transportation to Earth — in the past, he had summoned and controlled many creatures. Whole armies of hell bent to his will, bringing great disaster upon anyone who stood against him and his cause, massacring the troops of heaven relentlessly because he deemed it fit for his role as an evil conqueror.

He had lived according to his Chuunibyou nature, having fulfilled his dream: to be more than a meaningless cog in the machine. — As he had been forced to live that way in the past, and as his parents had disappeared without a trace and care thanks to a tragic accident in the factory.

They were meaningless, not even worthy to stop the production line as it would cause more monetary loss than a human life was worth. The compensation was not worthy to a human being; it was not even decent enough to pay for a dog.

Honestly, he had almost given up of finding his friends and had transcended the thought, accepting the harsh reality of their absence. The sad truth that he had remained all alone.

Yet, he would never dare to dream about this moment. He had searched for them for so long, yet, he never found even a trace of them. He sought relentlessly without any success, any hint of his friends, his creations, or any indication of YGGDRASIL players present in his new existence. And honestly, in his last moments, before being sealed away, he gave up entirely on ever finding his past companions.

But now, before him, his own creation stood, beaming a bright, dubious smile — just as he had designed him. On his side, a few of the homunculus maids stood proudly — just like in the game. Their forms were perfect, just like Whitebrim, Herohero and Coup De Grâce had envisioned and created them. They were so lifelike, like they really existed.

Cupping his chin, Ulbert Alain Odle caressed the shiny black fur that hung on his jaw. "No, Demiurge. You can return to your duties now. I need to read these documents you have brought me. As well, I need some time to process all that you have discussed with me."

"As you wish…" the servant bowed deeply, the present maids following his example.

"Umu… Please, can you urge Momonga a little bit? What you said, I know he is swamped, but I would like to speak with him."

"That's only natural. Do you wish to speak with Esdeath-sama too?"

"Esdeath?" Ulbert raised his brow, for a moment, then his inner eyes widened recognizing his friend's name. "Oh! Is he here too? How wonderful news!"

"He?" Demiurge tilted his head confused for a moment, unable to decipher who his master meant under the "he" attribute.

"Oh…" Ulbert lowered his head. "So, it has come to that… Kukuku… Hahahahahahaa!" he suddenly burst out in laughter. Covering his face, he was barely able to control himself, tears starting to pour from his eyes feeling his joy.

Demiurge tilted his head confused once more, then one moment to other his devilish smile returned to his face, thinking he was able to understand why his creator was crackling like a madman. _"Indeed, I am sure Ulbert-sama has come up with something sinister, just like in the old days. He indeed has returned to fulfil his evil destiny. Kukukuku…"_ Demiurge thought something like that. But in truth, Ulbert thought of something entirely different.

 _"That's hilarious! How many times I said to him/her that such thing could happen! Hilarious! I can't wait to tease him, oh, sorry, "her" about it! Her face will be priceless. Hahahahaha!"_ Holding his mouth, his snicker violently filtered amidst his pointy fingers.

Merely pushing his spectacles further up in his nasal bridge, Demiurge lowered his head once more. "I see, you need some time alone, Ulbert-sama."

Ulbert simply nodded. "Indeed, I need some to process everything you have told me. It was kinda overwhelming to gain so much new information in under not more but just one day."

Nodding, Demiurge waved to the maids, and the girls left the room, carrying with them the necessary cutlery, but leaving the fresh, still intact food and drink they had prepared behind.

His creator needed some alone time. He was aware of that; he would as well need some after waking up after such a long slumber.

Processing such an overwhelming amount of information and news he had been passed down under a day indeed took time. Hell, even Demiurge — no matter his intelligence and talent — would need that day to decide what to do, how to proceed. Of course, he could make a hasty plan if the situation required such action, but to come up with a reasonably well-constructed plan even he needed some time.

After all — according to his own measurements — his talent, intelligence and strategic skills were nothing more than dust compared to the mountain that Ainz possessed. And his cruel master made him remember his defect every day, whenever he thought he had come up with something new.

 _"Kukukuku… Ainz-sama is indeed a cruel master,"_ he smiled devilishly, remembering all that time he had asked Ainz when his creator would return, and he only said — 'with time.' —then waved him away.

Now, Demiurge really wanted to surpass him; his demonic blood demanded to find a way to just once, gain the upper hand over Ainz!

Yet, he couldn't even think an adequate way to express his gratitude towards the two last Supreme Beings. Recovering his creator meant the world for him.

Unable to come up with an adequate method, the only thing he could do was to work, work extra hard to serve the need of Nazarick, the Supreme Beings, and his freshly returned creator.

Creating new furniture was his hobby, maybe he could make them something beautiful. Of course, it could not compare with the furniture they already possessed, but it would be a nice touch expressing his loyalty.

The bones of the mongrels that had attacked the Kingdom wouldn't do, maybe a tribute? Demiurge was unable to come up with something sweet that would fit the Supreme Beings and his grandiose masters' selves. He definitely needed to think about what would provide them with the best they deserved.

The only thing he could do now was to leave, leave his creator to rest, and regain his strength. Work hard for Nazarick, the Supreme Beings, and most of all, for him. Ulbert Alain Odle — his creator and supreme master.

Bowing, his gloved hand covered his heart, showing his loyalty. "I shall take my leave, Ulbert-sama. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call for me; I will come right away."

"Umu… Take care. And please call my friends right away. I need to catch up with them."

"That's only natural. I have already notified Ainz-sama and Esdeath-sama." Bowing, the Prince of Darkness left, leaving Ulbert alone with his thought's.

…

After the servants left the room, Ulbert could only sigh, falling on his back with an amused grin plastered on his face.

 _"So, they are here… Kukuku…"_

Touching the textile under himself, his bed was soft, almost unnaturally. But strangely, it was comforting. The best bunk he had ever laid his goat-like body.

It was not surprising, as it was a bed designed by himself, personally, enchanted to provide various buffs with those who slept on it.

Looking around, the World Disaster recognised his room right away, and a pleasant, warm feeling filled him once more.

A chamber royally made, created to fit his taste; A true villain would go green in envy looking around.

He was aware; he woke up around a day ago, still, he couldn't get enough! He couldn't wait to explore Nazarick to its fullest, to inspect the 'Kingdom' his friends had built in his absence.

He couldn't wait to see what kind of pranks "he" and Esdeath could pull, remembering the role-playing events they played in the past — and the fun they had under them. "Just like in the old times, huh?" he muttered, his smile stretching even wider.

It was good to be back, after all that time, he was finally home. Finally, he reached his destination.

He had suffered for so long; he craved for this place so much. His search and the dream was endless, and he had almost given up finding them. Finding his friends, seeing his real home.

Naturally, he had gained many friends, many allies, and even more enemies after his transportation. Under a short time he became an esteemed general of hell, armies of demons under his command, hordes of angels fearing his name, flocking apart under a moment when he appeared on the battlefield.

Even the so-called "God" didn't dare to cross his path without preparation.

His enslaved, overworked self had utterly disappeared! Replaced, transformed, reborn in a new, perfect form! The form of his avatar he had designed himself! He had become evil incarnate! He had become: Ulbert Alain Odle, the World Disaster of Ainz Ooal Gown, the most destructive magic caster of the clan. That title no one could ever take from him. Ever!

Commander of the forces of Hell! The Great Disaster! The scorcher of high heavens and Asgard!

Under the years, he had been called by many names, dreadful names, praising for his ears.

Everyone feared his name, and following the elements on the list called: "Things I'll do if I ever become an Evil Overlord", his defence was impenetrable. His infernal army was always prepared for whatever came in his attention.

"…"

Watching the painting on his ceiling, remembering all of it, he could only smile and shake his head.

That was in the past. Although he was not sure, most of his allies and servants would probably be dead by now. He was sure that "architect" guy, and his enemies made sure his memory had disappeared. And trying to remember everything was too exhausting in his current state. Thus, he decided to rest a little bit, regain his strength and process what he had learned in the past day.

The only thing he could do now was to proceed, look forward, and ask Momonga what to do with the situation if he couldn't find something useful to do, or at least something amusing to occupy his mind. In the past, the guild master always served with good advice, and he was sure he had not changed at all. He was the good old Momonga he knew in the past. At least, he hoped.

In the passing day, Demiurge did his best to explain the current situation, introduce him everything he had missed. The past, the present, — and according to him — Ainz's grand plan for the future. The so-called "10000 years plan" Ainz had come up with.

He could only laugh hearing it. And he was sure, Ainz — as Momonga called himself now — would think the same.

He was a good friend in the past, but he was just like him. At least, he was just like him before the transportation — without the severe Chuunibyou syndrome of course.

In Ulbert's absence — after the transportation — he had to recognise. These so-called folks, the members of the supernatural factions — no matter the race — were pretty superstitious.

And if he was right, their dear children were the same, still believing they were beyond gods and similar silly things. An idea he could only scoff off.

Sighing, he had much to learn, much to catch up. Thus, raising a paper from the nearby table — where several small paper towers emerged after Demiurge's departure — the bringer of great catastrophe started to read. Read, read and read to know what to do with his current situation.

Placing his stylish spectacles on his nose, he started his read.

"…"

An hour had passed without anything happening, when…

'knock-knock.'

Suddenly, a knocking sound came from the direction of his door. "Hmmm… Come in."

A dark elaborated robe fluttered as the ruler of death entered. Behind him was a beauty with white hair, wearing a stylish white overcoat that reached entirely to her knees.

"Oh! Ulbert-san!" Momonga gasped immediately spotting his past friend, raising his hand welcoming.

"U-Ulbert-san!" Esdeath gasped as well, not able to contain herself and running to her friend and hugging him tightly. A hug that almost suffocated poor Ulbert. "Ow! Ow! Hey!" Ulbert mewed for a moment, but in the end, caressed her head, and sniffed her hair.

His expression softened, she smelled so good, like a real angel.

"So it is true…" he couldn't help but snicker somewhat amused. "Demiurge did not lie. You have really 'changed'." Making quotation marks with his sharp fingers, his grin could not have been more extensive.

Her eyes squinted, pushing herself away, glaring at her old friend with an adorable pout. "Now listen, mister!" her finger pointed at him dangerously. "One word and I will pummel you to paste."

"Ah… Can I take that as a challenge? Angel of Death? Huh…"

"You can bet on it! Great Lord of Disaster," her face followed custom, giving place to a mischevious expression as she felt the scent of a challenge.

In the past - like every member of the guild - the two of them as well duelled many times, and even as a tank and damage dealer who specialised the negation and redirection of damage, Esdeath usually had a hard time getting away from Ulbert's overpowered attacks.

"Hmmm…" Momonga stepped forward, chuckling amused. "Just like in old times." As he said this Ulbert immediately turned to him.

"Momonga-san, or should I say, Ainz?" his smirk never faltering, his black fur ever shining.

"Hmm… Both will do." Shaking hands like old times, Ulbert's goat eyes met with the red flames in Momonga's sockets, finding understanding right away.

"I think, you have already met a few servants in the past day. Amongst them, Demiurge."

"Yes, they already came to give their regards. The last day was quite exhausting…" with a tired smile; his head turned back to Momonga. "He told me as much as he could and left a detailed report on my desk." In the next moment, his hand was raised, pointing the papers on his desk.

"Oh, is that so," Ainz exclaimed, although he expected such thing from the strategic leader of Nazarick. His calculations — no matter what he said — were indeed impeccable.

"So…" his head slowly gazed through the two friends of his. "Care to elaborate what is with this "ten thousand years" plan of yours? Eh?"

"Well, that… Khmm." Ainz coughed false, even raising his clenched fist to add for effect.

Ulbert turned his gaze against Esdeath, expecting a firm answer. The goat demon's expression did not help at all; she just pulled her collar uncomfortable. "Yeah… That…"

"Well then…" his evil nature surfaced as he gained some material for amusement already. "Demiurge already told me his version of the past two hundred years. Now then, care to elaborate your version?"

His vision first turned to Esdeath, then in the end at Ainz.

Both friends sighed tiredly; it would be a long story. "Fine then." Ainz gave in in the end. "But it will be a long story with a lot of misunderstanding."

"Quite a lot of misunderstanding," Esdeath added curtly in the end, watching Momonga from the corner of her eyes. "And a lot of bullshitting."

"Well, mostly…" scratching his bald skull, Ainz couldn't help but feel, it would be indeed a discussion that would take his whole day to explain. He only hoped his hybrid friend would help him this time — As she usually just complicated things when she tried to clarify something.

"I love good stories. And it has been some time since we spoke. Kukukuku…" Folding his fingers on his lap, his devious smile befitting to a real villain — it made even Ainz shiver in his nonexistent skin.

Ainz felt he couldn't tell everything to him; it would be too embarrassing. Looking at Esdeath, he thought she felt the same way — seeing her face that now resembled more of a lobster than her usual greyish — pale — complexion. It could not be denied.

In the end, he merely waved his hand, summoning two chairs out of thin air. And thus, the long explanation started. "It all started in the night of transition."

And thus, the Sorcerer King started his tale. The true story of the great Sorcerer Kingdom.

The struggles, the good and the sad moments. Everything from the beginning.

Ainz and Esdeath only hoped Ulbert would still be alive after coughing up with his violent laughing fit.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Falmart: Settlement Dreamscope: Near Fortress Gown:**

 **""YOU!""**

The voluptuous woman with blue skin and white tribal tattoos held her horrible weapon high. Her qualities were resembling of a dragon taking the shape of a human, her wings flapping violently as her thin arm held firmly her horrific scythe.

Facing her, a similar beauty with less proportioned — but not less beautiful body —glared. She was an elf, beautiful as she was, like God himself had blessed her with grace.

Holding her holy claymore against her enemy, her long ears twitched, befitting to her race. Her clothes were lavish, priest-like, adorned with the symbols of Flare — the god of Sunlight — like a flower, flourishing white and yellow. Though, her guise was much less exposing than her blue counterpart. You may call her appearance humble, but no less ceremonial.

They were:

"Giselle…"

"Granham…"

The spite from their tone was clearly audible and could not be denied.

Their lords' hatred against each other was well known, or more like, it couldn't be really called hatred — more like a massive distaste — the two deities nourished against each other for a long time.

No one knew when this distaste started — maybe it was not even personal, coming from their nature as the god of sun and the goddess of the underworld. As the two were like white and black, coming from their very nature.

The two women's glares continued for long moments; full, shining, jade green eyes clashed with golden slit oculars, making the poor maid waiting in the background tremble in hesitation.

To open her mouth, that would mean her end. Though, she should have, her lords entrusted her with the task to take care of the newcomers. Also, it was her task to keep the order — but as she lacked the strength and the will to do so — her only option was to activate the entrusted item, summoning the guards right away.

Though, that would not do. What would Yuri Alpha-sama — the one who entrusted her with the task — say if she couldn't solve a task this easy? She would be scolded once more, the thing she wanted to avoid at any cost.

"What are you doing here? Fiend!" The hate and disgust literally radiated from Granham's voice, her eyes changing from jade green to deep blue, blazing bright like the sun itself, signing the strength her Lord had entrusted her coursing through her veins.

"Hmph… I should ask the same, sunsucker! What the heck are you doing here exactly? Trying to stop me?" scoffed the blue demigoddess, her style not polite in the slightest.

Granham almost spat, and if not for the knowledge her lord was watching her, she would have certainly done so. "Obviously, not. Fiends like you could never understand my state of being here."

Their glares intensified, making the air crackle around the two maidens. The rattling of their teeth, the creaking of their weapons as they exerted more and more force — the sound was clearly audible even outside from the room.

"Pl-Please, Lady Granham, Lady Giselle…" shuttered the nervous girl.

 **""SHUT UP!""**

"Okay…" The intense shout surprised the servant so much, her face turned dry and indifferent, with a slight drop of sweat appearing on her forehead.

Nailing their weapons once more, the two girls were utterly prepared to rush and slash until both of them turned into a bloody paste.

As they both were demigods, they couldn't possibly die in a natural, or unnatural way. Even if their heads were separated from their bodies, it would be only an annoyance — as they needed to spend the time until their ascension headless, asking someone to join the two separated parts together once more.

Watching them, the maid was now prepared and muttered her warning words. "Please, Giselle-sama, Granham-sama. If you clash here, I might have to call the guards, or even Yuri-sama to place order amongst you."

The two apostles just eyed the maid — scoffed and turned back to each other — seemingly wholly ignoring the poor girl. "I will cut down your head then give it to the minotaur of the Arrun Labyrinth."

"Tch. Not if I do it first!"

"Bitch!"

"Whore!" spat the two, and lunged towards each other wild.

Fortunately — seeing the growing tension — the maid had already activated the scroll that contained the [Message] spell and notified Yuri Alpha, the Vice Captain of the Pleiades battle maid squad— who was appointed to monitor the accommodation of the ambassadors near hill Dalnus and act as a security force if needed.

…

To know what caused this unlikely meeting and clash, the reader needs to be aware of one crucial detail before judging the seemingly avoidable encounter.

Unfortunately, being numerous ambassadors and similarly high ranked — both Sorcerous Kingdom citizens and freshly arriving locals — individuals were stationed, and arrived day by day near Fortress Gown, the city architects slowly started to run out of places where they could build.

If this went on, they'd need to expand the hastily growing — already sizable — settlement once more. Most likely push towards the forest that was already dangerously close.

Even with the undead workforce of the Sorcerous Kingdom and using conjuration magic to construct buildings, the builders could not create enough accommodation for all of the freshly arrived people that quickly. Not without seriously threatening the prosperity of the settlement and the comfort of the people.

Naturally, they could use items or magic to expand the inner dimensional space of the buildings, but that kind of comfort and ability was reserved to the Supreme Beings, their servants and the highest ranked members of the kingdom.

The magic of that calibre was hard to conjure, even harder to make it permanent. Only the Sorcerer King and his servants were capable of that.

…

The wooden floor cracked as Giselle and Granham charged against each other, entirely prepared to end, or at least embitter each other's life. Or, speaking otherwise, to cut each other to tiny pieces — as they couldn't really kill each other permanently, thanks to the nature of the demigod bodies they possessed — as mentioned previously.

Their blades fell. The cursed scythe of Giselle and the holy blade of Granham.

Their clash would be legendary. Unfortunately, they did not expect what happened next.

'Clang!'

A new maid flashed between them; her green, spiked gauntlets easily blocked the two holy artefacts. The armguards that made her usual frail and elegant upper arms so bulky.

One more move and her fists found their way in the solar plexus of each demigoddess, making them stumble immediately. One more strike and they were on the ground, spatting blood heavily.

Struggling to get up and regain their bearings, Granham and Giselle watched the appeared lady with a hazy, groggy vision.

"May I know why our guests are trying to destroy Ainz-sama's establishment?" Her words were cold, calculating. She pushed up her spectacles on her nose, a move that gave her the intimidating aura of a teacher.

"That's…" Giselle bit her lip, but froze right away, feeling the cold aura Yuri started to emit. It was like back then. Like when those monsters captured her dragon and dragged her here in captivity.

Granham gulped, her heart starting to beat faster than ever before. Her face and the tips of her ears flustered right away.

Despite the cold aura the maid gave off, she was the most charming thing she had ever seen.

Wearing elegant glasses and a broad, blue necklace, her look was intelligent, yet, bore an absolute beauty. Like a person who had been melded by the gods themselves. She wore her hair tied into a low-cropped bun at the back of her head. Lacking a metal plate in front of her skirt, her dress emphasized mobility rather than defence.

As a warrior, Granham preferred her mate to be strong and beautiful, and her mighty gauntlets just made Yuri even more enticing in her eyes. With a flustered look, the apostle of Flare turned her head away.

"Honorable apostles. May I know what happened?" Yuri's gaze was scolding, like a strict teacher watching them with a strict look.

Suddenly, the elf and the member of the dragon tribe glared at each other, waiting for each other to answer first.

Slightly frustrated by the lack of answer, Yuri turned to the maid. "Siesta, what happened?"

"We-Well… Yuri-sama. I wanted to escort Giselle-sama in her room, but it turned out we ran out of free rooms appointed to diplomats not long before Aura-sama brought her back."

"She is a captive?" Yuri raised her brow, and thanks to her undead nature — as she was a Dullahan — her expression remained cold all along. "Why did you want to accommodate her as a diplomat then?"

"Well, according to Aura-sama who, forgive me for the wording, — "dragged her back" — she is officially a captive of the kingdom. But according to Akemi-sama's orders, she is the representative of one of the deities of this world. As such, according to the protocols, she gained a diplomatic appraisal."

"I see…" Her eyes turned back to them, then the maid. "You should have notified me first, requesting one of our spare quarters for her."

"I-I… I am deeply sorry, Yuri-sama! I just started to work here not long ago! I don't exactly know how things work around the diplomatic housing — officially speaking."

"Didn't you receive a clarification to be appointed in this position?"

"Ye-yes! But there are so many protocols, and other things to memorize about this place, it slipped out of my mind. Please, forgive me!" she bowed deeply, and Yuri could only nod.

It was why she was appointed for such position. Amongst the Pleiades, she was the one with the highest positive karma. As such, she could handle simple people with greater care and understanding.

"I see," she nodded understanding. "Please, next time notify your superior or the closest appointed Lich and ask them. They will know what to do if an unknown case appears."

"I-I see… Thank you."

"As for you, honoured apostles." It was like Yuri's eyes flashed behind her spectacles, eying the two girls with a hard gaze. "Next time, please avoid a clash in the quarters. If you altogether can't contain your lust of battle, we have an appointed arena where you can derive the stress by fighting."

"…"

Indeed, Granham had seen that small arena.

It was not much, but the small place near the border of the town was indeed finely made. Sturdy and reliable, passing it, she had heard numerous clashes and explosions — magical explosions.

It seemed — amongst these people — not only the warriors, but the magic casters also competed by duelling each other. Flare also liked the honourable battle; it pleased him when people solved the situation either through diplomacy or honourable combat.

"…" Humming, Yuri inspected Granham and Giselle once more. "If you can't contain yourselves either way, I may have to petition the removal of your diplomatic status, then place you in custody for the time being."

"Duly noted," spat Giselle with a sour look. "Where can I get food? I am kinda hungry."

"The appointed canteen of the ambassadors is nearby. Siesta will lead you there. You can eat as much as you like. Though, certain exotic meals and the alcohol will cost money; referring to 'certain' accidents in the past."

Giselle could only scowl. How dare they demand money from her — the apostle of Hardy, the goddess of the underworld — even the thought was revolting!

"Tch…"

Clicking her tongue she can't help it. Despite knowing the obvious power difference between her and the newcomers, she would never let such a thing happen.

"And if I don't pay?" she probed her luck, though she expected a specific answer.

Pushing her glasses once more, Yuri expected such a question. "According to the diplomatic protocols, the money will be collected from the diplomat's home nation. In your case, the Belnago Shrine. But being our agents have not yet reached the place, you will be forced to pay off by yourself, either by working for the embassy for the time being, or another way."

"You can do that?"

"Yes, we can. According to Ainz-sama's doctrines, you need to earn your meal, slackers are hardly tolerated." Giselle froze, watching at Granham with a pale expression. Then, thinking of it, her face turned confident. Yuri said she sported a diplomatic status now, they inevitably would not force a diplomat to dirty their hands with mere works.

"Hmm… we will see…" she bit back, a snarky response Yuri only accepted with a nod.

"Siesta, I will entrust them to you. I will try to get Giselle-dono a spare room."

"A-As you wish, Yuri-Sama," the maid bowed deeply.

Nodding, Yuri was on to leave, when Granham stopped her.

"Wait, one more question. Or more like two?"

"Yes?"

"What is your name? Who are you?"

"I am Yuri Alpha. Vice-Captain of the Pleiades," she posed slightly, pushing her chest forward taking a teacher-like pose. Just like her creator Yamaiko, her posture just radiated her bossy attitude.

Granham just gaped, feeling the authority she emitted. Then… "Your second question?"

"Wha?" This caught her off guard, for a moment making her gape like a fish. "Oh! Yes! When can I meet with those Supreme Beings you spoke of? Your gods? I was sent here by the council of gods! I have an urgent invitation to pass! It would be most urgent to speak with your leaders."

"Hmmm… Ainz-sama and Esdeath-sama are quite busy right now, due to…" Yuri looked to the sides. She as well had been notified the return of Ulbert Alain Odle, but thanks to her numerous duties she couldn't yet meet him to give her regards — Ohh! How she wished for Lady Yamaiko's return. Also, every servant was ordered to not speak about the return of the Supreme Being in the open. Thus, her mouth was sealed.

She only hoped Lord Ainz would find her creator soon.

"…Due to certain circumstances, the Supreme Beings are swamped in the current days. Thought, hearing your urgent task, I can arrange a meeting with Lady Albedo or Lord Demiurge. Their position warrants your invitation will reach either Lord Ainz or Lady Esdeath's ears."

"Oi! Oi! My task is just as important!" cut in the middle Giselle with a sour face. "Lady Hardy also wants to meet those supreme whatever! Because of this, she wants… No! She demands they meet her right away! Especially that goddess that first stepped through the portal she opened! She has a special offer to her."

"Hmmm… Is that so? You say… she opened," Yuri pushed her spectacles, and the light dropped in such an angle that hid her beautiful eyes.

Giselle just nodded confidently.

Siesta shuddered in the sides, feeling the temperature dropping drastically in the room, the intense radiation originating from Yuri.

"I will relay the request. I promise nothing more, as I am a simple servant of the Supreme Beings. But until then…" Her eyes squinted. "Please, try to behave, or I may be forced to put you in custody."

Both girls nodded, and Yuri bowed one last time. "Take care until then. If you have further questions, the staff will answer it gladly. Notify them if you need me, and I will come as fast as I can."

With that, Yuri flashed away once more, using her special skill.

"Hmmm…" Ignoring Siesta, in the next moment, on Giselle's face, a triumphant smirk grew. "As I suspected, you are only here to steal Hardy-sama's moment of triumph. The god of yours is indeed jealous of my impeccable lady. As expected, but what a shame, as a god, Flare-sama should have been more considerable. Or, it is only his apostle that is such a sore loser."

"That's not!" the apostle of Flare blushed and grew furious. How dare this dona insult her god?

"Oh! I see! You like that maid. Such a loser!"

"You!" Granham almost used her Claymore, but in the next moment, she held her hand, knowing the consequences. "If you want to know that much, Flare-sama himself appointed me to this important task, for the request of the heavenly council."

"Hmph… Of course." Giselle mocked her with a smirk.

She, of course, suspected Granham told the truth. But it was just too much fun messing with the demigoddess — that although was older than her — never could understand sarcasm.

"Just stay out of my way. Or an accident may befall on you. Your pretty head might find itself buried deep enough, so you will never find it." With that, Granham left the room with a huffish pout, for the joy of Giselle who smirked like a madwoman.

"You can always try."

Siesta just sighed, shaking her head. "Hey! Maid!" Giselle called her in the next moment.

"Ye-Yes!?"

"Where is that canteen that other maid mentioned? I am kinda hungry…" patting her flat stomach; it imitated the mating call of the whales. "And thirsty. I want the best ale this madhouse can offer."

"Thi-This way!" Leading the way, everyone left the room.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Hill Arnus: JSDF base:**

Above the octagonal encirclement, several jets left their mark, leaving behind a steady condense line as they raced with each other, making pirouettes and air tricks in the heavens.

Under them, on the ground, steady manoeuvres of several tanks and infantry took formation, reinforcing the base's several key points.

It had been several days since the connection with the other side had been restored.

How the disruption of the connection had happened, even the specialists were clueless about it.

One moment there was a connection with Mother Earth, and in the next, it was gone! No contact with Earth for around fifteen days.

Then, as time passed, suddenly, everything turned back to normal, and the connection with the other side restored miraculously.

The scholars and "supernatural experts" previously hired and stationed in Arnus also had no idea what had happened. Even Rory, Master Kato, and Lelei were clueless about what really had caused the sudden switch.

Because of the unsightly accident, and the fright it caused, the nations of UN and Japan decided to station much more forces and military resources — such as tanks, provisions, ammunition, etc. — on the other side. Reinforcing the base and expanding it — avoiding a possible risk of invasion — on both sides.

Of course, all of it meant more paperwork. Much more paperwork for Hazama, the commander and coordinator of the base.

"..."

Closing the dossier, his eyes turned on the man sitting before him. Crossing his arms.

"So, did you decide, Lieutenant General Hazama?" called him the Afro American man, his voice carrying a heavy Texan accent and was thick as a baritone. Wearing his green uniform and the badge of the UN, his deep brown eyes were piercing.

Hazama hummed, folding his fingers on his table.

Eyeing the new bane of his existence for a long moment, before him sat the security inspector the UN had appointed to examine the operations of the base — for the displeasure of the Japanese government of course.

All of it was referring to the security risk that rose not long ago. A threat that proved severe security risk to not only Japan, but mother Earth. Warnings that warranted the UN to take more decisive actions.

The aggressive expansion of the Sorcerous Kingdom, the arisen demonic threat, and the sudden disruption of connection between Earth, and Falmart gate warranted their action, and it was not without evidence.

Hazama was aware of that; such a threat could not be ignored. Yet, it was a little too much. The UN had gone too far this time.

"No, I will certainly not authorise such thing. No matter what the UN says, this is still a Japanese operation, with all the responsibility and benefit we gained by it. If I authorize the replacement of half of the staff and infantry by UN rookies coming from different nations, that will pose a huge security risk. My men are trained, battle-worn veterans. They have proved their worth under dangerous situations and numerous operations. Sending them to a forced leave right now is nothing more than — and please forgive me for the word I will use — wantonness. It would prove nothing than our irresponsibility in the situation."

The security inspector just sighed, shaking his head. "Look, Lieutenant General. I know what it is. But my superiors have ordered me. The Security Council deemed it necessary to replace the exhausted crew with fresh UN soldiers. This was their condition when they allowed the structure and base to remain in Japanese hands, to remain operational at all. After what happened, only a few votes separated the decision to dismantle the structure. Blow it up completely. "

Sweating, Hazama tried to show his steely expression. But it was hard under the current circumstances.

He was aware, even if they retreated, there was no guarantee the demons didn't already already know their way to Earth. And after what happened with the capital of the empire, he doubted their casualties would be low once that happened.

"Absolutely out of the question. I request the revision of the decision! Sending untrained rookies in a possible battle zone? People who are not even aware of what awaits them here?!"

"You have the right to petition it, of course. And I will relay your worries and observation to the council," the security inspector crossed his muscular arms. "But I would not expect them to change their mind so suddenly. The people who finance the bigwigs want their authority over the lands. No matter what."

"I suppose you are right," Hazama sighed, wiping his sweat with his handkerchief. Then his eyes nailed back the man.

In reality, he was not that bad. If not for his work, he and Hazama could even have been friends, what made him the bad guy in the current situation was his orders and his job.

"Still, I will fill that revision form. I just can't allow the replacement of my veteran soldiers with rookies who don't even know what awaits them here. Not speaking about it all looks like an attempt to invade a Japanese administrative area without permission. Also, I will petition the inspection of the current UN forces. I receive more and more reports about their abuse of authority."

"Umu… I also heard them. Don't worry about that. Our investigation force has already found the responsible personnel and taken them to custody. They are awaiting their court trial back on Earth."

"I am glad to hear that," stated Hazama with a steely gaze.

A knocking sound came from the direction of the door, making the two men turn their attention.

"Come in!"

The door opened, revealing the always firm Yanagida.

"Oh! Lieutenant General, Sir! If you have a moment."

"One moment, first lieutenant. We just finished with the discussion with the Chief Security Inspector."

"Sir!" Yanagida saluted respectfully; the Afro American man just nodded in response, standing up. Then turning back to Hazama, he only said one more thing.

"Lieutenant General. Just a fair warning before I leave."

"And what will it cost me?"

"Nothing. Just a little rumour from a person who is concerned about the situation."

Hazama nodded sweating, awaiting the bad news. And the security inspector told him the bad news.

"If I've heard it right. The Chinese and Russian bureaucrats are pushing their participation more and more in the berks of UN. If this goes on, they will gain a permit to send small investigation teams in the area."

"I see. Thank you." Hazama was angry, he almost trembled. Both Yanagida and the inspector recognised his frustration right away.

"Lieutenant General. I bid you good day."

"The same to you, Chief Security Inspector." Saluting to each other, the man left, leaving Yanagida to take the stage.

Sitting down, Hazama could only sigh. It was a long day. And he felt it would only be longer after this.

"Bad news, Sir?"

"Don't even ask, First Lieutenant. Damn UN…" he muttered slowly, then turned back his attention to the man standing before him.

"Let's see what you brought me this time. This can't be worse after all."

"Of course, Sir. I think this report will interest you." Pushing the dossier with the report before Hazama, the Lieutenant General inspected the contents of it.

Nodding, it was indeed strange. "Hmm. Interesting. Fetch those "Supernatural Experts" — the UN forced on us — and of course, First Lieutenant Itami and his "team". I have a task for them."

Yanagida nodded with an "Understood." then left the office.

Leaning back in his cheap chair — that creaked under his weight — Hazama felt, this would either lead to an interesting development or an utter catastrophe.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Near the Capital of the Empire: Molt's private estate:**

Thanks to the constant effort of the SKEF and the JSDF, the restoration of the Imperial Capital was going in full steam. It had been around one and a half months since Jaldabaoth's attack took place, and the city looked better than ever.

The streets had been cleaned, a new cistern system had been built underneath the city. A cistern system with the self-maintenance ecosystem. Filled with slimes that eagerly devourrd then repurposed the waste the denizens of the town produced.

Using such seemingly meaningless monsters was advantageous in many aspects. First, they were harmless, or at least, most of the time they were peaceful. As a cleaner brigade under the city, they required no payment or another service, the small creatures systematically eradicated every scrap the citizens could throw at them and be filled with it for the time being.

The problem arose when their numbers overflew thanks to the trash the people produced. In those times, their numbers rapidly increased, bailing out from the cistern system to seek food or more place to live.

Occasionally attacking people to earn their meal. Because of this, undead units, soldiers and occasionally hired adventurers patrolled such unsightly places, exterminating the surplus creatures.

You need to be aware when you think about slimes, that amongst them there were many that were peaceful, but there also existed specific subspecies that mainly devoured living beings, even humans, demi-humans, and there were even ones that specialized to degrade heteromorph beings like insectoids — though, the latter slimes were really rare and usually monitored by governmental agencies.

Using the corrosive acid-like substance, which constructed their bodies, they were able to do that.

Another danger of the race was their rapid mutation and growth. Being the creatures devoured everything — examples existed when they merely changed type or simply subspecies after changing diet.

The durable creatures could simply change their diet from waste to living, or unliving beings if the situation warranted such a thing.

But let's not bother with measly slimes for now, as it was only a curiosity that will be important later.

Instead, let's change our point of view to the small party near the capital.

A party that took place on Emperor Molt's private residence, organised by Princess Pina Co Lada.

Celebrating the defeat of the demon emperor, and an important holiday of the kingdom — the Sorcerer King Thanksgiving.

There were more than fifty similar holidays the residents of the kingdom celebrated, as each of the celebrated days either revered one from the Forty One, all of them, or a momentous occasion that was important for the citizens of the Sorcerous kingdom.

Such celebration was this, the Sorcerer King Thanksgiving. Under this holiday most of the people were forbidden to work, feasted and celebrated the justified rule of the Sorcerer King, Ainz Ooal Gown.

Usually, on the streets of Carne — the capital of the Sorcerous Kingdom — a huge procession took place. Showing off the wealth and the prosperity the Sorcerer King brought on the nation when first appeared. Showing where one could lead if a justified, wise royalty ruled over his subjects.

Under the holiday, free food was distributed for the poor, the churches and hospitals provided the treatment that usually cost money for free, food abundance, and similar things had been gifted to those who were not so fortunate.

There was even a lottery under the day, and who won it usually was granted a wish. Almost anything could be wished — between reasonable borders of course.

…

Looking around, numerous senators and diplomats mingled with each other. Important people of the Empire, the Sorcerous Kingdom and the people of United Nations, amongst them Japan.

The guards that guarded the event mostly came from the Empire, the remains of the Emperor's veteran Praetorian Guard force — though, thanks to the recent events their numbers had greatly diminished, they still represented a significant force.

Watching the present abundance of food and wealth, a few of them gulped enviously. The food and particular wares the United Nation diplomats and the Sorcerous Kingdom representatives had brought with themselves were indeed great.

The Empire had already signed the Vassalization treaty, though, they still had a few months before it took effect as its fullest.

They were heavily outgunned, two dragons looming over their head, waiting to feast on the carcass that remained from the empire. Even a totally deluded zealot would see that now.

As such, under such circumstances, no loyal subject of the emperor could have a good shut-eye.

"..."

Looking around, watching the snakes mingling with each other, the crown prince of Ainz Ooal Gown grimaced. He really hated such parties, if you asked him it was all a waste of money, only serving the vanity who willingly participated and enjoyed the political mingling.

For Beelzebub who preferred wearing his armour and practice with his sword, displaying himself clothed by the royal, buttoned formal suit he was wearing now was a real pain in the ass. Only the served alcohol granted some grief.

Hearing the politicians trying to earn his good grace was even harder to bear.

"Oh! Prince Beelzebub! That was good! Hahaha! Such a jester you are your majesty!"

With a forced smile, he simply nodded, drinking his whiskey-like drink — without ice of course.

Being the next in the line for the throne, and the first son of his father, he had learned early to keep the conversation in the line — passively, not even caring what the people said to him.

Now, he was really glad his mother had taught him this skill when he was a kid.

In his fifties — that still counted as the early teens for an ageless demon/undead hybrid like he was — he had reached the level of the skill that he did not even need to pay attention anymore. Merely hearing the babbling of the people around him, his thoughts wandering, he could actively join back the conversation whenever he wished.

"Hmmm… Indeed, a good joke often raises the spirit."

"As you say," nodded the elderly senator. "Say... Have you met my daughter, Helene? I am sure the two of you would get along well."

"Hmmm… I can't say I've met her, Senator Lucius."

"Please, Lucius will do," obliged the grizzled man, raising his hand.

"Then, Lucius-dono. I am sure Lady Helene is quite charming. Maybe if you bring her to the next party, you can introduce her."

"Hmmm… I will surely bring her next time. Unfortunately, she is preparing for her exam in the Magical Academy of Rondel. Talented child she is with great magical prowess. Of course, I, and her mother often berated her due to her choice of path. Why pursue magic when you could build your political career or find a good husband? Parent a few strong soldiers - the Empire desperatedly needs. But she was always like that, a wild child…" the elder man chuckled, remembering his daughter, caressing his bare chin with a satisfied expression.

"Hah…"

For the outside, Beelzebub nodded charmingly, but deep inside, he could only sigh. Since he stepped in the estate, the people around — mostly the senators — tried to court him with their daughters, sell them like a good ware. And honestly, it started to feel annoying. He felt like home — staying in one of the parties someone had organised from the kingdom.

"Hmmm… Don't say that, Lucius-dono. The pursuit of knowledge is important. Father always said so. And I completely agree with him. With more knowledge, your daughter could open paths previously closed before her. Don't you want her to live a prosperous, happy life?"

"Hmm… You may be right," hummed the senator.

"If you want, I can recommend her to the Magical Academy of Carne. I know the principal — who's also the leader of our kingdom's magical association — personally. I can say a few good words for her if you want it."

"Ah! Thank you! Your Majesty that would be delightful. I am sure she would be charmed," the elder man beamed a smile, and Beelzebub patted his shoulder reassuring.

It was like home; many nobles came into his, his mother's, and his father's way, subtly offering their daughter's hand. — A few girls were less than ten. And these people were simply offering their hand to him for pre-arranged mariage, just like vendors at the fair.

Turning his head, watching his younger sister — who was also forced to mingle with these people, he could only pity her, knowing she was in the same boat.

Marrying underage kids, according to these people was acceptable. But according to Beelzebub, it was just weird.

He was aware, under their history there were times when it was a completely natural process if noble houses married away children at a young age. You may say it was traditional.

Even in his father's domain, only after Ainz outlawed underage marriage, it became banned in the Sorcerous Kingdom — for the uproar of many people he may say, or as he heard — thus even if Beelzebub wanted to marry someone like that —that he not — he would not be able to marry someone so young. Also, even if he was a royal heir, the laws his father decreed applied at him equally as everyone else.

He was not above the law, as only the Supreme Beings stood above the law.

His father always said, of course, to marry who he likes; he would not force him in a pre-arranged marriage because that would bear no good. Usually, such relationships ended up ruining both sides as neither of them wanted to do for the relationship actively.

"..."

Subtly turning to Serene, he could only offer a subtle, sympathetic nod from afar — surrounded by many ladies, inquiring about her home and casually gossiping, his sister just frowned back unpleasant.

Beelzebub loved his sister, and honestly, now he felt pity for her.

She hated the parties much more than he did — and got bored from them harder than his brother did so. After all, she was like her mother, made the same vow as her mother. Only those who defeat her can earn her hand.

A vow that contained only one problem. Aside from a few denizens of Nazarick, no one could really defeat her. And watching the pace she advanced with her studies and training session, one day she could even challenge Lord Cocytus or her aunt — when it came to technique and handling her weapon.

That day was still far of course, but it would eventually come if she continued like this. If that happened, no one would earn her hand – ever, and she would die — not naturally as after a certain age, she stopped aging — alone, or killed by one of the challengers.

A sad fate for an immortal being. A fate Beelzebub wished for no one. Even for his worst enemies.

Lowering his head, he started to mutter. "Sad fate… No one deserves…"

"Oh, Prince Beelzebub. You said something?" inquired Lucius worried.

"Ah, nothing. Please don't bother with me. Just sometimes, these parties are really exhausting. Please forgive me once more."

"Umu… I understand your concern. My poor wife. She can't really participate anymore because her nerves can't take it."

"Ah, my condolences."

"Thank you…"

Continuing the chat, Belzebub came to know, Lucius was not an evil man. Moreover, he was reasonably concerned about the fate of the Empire and the common people. A virtue not many bureaucrats could say they had, even if we think about the Sorcerous Kingdom.

Sadly, corruption was present even in the berks of their own parliament, no matter the strict rules and his father's constant effort to weed out corruption without a trace. People remained people after all.

Sighing once more, a pleasant voice hit his ears. A view he thought he would not see at this party.

"Oh! Beelzebub, you are here?"

Stepping to him, it was the burgundy princess of the Empire, Piña Co Lada.

Watching her for a moment, she wore the gown so specific of these people — If he remembered it right from his studies, in the ancient Rome of Earth, people wore such toga-like white dresses every day.

It was strange because most of the women in the party wore either the kimono-like costumes — the Japanese delegation gifted them — or the ones they received from the Sorcerous Kingdom as a gift. They did so only to show off their new style. Making their rivals green in envy.

 _"Women…"_ this speculation ran through his mind right away.

Unlike other women in the party, Piña was reserved. Only a necklace and a few gold bracelets adorned her limbs, showing a little cleavage on her chest area. Yet, her beauty penetrated the crowd.

"Oh, your majesty!" Lucius bowed deeply, giving the proper respect to the fifth child of the Emperor.

Despite the failing support of Molt, he still possessed enough supporters in the Senate to call for proper respect.

Because everyone knew, without him the Empire would have fallen into chaos long ago, without him, either the JSDF or the SKEF would have merely trampled over them long ago. Only thanks to him they could negotiate from such a good stand — compared to the situation they are in.

"Princess Piña," he nodded, though, he could barely suffocate the red of his face seeing her radiating beauty.

Snickering, Lucius recognised it from first sight what was between the two — or, he suspected what was between the two.

Giving a quick glance to his side, he played his part. "Ah! Marius! My good friend! Please forgive me, your Majesty! There is a friend of mine I need to speak urgently. I hope it is not a problem. I will introduce the two of you later.

"Oh!" Beelzebub nodded understanding. "Of course, we will speak later, Lucius-dono."

With that, the elder left, leaving the two youngsters alone. But before he turned away, he gave Beelzebub a dubious wink. A wink he could only accept with a surprised expression.

"…"

Long moments of awkwardness descended between the two after the senator left, as they tried to come up with something to start the conversation. In the end, it was Piña who began the talking.

"It has been some time since we last met."

"Indeed. Unfortunately, the last month had been quite busy. Jaldabaoth left tremendous destruction in his wake."

"Di-Did you manage to find him?"

Piña's face mirrored her legitimate concern, still having nightmares about the night of the invasion. And it was not surprising, everyone who survived that night trembled to remember the return of the Demon Emperor. Everyone who survived remembered his terrific entrance and pledge of destruction.

Beelzebub's face contorted, watching his slowly diminishing drink. "Unfortunately, no. Even father was unable to locate him. And he usually always finds who he is looking for. I fear, the mother of all darkness will return if we don't find him and take care of the demon Emperor once for all."

"Mother of darkness?" Piña tilted her head, knowing not what the young prince was speaking about. Whatever was this "mother of all darkness" it could not possibly mean good for the Empire and its people.

"Do you believe in superstitions, Piña? Legends about forgotten gods, primordial beings?"

Looking around, watching the now pacified dragon hatchling slowly devouring the meat the servant served —the same dragon hatchling Aura had tamed as her pet and now peacefully swallowed its meal — the princess couldn't help but start to believe in such things.

Around it, many nobles mingled, like it was completely natural doing it in the presence of a beast that could destroy a nation. It's owner — Aura — showcasing her monster, eating with a joyous expression, chatting with the people amidst her crackle.

"I fear, after what has happened, since your arrival, I can't afford not to believe in such things. It would be simply treacherous against those who died on the battlefield."

"I understand your concern, and I am glad you think the same way as I." Beelzebub placed his hand on her shoulder, patting it gently, encouragingly.

Clenching her fist, she remembered. All those dead. All those crippled, terrified soldiers.

The Empire had lost more than sixty percent of its total fighting strength in less than two months, the unified army of its allied vassals had been devastated, unable to fight anymore. The whole integrity of her nation balanced on a knife's edge!

She couldn't allow herself to ignore things anymore and live with her head buried under the sand.

SHE JUST COULDN'T!

Doing it, living in a world of delusion — like her brother Zorzal — would have catastrophic consequences. The only thing she could do was to push forward, for her father, for her nation! For their very survival!

"Who is this, "mother of all darkness" exactly, you spoke about."

"It would be a better question, what it is." Beelzebub's expression turned stern, for the worry of Piña.

"What do you mean?"

"She, or rather "it" is darkness incarnate. According to father, she came from the void itself and was the first being that appeared in the long night. Her only goal is to extinguish all life, wage war until the end of time. He and aunt defeated her once, but not without dying of course."

"Dy-dying!?" Piña flabbergasted. After what she saw that night, after what happened. There was no way someone could kill a god-like being like Ainz was!

All around the Empire she had received the report that more and more shrines appeared, worshipping the newly arrived deity who chased away the Demon Emperor and beat back the demonic invasion single-handedly.

Speaking about his immortal soldiers mounting terrific horses that ate souls. Talking about the messengers of death, the black armoured soldiers of the newly emerged God of Death. His angels were soaring the skies in grey armours, judging anyone with their devilish eyes that dare to say a wrong word about their lord.

A new religion started to surface worshipping the Forty One.

"Wait a minute!" she pointed at Beelzebub. "You said your aunt also participated in the fight. You spoke about her previously. Don't say there is more of like your father!?"

"Well…" Beelzebub starched his face awkwardly. _"Didn't I mention her to you before? Or did you simply ignore me?"_

These thoughts popped up in his mind in a sarcastic manner, but he just ignored them for the time being and returned to the conversation.

"I spoke about her and my father's companion before. They were the founders of our nation after all."

"You don't say…" Piña sweatdropped.

"Yes, I say." Beelzebub drank his drink.

Suddenly, Piña realised one thing, turning pale as a white wall. "If you spoke about her… that means…"

"Yes, "The mother of all darkness" is who called Jaldabaoth to life. If you ask me, the Demon Emperor's goal was to introduce sacrifice for its master, bring her back by conducting his ritual."

"Tell me you will not allow that."

"If it's up to me, I would stop him. Unfortunately…" the reinforced glass cracked then shattered in his hand but left no mark on his impeccable, soft skin. "Father advises against it. He still thinks I am a child…!" the last part was only muttered by him, but it was well enough for Piña to not pry the theme anymore.

Seeing the stressed state of Beelzebub, she immediately changed the topic. "By the way, where is Lady Eleanor? I saw Lady Serene, even spoke with her a few words. But…"

His expression softened, gazing in the far, brushing off the shards of glass from his hand — The shards the nearby imp immediately cleaned from the ground.

"She is officially away, negotiating with a few lesser lords in the nearby country. If I remember it right, the country's name was Alguna. Your brother also accompanied her, saying she will need his "diplomatic skills" and "aura of command" for the negotiations."

Hearing this, Piña could only snicker, elegantly covering her lower face not to give away her amusement. Her brother and diplomacy? Better said, a brute in a porcelain factory.

Diplomacy was the art where you said to the dog: 'nice doggie' until you found a rock. It was not for blunt and direct people like Zorzal was. She only hoped Lady Eleanor was apt enough to steer clear of such a thing. Else, they would experience the battle of Dalnus once more.

"…" Sighing she could only shake her head scoldingly and tired.

It was the interest of Alguna to keep a good relationship with their new neighbours. As with the vassalization of the Empire, the previous provinces of the nation immediately gained independence from their captors. Of course, this did not mean the Empire couldn't conquer them once again at a later time.

In truth, no one knew why the Sorcerous Kingdom did this. It was a step — that at first — made no sense.

"…"

Watching the vast "flame dragon hatchling" sitting only around twenty meters from them, Piña couldn't help but adore the beast, and question the young teen's safety — and sanity — who petted the colossal creature so casually.

She was a tomboyish looking child with dark skin and pointed ears, a signature trait of the dark elves. She had golden hair and heterochromia, her left being eye blue and right eye green.

With the exception of her hair and a few fundamental differences, her appearance hauntingly resembled the adventurer — Raidyn — or, she thought so. Reading a book that listed and showed the famous adventurers — and their heroic deeds — of the Kingdom, she couldn't think of anything else.

Like usual, Aura wore her reddish-black dragon scale leather covered by a white and gold vest embroidered with the sigil of Ainz Ooal Gown.

Below it, she had a matching set of white trousers and gold plated shoes, and around her neck was an acorn necklace emitting golden light. She was equipped with a whip around her waist.

"Is that child mad!?" Piña almost shouted, seeing Aura yank the Flame Dragon's ear — as it tried to snatch away her cake — making the creature growl for a moment, then whimper as she glared at it.

"Oh! She…?" Beelzebub smirked. "Don't worry about her. She knows what she is doing."

"Who is she?"

"She is Aura Bella Fiora, father's hunt master and one of the heads of the elf council at home."

"Then that dragon…"

"She tamed it…" Beelzebub told the truth uncaring. "According to her, it is quite weak. She needs much more training to make it stronger. And in truth, she has a few more dragons under her command. All of them bigger and stronger than this one."

"You don't say…" Piña deadpanned, not wanting to believe him.

Nodding, Beelzebub pointed at the huge, white rabbit with needle-like moustache docilely playing with the nearby children.

The animal was literally as big as a truck, and several children climbed on it, playing and having fun, caressing its soft fur.

"See that rabbit? That is a needle rabbit. Aura-dono has a few of them."

"I see. Despite its size, it seems pretty harmless."

"That's where you are wrong, Piña. That animal alone can end a nation under one day once it gets loose. Moreover, it can easily bite through the throat of the mature Flame Dragon, Momon and Raidyn-dono slew— with the help of the JSDF and Rory-dono." The last part he muttered.

Her face paled immediately, watching the rabbit once more. Unable to imagine that harmless looking rabbit to harm anyone.

She just arrived, but she'd rather go back to her room and have a good bath. She couldn't take this anymore.

"…!"

Turning her head, stuffing her face with some cake, she needed something that would relieve her tension. Sugawara and the young Sherry Tyueli came in her attention right away.

Young Sherry was only twelve, but she had already found her calculation, nagging the Japanese diplomat to introduce her to the other Nihon bureaucrats all around.

Piña could only sigh, hoping one day it would be that easy with the kingdom that was currently occupying them. "Usually it is like this?"

"What do you mean?" Beelzebub asked back, knowing not what she was referring to.

"The parties of the Sorcerous Kingdom. What are they like?"

"Hmm… Usually, fancy."

"Not helping," Piña quietly snorted, pouting slightly. This was not what she asked for.

"Honestly?"

"Yes…"

"The abundance of food, place, drink and magnificence. The amount of wine consumed by those parties can easily fill a lake. I never liked such events. Even father only participates when it's absolutely necessary. Usually sending his attaché or mother to substitute him." His look turned sour, playing with his drink he fetched from the nearby server. Remembering, under his childhood, his father rarely had time to train him or take care of his own son.

It was not surprising; many lines ran together under his hand. Ainz had a nation to lead; he had Nazarick to control. And under the years Beelzebub learned to accept this and oblige according to the best of his ability, help his father whenever he could.

Watching Piña for a moment, he suspected she was the same. This was the curse of the royal heirs. The burden of "them"… The curse that every ruler and their children had to bear.

They needed to grow up fast, accepting the lack of parental concern. Remain strong, bear the burden and under the way grow into a true heir, or break under the strain and be cast away.

The Sorcerer King's distaste for parties and a busy schedule was a well known information all around the kingdom, thus, giving it away gave no edge to the Empire.

Beelzebub always made sure to give away only as much information that was necessary. Enough to satisfy Piña and others, but nothing crucial that may endanger his father's domain.

The Sorcerer King was always busy, he rather worked for his people than waste his time in meaningless parties, mingling with bureaucrats. That was a well known truth. And because of this, the common people loved and adored him day after day.

"…"

"Ah! I see. So that's it. I hope I can see it one day."

"Umu…" Beelzebub nodded. "It is surely spectacular. The firework parade at the end of such parties is the only reason why I usually remain until the end."

"Oh!" Piña's eyes widened. In her childhood, she had seen a few magical spells acting similarly. When a delegate from Rondel came to the royal court, and one of the old masters took the effort to entertain the children with his magic tricks, it was truly spectacular.

A smile curled on the first prince's face, remembering his favourite holiday.

"The week of conquest is even more grandiose. Under the whole week, wargames, military processions and events tied to father's and aunt's conquest take place all around the world." Beelzebub shuddered as a joyous feeling ran through his spine. It was his favourite event. He never once missed it. And he always participated in the war games. Changing sides year after year, playing either the conquered or the conquerors, or the third side if there was one.

"It is terrific!" he shuddered in joy.

"…" Piña just obliged with an awkward smile, continuing her drink looking and away slightly.

"Oh! But I am gossiping too much! Here is the Sorcerer King Thanksgiving cake! We almost missed it thanks to my senseless prattle. Please forgive me."

In the next moment, on a sizable cart, a towering cake had been towed in, pulled by two sparkling unicorns.

The cake was magnificently made, on the top of it, the life-sized copy of Ainz holding his staff high.

"On this day, everyone got a bite from father," he chuckled, raising his glass high to honour his father's life-sized marzipan copy.

Shooting a bitter smile, Piña couldn't really appreciate the joke. As it was the holiday of the conquerors — those, in her case — was not the Empire.

Surprisingly, it was Serene who conducted the first speech — usually, as the oldest amongst the three children of the king — he was the one who spoke for his father's health first.

But for this one time, his sister deserved as much, Beelzebub let her have the honour. After all, she won their small competition. He had to give her that.

'Clink! Clink! Clink!'

Clinking her glass gently with her cutlery, everyone's attention turned towards her.

"Honorable representatives from all around the realms. I welcome you to this party where we celebrate my father's foresight and wise rule, non-less, in this new realm he has beamed his glance."

Leaving a momentary pause, she continued.

"This is the two hundred and tenth occasion we gather to celebrate his name. And it fills my heart with joy so many people have gathered."

After the violent wave of applauding, she continued.

"First, I would like to thank Princess Piña Co Lada and Emperor Molt Sol August, without their hospitality and contribution, we would have hardly gathered here today."

Raising her glass, Piña flustered and could only wave awkwardly to the people who nailed their gazes on her.

"It has been around two hundred and ten years since father rules over the nation. His rules, his laws, his decisions until now were well justified and true. Served the needs of people all around our world. With the accession of the Saderan Empire in the rank of our little, protectorate," she gazed to Piña for a moment, then the gathered senators —for the distaste of the princess — then her attention turned back to the crowd. "And with the new diplomatic connection established with the nations of Earth. I, no, we all hope the flourishing relationship between our nations remain, and the spirit of competition drives us into further development. As my father always intended to."

Once more, the crowd cheered. Though, there were a few people who only sneered hearing her speaking about their forced vassalage so innocently.

Chuckling, she concluded her speech. "That's for my part. Everyone who knows me is well aware; I am horrible at conducting speeches. I only spoke before giving the lead to my brother — the first prince of the kingdom, Beelzebub Ooal Gown. Happy and prosperous Sorcerer King Thanksgiving to all. Let's have at least ten thousand more! And may father smile on you all."

The crowd applauded her speech, and Aura's ears twitched happily, waving to Beelzebub to come.

"Ah, it cannot be helped…" Lowering his head, he couldn't help it. It was that or hearing Aura-dono's berating all night. "I will be back, Piña. Of course, if I can get rid of the people surrounding me after the speech."

With that, Beelzebub stepped forward, starting his usual "grand" speech.

After him, Aura as well gave off her piece of mind, showcasing her new pet to the crowd, speaking about Ainz for long minutes.

One thing was sure. On that day, everyone got a piece from Ainz's ass.

Of course, there was a second similar cake that night — after Molt honoured the gathered with his presence.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Meanwhile in the Imperial Palace:**

By the time the original Flame Dragon's head had been pinned above the gates of the Imperial Capital, several months had already passed. Only thanks to the preservation enchantments cast on it the head of the creature could be kept in such good shape. Otherwise, it would have long ago turned it into a skeletal head.

Though, strangely, the body of the creature was still missing. The arriving forces of SKEF collected it right away, transporting it back to Nazarick.

Watching the well-preserved head, most of the expeditionary force was sure; the creature would fly once more in the near future. But the gathered citizens of the Empire had no idea who pinned the grotesque head above the main gate.

"What a beast…" Many people muttered passing the gates.

Preserved by their new patron deity, Ainz Ooal Gown, the new religion was growing fast. Many lesser and greater shrines and small churches arose to his exaltation.

The fear in the people's heart started to dissipate thanks to the illusion of safety the present forces of SKEF, the humanitarian troops of JSDF and the preserving shrines of the Sorcerer King provided.

The Flame Dragon was a force which could not be resisted by humanity, and people of this world over considered it a natural disaster, much like an earthquake. But the appearance of a demon Emperor was something else — couldn't be comprehended by mortal creatures.

The disaster sent by the gods themselves to punish them for their sins. It could not be explained otherwise.

Therefore, all people could do in the wake of the tragedy which the Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth brought was sigh and mutter, "Such misfortune". They felt it was sent by the gods to torment humanity, much like floods and hail. This attitude of helpless acceptance was deeply rooted in people's hearts.

Of course, people had tried to protect themselves against such disasters. Much like how measures could be taken to protect against floods. But unlike the Flame Dragon that was slain by mortal heroes — the men in green, Momon and Raidyn.

Jaldabaoth was a force a simple mortal could not face, not now, not tomorrow, not ever!

According to the tales of the old, even heroes stood helplessly before him, trying their best to even scratch him. Using holy artefacts to do so — divine items he simply brushed off like they were nothing.

Further stories spoke about the strongest paladin of the Holy Kingdom — Remedios Custodio — and her fall into insanity. The disgrace of one of the strongest women of her time, who also faced the creature, and failed miserably to even touch the ruler of demons.

Be her might was without par even against beastmen, be she could fight and win alone against whole armies. Be she was the member of nine colours and the former leader of the Paladin order of the thence disbanded and assimilated Holy Kingdom. Carrying the Holy Sword that said to be able to banish all evil.

Under the appearance of the Demon Emperor, it proved to be all useless when she faced that Demon, all of it was without avail as Jaldabaoth found both Remedios and her sword as a mere annoyance. Brushing her away with a single swipe, she crashed in the walls, leaving a ruinous building in her wake. Going insane as the foul demon used the body of her beloved Holy Queen — Calca Bessarez – as a simple bludgeoning tool. Smearing her body on the holy knight, pushing her down on the path of insanity. Giving way to her downfall that ended with her tragic death.

In all cases when someone tried to face such disaster level entities, the keyword was "tried". Until the appearance of the newcomers, no one succeeded to either hurt the Flame Dragon or face the newly arose god level entity the Demon Emperor was.

Those heroes who tried might have been weak — compared to the creatures — but they did not lack for either courage or motivation. The only thing they had done wrong was that they had lost. It would not be an exaggeration to say they could never have won. And because of that— there were two main opinions when it came to the rumours and the facts surrounding the men in green and the vassals of the undead king.

Facts and truths that slowly started to blur together, creating absurd tales from both sides. Legends, the bards would further blur and burnish in the coming years.

There were some tales which were filled with hopeful expectations, while others were dubious, and a brewing tension filled the air between both camps.

These rumours were spreading in the countries allied to the Empire, let alone within the Empire itself. And so, today, the symbol of terror and despair — the Flame Dragon's head — now adorned the Imperial Capital's main gate, for everyone on the streets to behold.

Just being able to slain a Flame Dragon was heroic enough. But now, that the proof of the Flame Dragon's own child was being paraded around in the garden as a docile pet — scolded by a tomboyish dark elf. The whole thing started to turn more and more absurd, almost comical. It had a powerful impact on everyone who saw it.

Their reaction could be described as "awestruck" or even "dumbfounded", though a more objective description might be that "they stared with eyes wide and mouths open". Usually, when an enemy army was defeated, a castle was conquered, or when a hated foe was slain, the people's hearts would be filled with a fierce joy, and they would cry out in excitement.

However, the being called Flame Dragon and the Demon Emperor were so powerful that it seemed unrealistic that someone could actually defeat them. Not speaking about taming a real, living Flame Dragon. All of it equalled the realm of absurdity, only Giselle, the apostle of Hardy had managed to earn such taming feat. And she needed a long time to do so.

Now that they had seen the Flame Dragon's head separated from its corpse, all they felt about this was confusion. In any case, the lack of exciting action or cheering could be due to the shock which filled everyone.

That said, it did not mean they were unmoved. Their reaction could be described as a "dormant heat". For instance, a wildfire burned hot and steady, but if left alone, it would quickly burn itself out.

In contrast, the people's feelings were like how boiling magma would flow everywhere without being exposed to the light of day. If someone cast a flammable object into it, a great fire would blaze up in an instant.

High city walls surrounded the Imperial Capital — freshly rebuilt and reinforced by the forces of SKEF. The southern face of the walls was where the Imperial Capital's main gate was located, in the form of a pair of well-fitted double doors.

The south gate was jammed up by those people who had come to see what the fuss was about. Every single location in sight was filled with people, be it the streets or the windows of nearby buildings, and some people had even climbed onto the roofs in order to see the Flame Dragon's head. Or see the patrolling Frost Dragons freshly arrived from the Sorcerous Kingdom — patrolling above the capital ever awake. Or doing parcel delivery — for the astonishment of the people of JSDF and the Empire.

Everywhere, one could see people moving back and forth, to the point where they were rubbing shoulders against each other and treading on their neighbours' feet as they advanced. Fortunately, there was no large-scale disturbance or panic.

As they looked and watched the flying dragons above their head, they froze and observed the whole thing with their mouths wide open, hardly daring to blink as they let this incredible fact wash over them.

Shortly after that, the people began whispering to each other. "Dragons? Here!?" "Will they attack us?" "What is the meaning of this?" "Did they come to avenge their brother?" "Was there a poster or did anyone say anything?"

Of course, the appearance of the Frost Dragons had been announced several days ago. But a few people simply did not want to believe it, merely denying the truth.

After all, there were no mass media in the Empire which could swiftly inform people of facts.

And the news board network that made the spread of information much more efficient in the Sorcerous Kingdom was still under construction in the new jurisdiction of Ainz's domain.

It was not easy to find the proper magical ley lines scattered all around the lands, then connect them and redirect the flow the appropriate way, so they did not need to fuel such devices all the time by portable magical batteries or by personnel intercession.

In difference of the Sorcerous Kingdom or Earth, in the Empire, when people wished to show or declare something before the masses, they had to put up a plaque or a poster with their desired message. Otherwise, people would not know what had happened or who had done it. For instance, some charlatan might jump out and declare "I did this!" as the people were busy discussing the matter. However, there had been no announcements or a bill posted.

All the audience could do was look at the Flame Dragon's vast head and turn their gaze hearing the terrific roars of the Frost Dragons soaring the skies.

Who had done this, who controlled the Frost Dragons and what sort of massive battle had that person fought to obtain an achievement like this? Nobody answered the crowd's doubts and questions. This magnificent trophy before them was a silent witness to the monumental victory that had been won and the terrific power their new masters possessed.

That silence was more convincing than any amount of words. Humans were a race that came up with their own theories, explanations and conclusions, and then sought people to agree with their findings.

That being the case, the speculation started at once. Some people said, "I think only Ainz-sama could do this. Controlling those beasts and defeating the Flame Dragon. What do you think?"

By the time the Emperor announced the restoration of the city had been finished and the Demon Emperor posed no threat to the capital — as its last demonic nest inhabiting the immediate vicinity of it had been successfully cleared — the news had already been making the rounds on the streets.

Slightly earlier, the Emperor considered that this might be a matter of national security. In order to make a judgement call on this issue as quickly as possible, this news raced up the reporting chain to the Emperor.

However, that method resulted in the widespread circulation of rumours. Almost everyone who had heard the news wondered if their ears were working. After that, various ruling nobles sent envoys or even went in person before the Emperor to verify the truth with him.

The Dragon's head had its way around the Empire — previously speaking, but just now it reached the state where it finally reached its final resting place. Appearing on the south gate in the morning, and by the time the highest authority in the Empire, Emperor Molt Sol Augustus released an official statement, it was evening.

Emperor Molt simply said, "Is that so" after hearing the report from Count Marx, the head minister of his Cabinet.

For his distaste, he did not even need to give the order, the nearby forces of SKEF had already reacted to the situation and dispersed the crowd before anyone could get hurt.

Molt was concerned, the so-called vassalization — more like assimilation if you asked him — went smoother than he ever dared to dream. The ordinary people of the capital prospered, starting to forget the rule of the Empire, calling that Ainz person their new king — more and more of them as the days slowly passed. Under such circumstances, no Emperor could sleep well.

The dark circles under his eyes also foretold his great concern and made him break his nob on the method that needed to keep his rule solidified.

Though, only the necessary number from the forces of SKEF patrolled in the city, doing mostly humanitarian work. The Empire was still his — according to the treaty — only the necessary force patrolled around in the area.

The forces of the UN and the JSDF were also present doing the same duty. The Capital had become the boiling cauldron where two sides measured the power of each other. Two dragons were circling around the trembling gazelle waiting who will decide its fate.

One misstep and an all-out war would surface in this very ground.

If he was lucky, even from such a dire state, he could win. Turn the sides against each other, shaking off the yoke of the Sorcerous Kingdom and take control of the situation. Over the destiny of the Empire! Once more, regaining full control.

If he failed… well… he would probably not be the only one who would descend into an early grave. He would destroy everything if he needed to. But Molt would not give them the satisfaction of a true submission. They'd need to kill him for that first — that, watching the situation from the backlines — seemed to be more and more a possibility.

"Your, your Majesty, did you know about this beforehand?" Count Marx was surprised by the Emperor's calm reaction to this news, hence his question. "It seems the canaries in the palace are starting to get uneasy. In the face of that, I have gathered my resolve. I will not be perturbed no matter the situation."

The defeat of the Imperial Legions, the sudden earthquake, the collapse of the Senate Building, the appearance of the Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth, all these frightening events had occurred recently, one after the other.

Perhaps it was because of these events and the promise of future ones like it that the Emperor said he had "gathered his resolve". Still, his attitude towards lousy news was quite surprising. Therefore, Count Marx was deeply disturbed as he stood before the Emperor.

"I see…"

"Mm. The news of the appearance of those dragons flying over the capital and the appearance of that thing flustered some people. But this is not in itself a bad thing. Being able to eliminate a disastrous entity like that, and knowing such creatures are standing on our side is a cause for celebration."

"But it seems the situation is not as simple as you say…"

"I understand. The slaying of the Flame Dragon, chasing away a demonic being like that is a feat that has never been accomplished before and may never be done again. Feats that are comparable to a single soldier defeating an army or taking a castle. We all know who did the demon part. Damn skeleton…" Molt muttered, biting his lip. "But should the Dragon slayer report their name, they will receive ample praise and compensation regardless of their origin or species. But that person has not yet come forward, which I cannot understand. It would make sense if that person were humble, but then why would a humble person put the creature's head on display? It is a contradiction I cannot resolve."

"Mmmm… Your Majesty, if you allow me. We have some news about the Slayers of the mother Flame Dragon, and the one of the hatchling that resided in the Schwartz Forest. True, they received help from the apostle of Emroy — Rory Mercury."

"Hmmm. Interesting. Then it's self-evident the dragons are dead. You said there was a hatchling that was slain in that forest. How come I hear about this now?" His gaze turned against the senator right away.

"The past months were busy, your majesty. Maybe it just avoided your attention. Staying on the topic, I must notify you one of the dragon hatchlings is still alive, enjoying the meal like a docent animal at the party."

"Oh…" Molt gasped sarcastic, rolling his eyes. "You don't say. But putting the matter at hand. I assume, the slayers of the creatures are still unknown."

"Yes, unfortunately. At the request of the slayers, neither the men in green nor the Sorcerous kingdom provided information about the identity of the slayers. They are very secretive."

"Most likely," Molt answered immediately, remembering the nightmarish schedule of his in the past months. "But the question remains. Why they remained in silence. Why they did not report this feat right away. I cannot chew this through."

"Indeed. Their motives are unknown. Still, there should be some way for us to understand their actions..."

Molt simply shrugged; honestly, he was out of ideas.

"But perhaps I am thinking too hard and trying to see something where there is nothing. If these "heroes" intended to merely slay the Flame Dragon… Count Marx, I hereby charge you with investigating who the person who slayed the creatures for real was. If we can find out who did it — even if that person's intentions are hard to grasp — we should still be able to gain a clue regarding them… maybe turn them into our allies. Showcasing a person who participated in the fight — moreover, if he/she were from our empire — it would surely bolster the morale of our people. Regaining their faith in our rule is crucial, no, necessary under such dire times."

Count Marx bowed with an "Understood" before leaving, with the intention of investigating as swiftly as possible. However, the Emperor called out to him before he could leave, and he turned back to the Emperor once more.

"May I serve you in some way?"

"Call Piña to me."

"Piña-dono, you mean? From what I know, she is currently entertaining the ambassadors from Nihon and the Sorcerous Kingdom… shall I summon her immediately?"

While a summon from the most exalted ruler of the Empire should be obeyed immediately, the person being summoned was carrying out an important duty of the state. So, should she be summoned, or not?

Count Marx was waiting for that answer. And then the Emperor changed his mind and waved his hand as he continued speaking. "Oh, that's right. Tonight we celebrate the return of our countrymen and that distastefull holiday. How is it called?"

"The Sorcerer King Thanksgiving, your majesty," notified him, Marx.

"Hmph… Is that so. Whatever. I should have attended that event, but I forgot."

"Your Majesty, may I know what matter requires Piña-dono? If the need is great, I could…"

"Never mind. I already missed the forth celebration. I will see her again at the celebration tonight. We can talk then."

"If it pleases your Majesty, could you enlighten me with regards to your intentions?"

"Mhm. In truth, I intended to ask her about a report concerning the Sorcerous Kingdom and the Men in Green. The report stated that the Men in Green and a few heroes slew the original Flame Dragon. I had thought it to be a joke at first, but things being as they are, I feel it is worthy of further investigation."

"From the looks of things, could it be that these people exterminated the Flame Dragon…?" Count Marx looked profoundly disturbed as he said that.

"Mhm. Who are these Men in Green? Where these "heroes" hail from? The black-clad knight and the other, the gossiping women speak so much all around the Empire. Who are they in real? We must investigate this matter thoroughly. Then, I shall entrust you with that task."

Count Marx dipped his head in respect while replying, "Understood" in a suitably deferential tone. Then, he muttered the words "Men in Green" and "heroes", as though to carve them into his heart.

"…" sighing, Molt returned to his duties with a sour expression. He had much to do before the party really started.

At a later time. On the same day… No one expected the tragedy that was coming that night.

As Molt and everyone clinked their goblets on the party, saying their toast for the health of the Sorcerous King, wishing him eternal life and prosperous rule. (For Molt's distaste and annoyance) And welcoming the released captives — who until now were being kept captive by Ainz's forces.

The Emperor of the Saderan Empire tasted the drink, not even suspecting it would be his last, maybe forevermore.

The drink was funnily coloured. Something strange played on the surface of the liquid as he inspected it.

Red like blood, not like other wine. But its scent was strangely tempting, almost addicting.

For a moment, Molt hesitated to taste it. Then, his curiosity overcame him. Tasting first small. Then the urge overwhelmed him, devouring the wine from the goblet all with one gulp.

No one suspected what would happen. No one was prepared for what came next. Nothing could have prepared them for what happened after the dust settled.

Just then, a golden wine goblet fell to the ground. Following which, a scream shattered the sudden silence. Before anyone could react, the Emperor had fallen on his back, facing the sky with glassy eyes.

"Father!" The last thing Molt heard was the sky shattering scream of his own daughter.

His eyes empty, quickly becoming the shadow of his former self… Emperor Molt Sol Augusts. Ruler of the Empire no more. Fallen asleep, maybe forever…

* * *

 **Scene Change: Inside of a Carriage:**

Caressing his neatly trimmed beard, a man in the midst of his thirties glanced out of the window of his royally furnished carriage. Though he may have looked like a dashing man reaching his prime, in truth, he had already passed his four hundredth birthday.

His robes were neatly made, white with golden weave, befit to his station as a royal consultant, minister of magic, the headmaster of the prestigious Magic Academy of Carne — or as others called it, the "Leycastle" — as the fortress above the city used the massive ley lines on the ground to fuel its own flying existence — and the possessor of many more titles he had received over the years.

With him, three of his best apprentices inhabited the carriage. All of them capable to the use of tier three magic, the most talented even capable of casting tier four spells — and most likely not having reached his true potential.

Their robes were dark coloured, with a strange badge magically sewn on their arm — signing their advanced studies.

In the Sorcerous Kingdom. The students of the academy wore different coloured mantles and identification badges to distinguish the advancement of their studies.

The darker the robe was, the more advanced the student was in the art of magic. The only exception were the teachers, the researchers the academy employed, and the headmaster himself who usually wore an all-white gown.

The headmaster who inhabited the carriage in his prime just stared, immersed by his own thoughts.

"Fluder-sama. Can you tell us a little bit about this Rondel we are heading to?"

For a moment, Fluder did not answer, merely watching their escort galloping outside of the caravan. More precisely, watching the two imposing adventurers whose presence guaranteed there would be no disruptions.

"Pl-Please forgive me, Fluder-sama." Realizing what he dared to ask, the student bowed his head immediately, his face turning red as if he committed some kind of grave sin.

"Hmm…" Fluder Paradyne turned his eyeball towards his apprentice, inspecting him for a moment. Then his eyes flashed with recognition, merely dismissing the rattle of his student.

"Ah, yes. Please forgive me. Rondel, or you can call it Londel as the people of old named it. According to the books and the report of the scouts, it is an old city with a long and distinguished past. Most old cities look like this, and all sorts of races make their home here…"

From Fluder's thorough explanations, the denizens of the carriage had learned that Londel was founded around 3000 years ago, beginning as some sort of private academy. The dual-aspected God of Wisdom Elrantola — though still a Demigod at the time — had inspired the construction of the academy.

Londel's history was longer than the Empire's they "conquered", which was a point of pride for its residents. Though the neighbouring countries rose and fell in a never-ending cycle, its reputation as an enduring capital of wisdom stood the test of time.

Many sages and magicians gathered here, spending their days in study and research. At the same time, younger disciples who thirsted for knowledge came here from all over the world, studying diligently to achieve their goals.

"Oh!" All three present students awed, nodding hearing Fluder's teaching.

Watching the slowly approaching walls, Fluder was excited; he was like a giddy kid. More arcane knowledge. His Lord was indeed generous — as always — allowing him this chance to visit this town as his representative.

He would learn everything he could, then contribute to his lord what he had learned. That's the least he could do after all Ainz did for him.

"Wouldn't it be easier to teleport in the city?" asked one of the students annoyed, getting bored by the long travel.

In truth, they could use teleportation to arrive near the city instantaneously. But that would only raise panic and may give rise to the suspicion of a possible invasion. Pretty bad first impression if you asked the minister of magic — and not only according to him.

"Don't be a fool. These people are not used to teleportation magic. And I suspect, they don't even know such a thing exists at all. As I read, their magic is quite unstable and unreliable compared to the tier based magic system. Almost like the Wild Magic the Dragon Lords of old utilised."

Indeed, it was most likely.

As the first ones who had passed the borders of Dreamscope just recently found their way back from their long trip to Rondel. And most of the things they found weren't really widespread amidst the people of the city. The panic most likely would be guaranteed if the magic casters of the Sorcerous Kingdom started to practice their tier based magic there — or at least, greatly pique the interest of the present researchers.

You may say, the Sages of the great city — who had not ventured near Fortress Gown already — either refused to acknowledge such magic existed at all — in spite of all the evidence — or rounded up, packed their stuff and headed towards Dreamscope to see themselves.

It could not be helped; conservatives existed no matter where the wind scattered you. The worst amongst them refused the truth even if it stuck out their eyeballs.

Refusing reality, living in a world of daydream was possible — for the time being — but in the end, the bitter fact of truth always broke through the walls of self-created illusion.

Fluder knew this fact from first hand. Thus, he urged himself to be as realist as possible — all the time. Reflect the situation according to the best of his ability and adapt, learn new things whenever he could.

"The visit of the town must be crucial. Ainz-sama usually does the first meetings himself."

Fluder only hummed, nodding slowly. "Indeed. His Majesty usually does such things personally. As between sides, "the first impression is the most important thing" — as he used to say. Unfortunately, he is busy now."

"What happened Fluder-sama? What guarantees his attention so suddenly?"

"Hmmm…" Fluder frowned unpleasantly. "One of the diplomats was almost assassinated. Nontheless, in his own establishment. Most of all, by her own people. Currently, my Lord is escorting this diplomat to meet her people and the demihuman tribes gathered with them. If we are lucky, my lord will gain new subjects. If not, bodies are always a welcomed addition to bolster his army. Either way, Ainz-sama always wins."

Every student clenched their fists in anger, creaking the crystal headed metal and excellent quality wooden staffs in their hands.

"Isn't it lowly to a king… no, a god of death and magic to meet lowly demihumans?" asked one of the robed figures suddenly, the other two nodding in unison.

Fluder just smiled gently, watching his students with patience. "As said, Fredrick, first impressions are very important. But even the Sorcerer King — no matter how generous he is — can't let such accidents slip without a word. I think, everyone would be upset if someone attacked their guests — none less in their own property. But as generous my lord is, he wants to learn firsthand what prompted the assassination attempt. Solve the situation without resorting to violence. As usual, he does his practice."

"Oh!" the students gaped once more, adoring the wise decision of the king.

Then, the denizens of the carriage changed the subject.

"I heard the Supreme Beings managed to stabilise the portal. Is that true?"

"How did they do it?"

"Fludder-sama, can you tell us?"

Fludder nodded smiling, starting his complex explanation of magical, and arcane theory.

The answer was clear; the method could be susceptible — but completely incomprehensible even for his best students. But let's change for the outside for now. We may hear a few interesting things.

…

Meanwhile outside.

The small caravan of carriages consisted of a few wagons; numbering only four.

Around them guards, wearing armoured robes, full plate armour and carrying weapons of all type — staves, axes, shields, swords, wands and staffs.

Their plating and clothes were uninformed, bearing two badges. The symbol of Ainz Ooal Gown — as it was the kingdom's crest — and the identification of the Kingdom's magician association.

Escorted by his personal guards was vital for him, as Fluder was the leader of the magical association of the kingdom, and usually preferred to be guarded by his own guard squad.

Not as he would not be glad if the Sorcerous King or his right hand would bestow a few of his Death Knights — or similar mighty creatures — to escort him. No, he asked it many times as he had the authority to do so. And Ainz and Esdeath gladly lent him a few when he needed it as the king and his enforcer had spare creatures all the time.

Simply, he decided not to bring them along due to a simple reason — not to frighten the denizens of Rondel by their appearance.

As said, the first impression was important. Scaring your neighbours by bringing undead and similarly dreadful creatures in their lawn just wouldn't do. Or rather, what he had heard about Rondel made him not to bring them along.

Namely, the researchers of the city were just too enthusiastic — for him, it was not a problem as he was the same, seeking the abyss of the magic at all cost.

The problem arised when the mages of the city started to poke the creatures — when their fear overcame their curiosity. If that happened, one wrong move from either party and, for example, the Death Knights would attack those who poked them, recognising their attempt of magical analysis as an act of hostility.

Doing it with simple creatures — like skeleton soldiers or zombies — was acceptable. Doing it with monsters able to annihilate armies single-handedly then lead the raised zombie horde to annihilate the country was simply a catastrophe. And after Fluder heard why the high walls and the dome stood in and around Rondel's research district — not to keep the invaders out, but to keep the world safe from the mages inside — as they were a threat not only to others but themselves — he decided, it was better not to bring them here.

Galloping, the elite mage knights held themselves firm. Carried their weapons with pride. Under them, their summoned phantom steeds moved relentlessly.

Tireless, constructed from pure magical energy. Differing in colour — showing the affinity and strength of their creator.

Though, two figures deferred from the escorting party. Two adventurers were riding on epic mounts, sporting exquisite gear.

One was a woman, adorned by a leather made, stylish, knee long coat coloured red. Underneath it was a segmented futuristic plated armour. Prepared to give her more space to move and manoeuvre. She looked like the mix between a futuristic ninja and a grey knight.

On her side, an exquisite katana hung.

Under her, a rooster-like creature grapsed the dust, eating away the distance. Armoured with dreadful, spiked, black plating, its eyes were glowing red and menacing.

On her side, the second adventurer was like her. Even amongst the elite Mage Knights Fluder himself had collected — and granted rank by the Sorcerer King himself — his appearance and posture excelled.

Wearing a dark coloured trench coat, pinstripe trousers, and deep crimson hooded mantle — marked by golden and black diabolic engravings, elegantly running down on the clothing and his coat.

Diabolic looking armoured gauntlets had grasped the reins of his unique, bicorn warlord. Spiked, like a dark lord — the fingers could stab anyone he deemed unworthy to his presence.

His face was covered by a dreadful, evil, iron mask, forming the face of a goat, hiding his visage from the world. Two devilish lights dimmed in the sockets of the magic item. The top of his head was covered by an elegant black fedora. And his neck was hugged by a scarf coloured yellow.

Watching him for a moment, Raidyn recognised right away the strange focus objects hanging on his side— [Book of Diabolic Secrets], and the [Ever Sparkling Sparkler] sparkling on his hand.

Epic quality items, weak — according to their standards — but they would do for now.

Watching him for a moment, his futuristic mask's eyes flashed red.

[Message]: "I think you went a little too far with your costume."

Smirking under his disguise, the warlock imitator had to oblige. [Message]: "You think so?"

[Message]: "Ummm… Maybe. Either way. You should be more considerable with your costume choice next time. You raise too much attention. Don't you think it is too… how should I put it? Colourful?"

[Message]: "Who says that? A dark lord needs to arrive in style. Besides that, aren't you the same? Some kind of weird sci-fi ninja/knight hybrid whatever? I ain't saying it's not cool because it is awesome! I'm just saying you should not speak when you are the same. You are a role player like me!" snickered her companion in the mental channel they shared.

[Message]: "Ugh….!" Raidyn could only groan embarrassed. And the goat demon of destruction could only snicker once more.

Then, after her momentary silence, her confidence returned. [Message]: "Thou dare to mock the armour of my ancestors! The legacy of my kind! Come forth, dark lord of the shadow arts! Come! Face me in the open field!"

[Message]: "Kukuku… When you have defeated my minions, brave hero. Only then you can face the master of the dark arts. Me! Ardyn Ziege Jurmungand! But beware, I hold the fate of your loved ones in my palm. Thou don't forget that and act accordingly."

[Message]: "Ah! Such tragedy! What will I do now?"

[Message]: "Fufufufu! Tremble and kneel, adventurer! I may allow you to serve me."

[Message]: "Fufufuf…" her chuckle was physical, earning her many weird gazes from the nearby guards. "Good times. I wish we could do those role-player events once more. Though, your adventurer name is simply weird."

[Message]: "Well, we still can. It is only a matter of organisation. Though, you should not speak, the name Raidyn sounds like the name of a video game character. My name at least carries the faint of royalty. Ardyn Ziege Jurmungand. Don't forget thou! The name of your new dark lord! "

[Message]: "Well, our avatar's are kinda from a video game. So, that's not surprising."

[Message]: "True enough," Ardyn nodded under his mask, glancing at his friend under the illusion that hid his real self. "I know Momonga-san mentioned why he couldn't come with us, but care to evoke the memory once more?"

[Message]: "Umu… of course, I will tell you. Recently, our scouts reported a huge demi human unrest near the borders of the empire. A gathering you may say. Also, in the embassy we created near Fortress Gown, an assassin almost assassinated one of the ambassadors, or more like the queen of some kind of bunny tribe. Don't ask who. I don't know her name. Neither I care enough to remember."

[Message]: "Oh! Interesting. So Ainz-san went to investigate it?"

[Message]: "More like negotiate. That bunny girl also insisted on going with him, and bring Momon as a guard. I have no idea what Momonga did back then, but that girl clung on "Momon's" arm whenever I passed by. It is kinda weird, and disturbing. It is like she wants to hump poor Ainz-san all the time."

[Message]: "Fufufufu! Poor Momonga."

[Message]: "Yeah, he can't help it. He is kinda a harem magnet. Or harem king? Yeah, most likely. Seeing how many women tried to court his bony ass under the years, we can say that confidently. Seriously! He is a freaking skeleton! What's wrong with people!? It can't be all of them are like Shalltear — necrophilia…"

Saying this, the two friends burst out in laughter, earning even more strange gazes from the surrounding people.

[Message]: "Pl-Please don't make me cry! I can't brush the tears out of my eyes when wearing this mask!"

[Message]: "Ooooh! I promise nothing, Ulbert-kun!" she replied with a mischievous smirk under her mask, then turned her head towards him. "But, what about you. From what you said, you as well have experience with such a thing — women, or men, whatever. Do you have a family or something?"

[Messsage]: "Hmmm… Let me think." A long lasting silence descended in the line, with Ulbert trying to remember everything.

Unfortunately, Ulbert's confinement in the crystal prison had left him with void gaps in his memory. Slowly, they would come back. But until he regained his memories, he couldn't help it; he couldn't do anything with the situation.

[Message]: "Faintly, I remember I had wives. Multiple ones at it. Also, a few sons and daughters. But strangely, I can't remember their names, neither their faces."

[Message]: "Oh, I am sorry to hear that. Maybe if you speak with that Lucifer guy, he can tell you something that will make you remember. He said he knew you in the past. Maybe you can find them."

[Message]: "Umu, good idea. Let's conclude a meeting once we have returned to Nazarick."

[Message]: "Ok."

The long silence once more descended on the communication line the two friends shared. Only after several minutes of continuous galloping Ulbert dared to ask the big question.

[Message]: "By the way. I wanted to ask it for a long time. At least, since Ainz-san introduced his kids. And "wives"…" Ulbert smiled, remembering how shamefully Momonga pulled his collar when Albedo, Shalltear and Zesshi introduced themselves as his wives. And he couldn't help but suffocate his laugh when Albedo admitted her eternal love to Ainz — that he admittedly explained with him messing with her settings.

Still, it was hilarious seeing him so flustered — even when nothing appeared on his marble bones.

But at least, his kids were decent enough. Though, he was still clueless how an undead skeleton like himself had managed to beget three sweet kids like them. And Ainz only said that much when he asked him about it— "Ask [Abeloth] about it." He only said that much.

The question that she — Esdeath — as [Abeloth] was her [Truename] and Esdeath Gorgon was the public name she used — answered with the simple words: "Magic", "enchantment", "Alchemical stuff", and "technology".

Thus Ulbert inquired no more, just silently crackled. Amusedly watching Momonga as he awkwardly tried to diffuse the situation.

Watching Ardyn spacing out for so long, Raidyn forced to ask. [Message]: "Ulbert-san. What's the matter? You spaced out for so long."

[Message]: "Oh! Sorry. I just wanted to ask. Do you have any family or kids? You kinda never mentioned it. And under my month in Nazarick you were rarely around. So, I could never ask about it."

Her grimace and displeasure almost radiated under her mask. An expression Ulbert seemingly recognised right away. [Message]: "Ugh… Sorry. I meant nothing bad by asking it."

[Message]: "No, it's nothing," she shook her head. "Let's just say. With the numerous gimmicks and strange things coming with my race... It is better that I am the last, and only Nephalem — most likely — that inhabits the existence. The world would most likely not survive if a second one went loose. There is just…" she clenched her fists, squeezing the reins. Her momentary worry, mixed with her anger made her mount huff steam and fiery saliva and cock wild.

[Message]: "What are you speaking about?" Ulbert inquired with a raised brow, feeling the uncertainty of his friend.

[Message]: "Let's not speak about it…" she answered immediately, turning her attention forward.

[Message]: "Hmmm! Cheer up old friend! I don't know what the problem is, but I am sure we can solve it. Don't forget! The dark lord and his destructive, dark magic can solve everything. Or, if not, I can always help you out with my gigantic third leg. Fufufuf…"

Esdeath just sneered in displeasure. [Message]: "You really want the third boot, don't you? Two on your legs, one in your ass. Are you aware what I was?"

[Message]: "Oh!" Ulbert crackled amused. "The lady is biting. Yes, I am completely aware. But now, you are a beautiful lady. You should use it for your own pleasure. I am sure many men courted you in the past. And if memory serves me right, I did weirder things with others. Thus, it does not bother me at all. Don't say you don't want a little Ulbert around?"

[Message]: "Ugh!" her visage turned lobster. It was true, she could imagine Ulbert doing weird shit, but imagining a second Ulbert around was kinda… weird.

Yet, it was not an entirely inconceivable possibility — yet, a probability that was heavily embarrassing. "Just shut up, please. Or I will embed my taloned combat boots in your face!"

[Message]: "Fufufuf! It is so easy messing with you."

[Message]: "Ju-Just shut up!"

"Lady Raidyn. Lord Ardyn. Our entourage will soon reach Rondel," came the voice from one of the magic knights, making Raidyn and Ardyn turn their attention forward.

The city was everything they had hoped for, and a little bit more. It was vast enough to rival Carne, and its beauty was without par in Falmart.

Worthy of its nickname, the "Blue City of Mages" as it was indeed blue.

Even from the far — from the walled region of the town — several explosions could be heard and seen as the masters of magic practised their ancient — heavily unstable art.

What will await Ulbert, Esdeath, Fluder and the group? What ancient secrets will surface in the ancient city of the mages?

Will Ainz manage to diffuse the situation with the demihumans? What will he find when he arrives?

Will Molt live? Or his death will be blamed on the Sorcerous Kingdom? You will know it in the next chapter.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Well, that's for now.**

 **I hope it was not horrible.**

 **RNR! Write your opinion.**

 **Have fun! Read! Stay safe! Goodnight!**

 **Also. I put a pool on my profile page. Please vote. It is connected to a possible crossover I might write.**

 **It is not mandatory, it is just well appreciated.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Have a nice day!**

 **If you have questions. Don't hesitate to ask in a PM or throught a review. :)**


	26. Tales From Rondel

**Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There**

 **by oblivon2991**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.**

 **I don't own the** _ **Overlord**_ **(** **オーバーロード** _ **Ōbārōdo**_ **?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **Please review it. I know I will make mistakes that I intend to correct and will try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

* * *

The interior of the city was made of sun-dried bricks, mortared together with plaster. The roof overhangs were made of a single, solid piece of material. The spaces between them were narrow enough that two people could stick their arms out of the windows on facing walls and link their hands. In addition, the buildings were so old that the originally-white exteriors were now dirtied to the point where one might think they had been charred. The plaster chipped off the walls, revealing the bricks within. Sights like these could be seen all over the city. There were evident marks where masons had reapplied the plaster, and thus patches of different-looking colours everywhere on the walls. All of this made the run-down looking portions of the wall that much more apparent.

Most of the buildings were two or three stories high. The rare four-story buildings stood out from the others as they reached to the sky.

Above the narrow street, people hung laundry to dry from the second and third story windows, and their clothing swayed gently in the faint breeze.

The people on the street were a melting pot. It was much like the interior of a small inn in that both were basically exercises in how to cram as many people as possible into a small space. Because of that, the density of the people on the streets had pretty much reached its maximum point.

The road called the Central Avenue was in reality little more than five meters wide. The many people milling back and forth included Hags with baskets on their heads, Dwarves hauling lumber, aged elders (human), as well as apprentices from various species.

However, if one looked around, one would see wagons heaped high with vegetables, or mounted old folks on horses. The people did not understand the concept of traffic flow, and thus they moved in random, illogical ways — striding across the centre of the road, casually winding in and out from the side, standing and chatting where they were… Scenes like this were everywhere. The bigger cargo wagons and carts were slowed to a crawl by these chaotic conditions.

"I wonder if it always likes this here. It's neither planned nor logical." The female riding on her armoured rooster murmured, looking around unpleasantly. Her red leather coat billowing from the slight tremble as her mount shake itself. "Yet, it still better than E-Rantel was when we first arrived."

"Hmmm… Why do you say that? I think our little group is proceeding faster than others." the strange warlock like individual wearing a metal goat mask, and riding his Bicorn Warlord replied with a slightly snarky. Looking around pleased.

Indeed, compared to others. The little group proceeded faster.

Be it was because of the tight escort. That consisted of knights, wearing uniformised, but exotic looking armoured robes or heavy armour. Or the royal carriages cut their way in the crowd. Or, even more, the sight of the two threatening looking adventurer escorting the small caravan.

Whatever the reason was, the people did their best to keep their distance. Squeezing as much way as possible in the crowded street of Rondel.

In front of the escort, there was a wagon laden with vegetables which looked like pumpkins.

Its driver was an old man. In the back was a male Halfling and a young cat-eared girl, who sat together in a very familiar way, leaning their backs on each other. It was a scene which made people want to smile.

It was good to see so many familiarities between the races inhabited the Sorcerous Kingdom and the lands of Falmart. Like the two worlds made to be each other's copy. Just with different people, lands, regions, religion, magical system, etc.

The city of Londel architecturally especially resembled the old Capital of Baharuth Empire. Albeit, a lot dirtier, without paved roads or even traffic control. No, it cannot be compared to the shine of the Empire's capital. Yet, stepping in the city, eventually, the people's caught on with Londel's charm.

"Hmm… I can taste their fear." Ardyn chuckled, tightening his grip on the reins. The evil neigh of his dark, armoured horse echoed amidst the people. Making many nearby citizens jump up in fear.

"Of course they fear, what do you think how the people will react? You evil warlock imitator."

"I am not an imitator." Ulbert resented the idea. He an imitator? Her companion's accusation reached the level of an insult. "Don't insult a dark lord, or he may turn you an ooze."

"Whatever…" she shrugged. Turning her sight towards the vast, clear heavens.

"Say, what about a race?" Esdeath felt the smirk through Ulbert's mask, knowing nothing good will come from such thing.

"Duh… We are in the middle of the crowd. Do you really want to organise a bloodbath? You know very well, once our mounts jerk nothing in this world can really stop them."

Hearing this, the nearby magic knights gulped deep. Knowing very well the power behind Raidyn's charge, and her mount seemed just as strong as she is, there is no way anyone can stop her — aside from the Sorcerer King and his minions, maybe Momon the Black. And looking at her unknown companion, they suspected "he" as well just as capable. I mean, capable of causing great destruction.

"Who said we would race on the ground. The sky is peaceful. No in or outgoing traffic. These people really had no idea what magic is really capable of."

It was true though, the magic of this world was quite inferior compared to the tier based magic system.

Under "inferior" I meant unstable. Instead of levitating the body using the delicate method — in other world utilising the tier three magic, [Fly]. The magic casters used small explosions to propel themselves higher or change directions. Their magic use wholly based on how much they know the rules of nature. That in, the most of the cases were less than expected. There were times when their magic contained more danger to themselves than the opponent.

"I don't think that is a good idea. Remember what Ainz-san asked us. Be as discreet as possible."

"Hmm… Spoilsport. When you became such a granny?"

"Gra-Granny!?" she could only gape, feeling a little bit offended by the title. True, she was old. Even considered ancient by a few people. But 'granny'? A severe pout settled on her face.

"Come on! My old pal would never say no to a good prank! Do you even that person I knew and loved back then?"

Gulping, her expression of agape. "Bu-But our mission…"

"Well, screw it! I was on the ice for more than…" for a moment, Ulbert remained silent, calculating, then continued with a grin. "Ah, shit! Who cares how long! I want to have fun! That Fluder guy in that box can protect himself — I think."

"Maybe you are right…" she watched the chariot silently rumbling behind them. "Compared that he is a mortal, he is pretty capable."

"Well then, what do you say? Do we evoke the memories of old?"

"Ugggh… I don't know… What will Ainz-san say? He entrusted us with the task."

"Oh! Don't be like that. Let's have fun! I know he as would want his friends to have a good time once a while."

Ulbert words were tempting, making Esdeath reconsider her next step.

"Let's do it then…" She sighed, giving in the end. "I am sure they will find their way to the elder council of the town."

Besides that, several Hanzo unit is also escorting the caravan; there is no way someone attacks them without them recognising it.

"That's the spirit!" Ardyn sneered, making his horse sprout two dark wings.

The rooster of Raidyn did the same, spreading it's black, armoured wings — those should not be able to fly. **"Cock-A-Doodle-Doo!"** Yet, the demonic poultry bellowed terrific, making the nearby passerby shrink in fear, preparing to start from the ground.

"Come on!" with that, the two friends shoot from the ground, reaching a great height and racing through the peaceful skies of Rondel.

Meanwhile, in the carriage, Fluder smiled. Watching his masters fooling with the people below. Making them fright out as the two demonic creature soared through the airspace relentless.

"Fufufu…"

 _"Esdeath-sama really enjoying herself. Good, it is rare nowadays seeing her so relaxed. Under the recent event. Both Ainz-sama and she seemed stressed. It seems, even immortal gods like them need some relaxation."_

"Fluder-sama, is everything all right?" asked one of his apprentice, his skin is greenish, his appearance bearing porcine features under the dark robe, holding a sturdy leather bound book amidst his hands.

"Ah, it is nothing, Morgan. Just carry on with your reading. You know, your inauguration is closing. You need to prepare for your exam."

"You are right, master. Thank you. I return to my studies then."

"Good…" Fluder caressed his beard. "Be aware to practice conjuration magic. You know it is one of the subjects you have a minor gripe — compared to others."

The two other apprentices just chuckled at Morgan's lack of talent in conjuration magic. Earning a sharp gaze from Fluder. "You should have also considered studying under the journey. You know very well there is much to learn. And you still lack the understanding needed to finish the archmage exam and earn the right to participate in the initiation amidst the inner rank of the archmage council."

The two students remained silent looking at each other thoughtfully. "We know it very well, Fluder-sama. We just thought to earn a little bit of relaxation under the way. After this little bit of pause, we will be filled with vigour once more, returning to our studies with newly arisen zest."

"Hmmm… There is a faint truth behind your words, Flimbor…" Fluder hummed, squinting his eyes slightly. The eyes those for first glance belonged to a man in his prime, in truth was experienced beyond mortal bounds.

"What do you think? Ariadne?" his gaze turned towards the only female in the carriage. A wood elf with blood red hair and jade green eyes. Her expression was of a bored maiden, staring out from the shaded one-way window. Completely bored and apathetic, she just sighed while her jade eyes scanned her master.

"There is a time of rest and the time of the study. If not your request Fluder-sama. I would have remained amidst the walls of the academy. Practising my art and doing my experiments to defend my thesis."

"Hmm… Is that so…" Fluder chuckled, seeing the faint truth behind all of his pupils' reasoning. Yet, all of them missed the most important part.

"You think that way, interesting development. Yet, I request you to see the reason behind my action. After the journey finished, I request you to explain what you learned under the trip, after we return to the Academy. Leave a detailed report on my desk. Weave your theories about my reason."

"Yes…" all of them said at once, yet none of the three pupils managed to find Fluder's real reason behind the trip. Why the old man brought them with himself?

 _"Fufufuf… Youngsters…"_ he just chuckled in himself, remembering his juvenility four hundred years ago — when he was still a clueless beginner, not even scratching of the surface of the mysterious art of magic.

Then as years passed, Fluder thought there is nothing more to learn. Assuming he actually reached everything a human magic caster could attain. Power, knowledge, delved into the abyss of arcane knowledge.

In those times, he started to envy his pupils. Yearned the times when he as well was an apprentice. To learn from a master practitioner who knows more than him. To immerse and drink once more from the bottomless fountain of knowledge. Yet, his thirst remained unsatisfied so long.

And the years passed. And time was a merciless gambler, spares no one, not even the wisest.

His body deteriorated of an antediluvian in the age of 200, only sustained by his forbidden rituals those elongated his life.

Fluder honestly thought he would die as such. As an old, unsatisfied man, thirsting the unobtainable knowledge, dying miserable unsatisfied, a half-filled bowl that never fills. A chalice that crumbles to dust and loses all its content under the weight of years.

Then… Everything changed, just under one visit a new world opened before him. Filled with dread, miracles and the endless source of magical knowledge.

His Lord and Lady appeared, offering the vessel of life, the holy crucible of endless magical knowledge. The realm of gods he may never obtain or reach arose.

The knowledge there is more to learn, more to earn filled him with satisfaction and joy. He should be permeated with the feeling of dread that he will never reach the goal he aimed, as it is unobtainable, unreachable for a humble servant like him. Yet, he was confident; he will leave a legacy everyone will remember.

With time close to infinite, he was sure he could do it.

If his lord and lady will be generous enough. They will even ascend him amidst their rank. Turning him into an ascended being who can walk in their realm. Ageless, his opportunities if not infinite, but will be numerous enough to satisfy his urge and hunger for knowledge.

"…!"

Watching the mingling crowd outside of his coach, Fluder smiled. He needs to work harder, earn the gifts of the Supreme Beings.

Once, they gifted him with youth. Gave back his healthy appearance and body using a miracle. And he was sure if he serves them right. They will repeat the miracle, gifting him with eternal nature. To be able to serve them until the end of his days. To be able to gather knowledge endless.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Rondel: Reader's Rest:**

Itami could only sight, driving the HMW amidst the narrow streets of Rondel. It is for a few hours his group arrived in the town of Rondel, but one of the members of the "Special Supernatural Investigation Team" — Hazama entrusted in his care — already get lost in the crowd, or more like wandered away jumping out from the moving car, that was stuck in snail space amidst the slowly advancing crowd.

He was somewhat frustrated, asking first: 'Why he did that?' and 'It is dangerous doing that.'

But as "his" college drafted her words:

 _"Rest assured Itami-kun, Constantine is not that bad as he first seems_. _You will get used to him… eventually."_ smiled awkwardly the flare cut busty blond as she explained. But that "eventually" did not help at all, it really bugged him.

Her body is hugging uniform with the "Hellsing" badge, and the vast wrapped anti-tank rifle — she carried around like it weighted nothing — might even earn her the first place in a doujin convention. In the cosplayer category to be exact.

Yet, her blood red gaze made him shiver. Some kind of hunger lingered behind those eyes. Every time the First Lieutenant watched her, Rory's hungry gaze came in his mind. Who, along with Tuka and Lelei also accompanied him.

"Father, is it really okay leaving Constantine-san to wander alone in such a vast city?" Tuka asked worried looking around, and Itami could only sight. That guy seemed like a burnt out middle aged guy who saw his share of beating, living as a dipsomaniac for long years. Worrying about him ought to be unnecessary.

"Hmmm… I would not be so worried about him. Constantine-san seemed to be very apt. Knowledgeable about the supernatural world. But quite blunt I may add; calling me an inexperienced kid… hn!" Rory turned her head away. Pouting "It is I, who should call him a kid! A kid! How revolting!" then, one moment to the other, her expression softened? "But his soul feels old. Older than any being I ever meet. Scarred beyond measure. I wonder why that is. Such a mystery, I want to know." she muttered, biting her lower lip.

Seras, the busty blonde looked downward, remembering what Constantine told her with a grim expression. "He doesn't speak much about his past. I only know, when he was a kid, he spent a few minutes in hell."

"Ummm…" Itami scratched his face clueless. "A few minutes? That's not a long time, right?"

Seras just shrugged. Rory could only smile. Confusing both, the until now silent Lelei and Tuka.

"Oh, Itami. You don't know? Time in the underworld is fluid. No matter which underworld realm we speak about. It is the same with your world, as it is the same with mine."

"May I ask how do you know that?"

For Itami's question, Rory just smiled confidently. "I am the apostle of Emroy, of course I know. Emroy told me."

"Oh! Then it makes sense!" The First Lieutenant nodded, caressing his stubble face.

Under the journey, there were not many occasions to shave, neither he liked to waste time on that.

"And how long a minute here? I mean, in the underworld compared to the world of the living."

"Hmmm…" Rory looked up at the clear skies for a moment, calculating. "One minute? Around a thousand years. At least here. Why?"

A bitter expression set on his face, making both Tuka and Lelei watching him surprised. Under all of that, Itami wondered why he even asked.

In the end, gulping, the First Lieutenant turned back towards his steering wheel. "Nothing… consider my question invalid…"

Rory nodded confused returning to chat with the others in the car.

After a short amount of time, Rory decided to find a good inn where they can finally get some rest. Thus, leaving the care and scooting forward.

…

Walking towards the destination, after a long amount of consideration, Rory chose an inn which was called the Reader's Rest. This was a four-storey building whose bottom two floors were made of brick while its upper two levels were made of wood. It looked like quite an extraordinary place.

Standing at the inn's main door, Rory frantically waved her hand to Itami and the others as she shouted: "Over here, over here!"

Lelei spotted her from a distance away, and she guided the vehicle over. The inn's valet saw this and frantically ran out. However, as he did this, the hairy Beastman realised that this wagon was apparently not pulled by horses, and he tilted his head in confusion. Then, he respectfully addressed Itami and the others within the vehicle: "You must be Her Holiness' followers. Please follow me." With that, he herded the nearby pedestrians out of the way and guided the car toward the inn. Since the city was a gathering place for many species, one could see many mixed-blooded humanoids everywhere.

"We're Rory's followers? When exactly did I agree to be addressed like that?" Itami grumbled. In response, Lelei answered:

"The inns here are very picky. Usually, you can't stay without someone introducing you. What she did was quite appropriate."

"It sounds like an old restaurant in Tokyo. Still, that means that all we need to do is mention Rory to get rid of all the problems in our way, right?"

"Indeed. The residents are just as old-fashioned as this city, and they bow easily to fame and power."

"Mm, after all, it seems that the gods are the highest authority in this world."

They looked toward the inn's parking area, where stagecoaches and cargo wagons were neatly lined up in a row.

Inside the stables, they could see horses pulling wagons and geldings used for riding. They were all helping themselves to fodder. Further within were creatures which looked like dinosaurs. At a glance, one might think the inn was preparing to set up a branch of Jurassic Park.

"The roofed garage is here.."

The Beastman guided Itami and the others to the garage for roofed wagons in a natural tone, without bothering to explain the details to them.

According to Lelei, inns like these usually had two places for parking — the open-air parking lot, and the roofed garage, which had locked doors and a roof. Although using the locked garage was more expensive, it was a worthwhile expense for merchants transporting large quantities of cargo. In contrast, the open-air parking lot was free of charge, but if one parked a goods wagon there, they risked thieves making off with their cargo, and of course, there was the inconvenience of being exposed to the elements.

It was troublesome to move the HMV's weapons, ammunition and other equipment to their room, so to Itami, rejoiced at the fact that they had an enclosed area to park the vehicle.

After everyone had dismounted, Itami hastily retrieved his toiletries and other daily-use supplies as well as his sidearm. Then he closed the garage's door with his hands full.

After that, Lelei, Tuka, as well as Rory — who had popped in from behind them — began knocking on and fiddling with the garage's door and lock.

"What are they doing?" Itami mused. The blonde flare cut Supernatural expert — Seras also watched them with slight confusion. Albeit, being she dealt with supernatural before. She suspected what is happening

The valet, who had been standing to the side all this while, quietly replied:

"That's a many-layered ward. Magic, spirit magic, as well as Her Holiness' curse… any idiot who touches those will die a horrible death. Even if they survive by some miracle, they'll probably wish they were dead. Ohhhhh, it scares me just to think of it."

After realising that they were probably setting up anti-theft measures, Itami vowed not to come near this place again.

…

The attendant led Rory and the group inside of the lobby of the establishment, through the side door. Thought, Itami was still upset after hearing what Lelei said to him, stating the people will treat them as Rory's followers.

It seemed no matter where he goes. Gods and their followers have high authority in this world. For the time being, this solved their arisen problem with the accommodation and treatment. Still, it left a slightly sour taste in his mouth.

 _"It sounds like an old restaurant in Tokyo. Still, that means that all we need to do is mention Rory to get rid of all the problems in our way, right? It seems no matter where I go, power and fame rule the public sense. Damn! That's my luck…"_

After thinking as such, Itami followed the girls with a lethargic visage hidden behind his bitter smile. And being in the absence of Constantine he was the only guy around; he started to feel like a harem anime protagonist with lousy writing and storyboard.

 _"I hope they did not try to rape me… That would be really cliché…"_ Still smiling bitter, Tuka was unable to place her "father's" expression. But as it was not the time to ask such questions, she remained silent.

Walking towards the counter, what hit his ears really made him blink, it was a familiar voice he thought will not hear, not here at least.

"What do you mean we can't get a room here!?" A female with silvery white hair shouted, hitting the counter hard. Like a raging tornado, her lavish white hair falling on her vision, giving the dark elf a somewhat edgy, but even more terrifying appearance. Combining this with her almost red eyes, the picture of her was truly dubious

 _"Note for self, don't make a woman angry,"_ Itami noted amidst his blinks. Inspecting the female and the strangely familiar figure on her side

Looking at his side, Tuka, Lelei and even Seras could only blink. But as his eyes caught up with Rory, the only thing Itami saw drawn on her face was some kind of pleasant expression.

Amusement? Joy? Madness? He just could not place her expression, and it filled him with a slight uneasiness.

The owner of the establishment although a little bit flabbergasted, refused to give pace the dark elf's relentless assault.

"Lady! I said it! You need an appointment to stay or recommendation from someone important."

The innkeeper, named Hamal was clearly not human at first glance — not only he had a huge body, but his skin also seemed to be red in colour. Once he asked around, Itami learned that he was a Pooka, a species which was adept at commerce.

"Yao, it is fine… we will find a different inn…" Placing his hands on her shoulder, the elf with blonde hair tried to calm down the dark elf — who was Yao. Yet, even with his muscled stature, the man backed, seeing the sharp gaze of the dark-skinned woman.

"No! Zeno-sama! Treating the hero of my people like this!? Unacceptable!"

Even without his golden armour, the adamantine level adventurer looked quite beefy. Not overly, but enough to stick out amidst normal elves, or as a person who spent a lot of time in the gym.

The red skinned man just crossed his arms, puffing slight steam from his nostrils and looking down on the caramel-skinned girl. "I said before; it is not about money. It is about the prestige of this place. What do you think about what would happen if I let every nobody rent a room? I tell you, it would end this place just like every run down place around Rondel."

"You little! What do you think how long we travelled just to get here?! How many nights we spent under the stars without a proper place to sleep?"

The blonde elf on her side just deadpanned, thinking one thing with weak sight. " _Yao-san… I am an adventurer. I already get used to it…"_ he wanted to say, but he felt he would only make matters worse.

"This is why I say, get lost. Dark Elf! No matter who are you or…" Hamal eyed the buff, blonde elf — who stood behind Yao and gave away the aura of command and authority. Then his gaze turned back to the frail-looking girl. "…or your companion is. Get back when you received an invitation token or know someone famous in the city. Then, I can give you a room. Without it, I can only recommend a few places that might receive you."

"Yao…" Zeno placed his sizable palm on the girl's shoulder, shaking his head. "We will find a better place. Don't worry."

Hearing this, Hamal could only snort amused. Sceptical about the statement of the elf. In return, Zeno just gazed him dangerous. Hamal shrunk, sweating heavily. Feeling the intense pressure of might the elf gave away. "We are leaving."

"Bu-But Zeno-sama!"

"Yao!" backing slightly, the girl turned her head ashamed. "Yes. As you wish."

"Ara-Ara! Look who's here?"

"This voice…" turning around, Zeno spotted Rory stepping forward.

"How unusual seeing you here. Sun Knight…" She pronounced the last word extra hard, giving it emphasis.

"Ah! Rory-dono! How come you are here?" he welcomed her with a friendly smile.

"I could ask the same. One would think you and your group on an adventure. By the way, where are they?" She looked around, searching the usual companion of the adventurer. "Dandelion-dono still owes me that love story."

"Hmmm… Unfortunately, they have other duties to attend. I will tell more about it. Come, let's find a good inn and drink something. This…" his emerald eyes inspected Hamal with scorn, turning back to Rory. "…The establishment serves no customer. I wonder how they remained in business until now."

"Yo-Your holiness…" Hamal muttered, and could only gulp watching Rory with disbelief. Immediately prostrating himself as it was the proper things to do in her presence.

"Please don't believe this ruffian! I welcome your Holiness Rory, as well as her followers with a warm heart. I am the owner of the Reader's Rest, Hamal. It is my honour to serve your Holiness during your stay here personally. This is no idle boast, but even in the ancient city of Londel, the Reader's Rest can be considered one of the most aged of our many historic institutions. And now, thanks to the patronage of your Holiness, this humble establishment can tally another mark of honour upon its long and distinguished history. If I may ask. Is this young man and his bride is with you?"

Hearing the "Bride" part, a lobster colour sneaked on Yao's face, only daring to glance at the muscled arms of Zeno.

The elf adventurer just turned his head confused, knowing not what the innkeeper speaking about. Yet, he suspected his text was only to advertise his business. His master taught him a few things about business and alike. And as such, under the business environment, a sponsor, a famous person's recommendation worth more than anything. Hell, in his early years it was only thanks to his master's recommendation he managed to receive such good and well-paid jobs.

"Hmmm. You can say that. They are companions of mine. Treat them as such." Rory winked at Zeno, turning back to Hamal.

"As you wish." the owner nodded to Rory, turning to Zeno and Yao, frowning barely recognisable. An expression the elves simply dismissed with a simple glare.

Separated from them by a counter, the innkeeper handed a guest register to Rory. At the same time, a palm-size Fairy descended beside the book, quickly producing a pen for them.

Rory accepted the pen with a "Thank you", and then signed her name with grand, sweeping strokes.

The innkeeper beamed with satisfaction as he read out Rory's name.

"Rory Mercury… as expected your Holiness' calligraphy is impeccable. This is no idle boast, but this register contains the signature of Tyrant King Solmon of Kracia."

"Ah, what a nostalgic name. In those days, I was just a trainee priestess. Did that person stay here as well?"

"Indeed. King Solmon spent his youth in this city of Londel. Of course, your Holiness' name will also become a point of pride for our household, and it will be passed down through the generations."

After Rory signed her name, Lelei took up the pen and approved for the other four. After her, Yao took the pen then signed her and Zeno's name. With great satisfaction on her lips, I may say. However, during this time, the innkeeper continued speaking only to Rory.

"Your Holiness, may I ask why you have come to this place?"

Everyone knew that Londel was a city of learning and knowledge, so all the shrines here were dedicated to gods of wisdom, knowledge and so one, like the God of Wisdom Elranyala. In turn, it was practically unheard of to have an Apostle of Emroy visit this place.

"Actually, I came to accompany this girl."

As Rory spoke, she gestured with her eyes to the innkeeper. Only then did he seem to realise that Lelei existed, and he muttered "The Rurudo girl?" He eyed her from her bluish silver hair to the tips of her toes, as though he were licking her body with his gaze. Apparently, the Rurudo was a very rare breed of humans, living a nomadic lifestyle with no fixed home.

"A sage's robe… I see, is she a freshly-admitted apprentice?"

Simply put, the "admission" Hamal was talking about referred to signing on with a master to learn his craft. All who wanted to walk the path of academia needed to start by learning basic knowledge from the sages in their homes. After that, outstanding apprentices would journey to Londel to seek ever more esoteric knowledge. Even so, things like schools or organised educational institutions did not exist in the this City of Wisdom. In their place, the apprentices sought out teachers in the city and begged to be allowed to study under them. Most of the apprentices who came here to learn their art was around Lelei's age. Therefore, the innkeeper came to the conclusion that Lelei was a "freshly-admitted apprentice".

Rory understood the innkeeper's thoughts, and she merely smiled without saying anything.

"Welcome to Londel. I will arrange for your rooms, which will be the best in the house, of course. I pray your Holiness and her followers will wait here for a few moments."

The innkeeper blew his whistle, summoning the boys who did odd jobs around the inn. Soon enough, Brownies, Pookas, Hobbits, and youths of various species filled the room.

"Add another bed to Room 2 on the fourth floor. Tidy up Room 3 on the other side as well. Hurry!"

"Add one more room." Rory glanced towards Zeno and Yao and winked mischievously. "With a king bed. I think Zeno and Yao-san want to spend the night together."

Yao's face flustered immediately, Zeno just pulled his collar sweating. "Ah, Rory-dono. That's not necessary. I can sleep on the ground, really."

"Don't mention it. It is the least." Added Rory in the end, turning her head to the innkeeper. "It is a problem?"

"Ah, of course not, your holiness."

"Good…"

Waving towards the valets, one by one the Halflings obliged. "Yes, Hamal-san!"

Several of the servants dashed out after receiving instructions to add another mattress to the three-person room.

Others, who did not have anything in hand, encircled the group while saying, "Let us help you take your luggage."

"Uwah, this girl's really cute!"

"She's beautiful. Look, her golden hair's so pretty!"

"Owaa! Such a tall girl! With huge knockers no less!" One of the hobbits said it loud, making Sears's red eyes twitch and growl unpleased.

"You lot! That's a guest! Don't be rude to them!"

"Your Holiness. Please allow me to take your halberd."

One of the servants took the halberd from Rory, and then he began to yelp "Uwaaaaah!" as he felt its weight. At the same time, he lost balance in shock and fell to one side.

The halberd fell toward the crotch of another servant, who shrieked "Aieeee!" and leapt away before falling flat on his ass. Then, the sharp halberd embedded itself into the wooden floor with hardly a sound.

"Oi, you lot! What the hell are you doing?!"

"Sorry, Hamal-san. But… it's really heavy… Please, please follow us, your room's on the fourth floor."

"One, two, three!"

The halberd was finally moved by the combined strength of three people, who then proceeded to carry it up the stairs.

Rory shrugged and said, "Good grief," as she saw them struggling, before walking up the stairs.

"Ah, don't bother with it!" Zeno stepped forward, seeing the struggle of the hobbits. "As Touch Me –sama said. 'If the road is harsh, it is only natural to take your sword and help.'" then turned to Rory. "If you allow me, Rory-dono." the offer Rory could only accept with a pleased nod.

"Take care of it, Zeno-san."

The boys just watched him with disbelief, and after a moment, Zeno grabbed the handle of the Halberd. "[Lion's strength], [Body Reinforcement]." his body glowed two times, signing his Martial Arts activated. The heavy weapon left the ground, resting it on his shoulder. The surrounding people just watched the physical prowess of the man with disbelief.

"Unbelievable…" They muttered. "Is he used magic?"

Seras just tilted her head, knowing not what happened, how the muscled — but still a simple elf could raise the weapon. It was a mystery. Naturally, everyone else was well aware of how he did so; the adventurer explained how the so-called "Warrior's Magic" works under the adventure. But she, who was not yet appointed to her task at that time had no idea how it is possible.

Lelei, Tuka and Yao handed their luggage to the inn's servants, and they proceeded up the stairs empty-handed. Seras, who refused to get separated from her weapon, held her wrapped Harkonnen close on her back.

In the end, only Itami was left where he was, still holding his luggage.

"Ah… what about me?"

Itami was a little depressed and at a loss for words, given that nobody had spoken to him or offered to take his things. "I haven't been forgotten, right?" "I'm still a guest, right…?"

Those grumbled words made it to the innkeeper's ears.

Hamal turned his gaze on Itami and said:

"Ah, that's right. A minion like you can stay in Room 3, the one opposite the others. I've been thinking about it, and although it's just a storage room, it's probably still best for a minion to be nearby when he's called on. Don't you think so? You should be thanking me. Fei! Show him the way there!"

Itami blinked, and he saw a Fairy girl, so small that she could stand on his palm, hovering in mid-air.

She made a "come with me" gesture to Itami.

"Thank, thanks."

Someone like her could not possibly help him carry his luggage...

As Itami muttered "Room 3" to himself, he slowly trudged up the stairs.

…

A little bit later, Rory and the band finally managed to settle down, and find their way towards the closest bar.

"So, what are you doing here, Zeno-san? An esteemed hero like you should celebrate with his people, no?" Rory quipped, sipping some mead.

"Well, after the defeat of the dragons. We really managed to gather some recognition, and of course money."

"You are too humble, Zeno-sama. The elf queen herself awarded you and your companions with the honour of highest esteem. I think that's worthy of mention. Not speaking the Dushi clan awarded you with an honourable title that grants you recognition and authority amidst my people." Yao cut in, smiling happily.

"Ah, yes. That's happened… Sorry, it was a month ago. I kinda forgot such a thing. And Yao, how many times I had to say. Just call me Zeno. We are companions after all."

"That won't do Zeno-sama. You are the hero of my people. It would be really disrespectful."

"Ah, and I have to live with this…"

Rory just watched the two "lovebirds" with the glee of satisfaction, remembering her youth. "Don't worry; you will get used to it, eventually."

"Eventually…" Zeno muttered back with a flat expression.

"So, where are the other members of your group? What are you doing here, Zeno-san?" asked Itami, not wanting to be the only want which is sitting here asking nothing.

"Ah them…" Zeno turned his attention downward, watching his reflection on the muddy alcohol. "Slapstorm is out, doing scouting duty for the request of Aura-sama. The hunt master of the Sorcerer King. Merryforge is back in the dwarf kingdom. Showcasing the new alchemical and runic formulas he came up with under his stay here. Medhirth's father requested her to investigate a dragon's lair near the edge of the continent. Julian, he is back in Carne. While he was away one of his relatives tried to deprive him all the wealth and noble title he has. Trying to steal all the royalties from his business establishments and books."

"Oh!" the band said as much, nodding understanding.

"Julian never said he is a noble. What a surprise." Rory chuckled pleasant, smiling ever intense.

"Yeah, he never liked boasting with it, even when he is damn Viscount of Kalinsha. One of the most authoritative people of the fortress city and the surrounding area."

"Re-Really!?" Itami and Tuka just blinked looking at each other. Being Seras had no idea who was this "Julian" person was. The girl remained silent.

"Meguminoi?" asked Lelei suddenly.

"Ah, she must be around somewhere. I think we lost her when she started to hear those blast coming from the separated part of the city. She just said "Explosion…" with a strange light flashing in her eyes then disappeared. By the way, Lelei-san, what do your people keep there? There was an awful lot of explosions, and smoke came there when we passed."

"The masters usually resides and doing their experiments in the confined place."

"Ah, I see…" with a crossed arm, Zeno nodded. "Sensible, considering the unstable nature of your world's magic.

Lelei said nothing but nodded understanding.

"She is writing her thesis; maybe you can help her later, as she will most likely meet her master. According to my information, Fluder-sama will visit the town of Rondel now, or in a few days."

"Fluder?" Itami tilted his head confused, looking around embarrassed.

"Oh." It was only a small sight, but Itami immediately recognised the flash of excitement in the silvery blue haired mage's eyes.

"Lelei, do you know that name?"

She only nodded, explaining the situation. "Meguminoi spoke about him. He is the President of the Magical Association in the Sorcerous Kingdom. And the Principal of the Prestigious Magic Academy of Carne. According to Meguminoi. After the Sorcerous King and the Supreme Beings, he is the most knowledgeable when it comes to magic."

It was confusing, Lelei used to speak in small sentences. Less than twenty words. But talking so long, it really creeped him out.

"Really?" Rory asked with slight interest, leaning on her fist. Seeing the explosive maniac girl magic in action, it cannot be denied her master must be an impressive person having such a pupil. A discussion with him must be fun. Or, if it comes to that, test his knowledge out during a fight.

"Really…" Lelei answered, her impassive expression returned.

"By the way. What are you doing here?" finally, Itami asked the big question.

"Umm… Simply sightseeing…" answered Zeno confident. "Being I have no urgent assignment. I decided to ask Yao which city is the most beautiful and worth to visit. And I must say, the architecture of the city is just frenetic! The people indeed preserved only the best under the passed thousands of years."

"Hmm. Who thought the brave Sun Knight is interested in architecture?" Rory could only smirk seeing the bulking mountain of muscle, which the blonde elf was.

"Well, everyone has their own hobbies. Don't we? Aspiring goddess of love."

"Indeed…" she only answered such, drinking her ale.

"In my case, it is the architecture and the history of the world, wherever I go, I seek those things."

"So this is why you asked historical writings from the elders." Yao gasped, recognising Zeno's reason for doing so.

"Yes. This is one of the reasons that inspired me to follow my master's path and became an adventurer. To know the world better, explore it, and collect knowledge."

"Such a noble goal… I really admire such levelheaded goals, Zeno-dono."

"The feeling is mutual, Rory-dono." gazing at each other eyes, neither sides faltered, now, both sides turned equal. Both of them raised in the pedestal of respect.

"So, now it's your turn. What are you doing here, guys? And I see you have a new companion." he just watched his fellow blonde, waiting for answer.

"Ah, hello." Seras waved slightly embarrassed. "Seras Victoria, Supernatural expert from the Hellsing organisation."

"Zeno Cruzerious. Adventurer. But to my friends, Zeno will do."

The sides shook hands, giving each other a respectful nod. Albeit, the girl's grasp was unnaturally firm like she was not even human. The statement, the vibrating magical pendant of Zeno confirmed at the moment the two made contact.

"And she is…"

Yao took the lead, introducing herself.

"Yao. Yao Ro Dushi."

"Ro?" Rory tilted her head confused, not sure if she heard it right. Last time, if she remembered it right, Yao worshipped Hardy, not her. "If I remember it right. Last time you worshipped Hardy, not me. Why is that?"

"Your holiness, as the only deity who was willing to help my people in the time of need, you well deserve my respect and deepest devotion."

"But I am not even a god. Yet…." Rory added deadpanned in the end.

"But you will turn to be one soon. As a future goddess. Please accept me as your first worshipper."

"Ah, whatever. Do as you like." Rory mumbled unpleasantly. Just what she needed, a worshipper. It was bad enough the people treating her as a particular individual all the times.

"You honour me."

Itami and Seras just watched wide-eyed, having no actual clue what exactly happened between the sides.

But as Tuka later explained to them. The middle name of Yao's clan has actually referred to the deity they worshipped. In Yao's and her clan's case, it was Haa, originally, attributing to Hardy. But as Yao denounced Hardy as her preferred divinity, now her middle name was Ro, Referring to Rory Mercury.

"What about your master and Momon-san? It is a while since I saw them."

"Ah, them…" Zeno's words faltered, and the discussion continued for a long time. The sides are asking each other questions.

* * *

 **Scene Change: The streets of Rondel:**

The man walked down the streets was dubious looking. Cannot be considered normal as he sticks out from the crowd like a flashlight in the night.

His face like of a washed out person closing towards the end of his forties, maybe early fifties. His eyes sunk, signing his lack of sleep in the recent times. Or rather, hiring the fact, he was experienced, tired beyond measure.

His clothes wrinkled, not freshly ironed, like most of the people walking around this part of the city looked. Sporting a weathered, tan trench coat, a rumpled white shirt and a loose black tie, he indeed stick out from the crowd.

Looking around, he could only snort and laugh at the cluelessness of these people. If they know just a fractal what he knows, they would have run and hidden away in the deepest abyss of this world long ago. That's how deep shit they were. That's how severely outgunned humanity, and simple mortals were. Toys in the hands of immortals, outer beings and alike.

A cattle, walking to the butchery day after day. Little Red Riding Hood is trying to dine together with the wolf and reason with it, not to eat her and her grandma. Negotiating from the wolf's stomach not to digest her.

Dragging one more sip from his silk cut cigarette and spewing the smoke. He was stressed beyond measure. Trying to come up with something that can tilt the balance. If not entirely, just a little bit.

"Doing a deal with Lucifer, once more? Out of the question…" he grumbled, looking around, watching the happily gossiping people all around.

People of all kind from different races — giving him strange looks as he walked down on the tiled pathway. Now, he felt himself like Alice in Wonderland, after she jumped in the Rabbit's hole.

The amount of Supernatural energy this world stored dormant irritated him, always tinging his third eye and magical senses. And after feeling the omega level entities pass by, he really considered retiring, waiting for the Apocalypse to happen without moving his finger. Yeah, that would be the sensible solution after all that he went through, yet, he refused to do so. He refused to go down without an actual proper fight.

If he had to go, the enemy will descend to hell with him.

This is why he came to this city, maybe here, he can find something that can tilt the balance, only if a little bit.

"…"

In the next moment, a shadowy figure, a familiar presence popped up in his supernatural radar. He already spotted several shadows walking — or somewhat slipping around. Hiding in the people's shadows, spying after them. If he had to guess, the creatures were demons, disguising themselves as mere shadows.

The problem was, he saw too many in the recent days, too many to be a coincidence. Whoever controlled the creatures, wanted to spy not only on him but everyone else back in the base and Londel.

The curious thing was, the settlement near Fortress Gown was stuffed with those shadows. Everywhere he looked, Constantine, saw at least one. And based on this, he already had an idea where those shadowy daemons originate from.

Thought, the shady figure he just spotted was not amongst them. It was something else. More sinister and older one might think, if he suspects it right, an old adversary of his.

But what he is doing here? That was the question of the century.

"Damn Aztech bastard…" throwing away the end of his cigarette, the man shook his head. It did not matter; he had a bastard to question and hunt.

He was careful of course, preparing his charms and hexes if needed, preparing his emergency dimensional slip scroll. Seeing all these mages around, and the humongous supernatural presence flying above his head not long ago. He was sure "it" will not pursue him, or at least, if it does, the people will not just stand idle but protect themselves.

"Damn…!"

Following it slowly through a shady alley, after a few minutes of a constant stroll, he managed to corner "it". Or rather, the creature let itself to be followed.

His steps were silent; he made extra sure to activate his talismans that hid his presence, pouring his warlock magic in them.

Step by step he reached closer to the cloaked figure, step by step he prepared his sanctified revolver, filled with blessed bullets. Step by step he played with the cock, preparing the numerous offensive talismans he carries with himself. And then, just before the end of the alley. The person, wearing a thick, black cloak stopped, chuckling in an otherworldly tone.

"Ah! Constantine, so, you followed me. Good doggie…"

"Nergal…" he hissed, a haughty expression that the opposition only accepted with satisfied glee.

"Kukuku…. I knew you recognise me. As expected from the great Constantine."

"What do you doing here, you filth of hell. I thought you are dead."

"Hmmm… I survived the end of my world. The disappearance of my civilisation, and the collapse and the wake of the Architect around a month ago. The restoration of Earth timeline... What do you think, a mere explosion can do to me?"

"What the hell are you speaking about?" still pointing his sanctified gun at him, he can't help but not trust a demon.

"Oh, you will know in time… poor clueless Hellblazer… You will know it in time."

Removing his hood, his appearance was grotesque. Red skin, bald head, long, mangled goblin ears, and slit eyes with yellow sclera. Indeed, the accurate picture of a hellish demon welcomed the demon hunter.

Although the infernal creature before the Hellblazer could take many forms, the former Aztec god — fallen from grace — preferred this appearance.

"What do you want, Nergal. I suspect your appearance, not a simple coincidence."

"Oh! Very, very speculative, Constantine. When did I give you the reason to doubt me? Our deals were fair and square, no?"

Remembering back the deals he made — out of desperation — every single one contained a catch or two. Only thanks to his wits he could trick Nergal and other demons he triumphed. Only thanks to his cleverness and knowledge of supernatural he still standing here today.

"Doubtful…"

"Hmmm. How rude of you. And I thought we are friends. After all that thing, we are a trough. truly shameful…"

"Spit it out, old man." Sipping from his freshly lit smoke, the supernatural detective blew in the demon's face. Naturally, the red-skinned fallen deity just smirked satisfied.

"Ah, old Luci would be filled with glee seeing you like this. Just like your old self. Self-pitying and destructive. Not only for yourself but also your environment. You know where you will go if you die, do you?" slightly motioning towards the ground, Constantine was well aware which place his words hinted. Fire and brimstone, a place filled with demons and sinners.

"I am well aware, and I am prepared," he answered coldly.

"Oh!" Nergal could only purse his lips entertained. "Constantine, Constantine. Do you really think one minute can prepare you for the everlasting agony the owner of the place has in store in you? I never thought you are so delusional."

"Well…" blowing some more smoke, Constantine showed no fear, just watched the demon with pity. "This is not my world, neither my dimension. And lastly, not my Earth. The Lucifer I know and want my worthless soul has no power here. No matter how much authority he thinks, he had… it worth less than a pile of dogs hit here. There are rules; even he can't violate."

"Hmmm… Is that so?" that smile, that damn smile Constantine hated more than anything. Yet, the red-skinned fallen god always had it in his face. "Just don't be surprised when he appears one day and drag you away. He can be quite persistent. Relentless when it comes to something precious, he really wants. I experienced it firsthand. See?" Showcasing the deep running scar on his red neck, Constantine felt this time it was not an empty promise. Yet, he heard such threats many times, but always refused to bend his knee to fear.

"And you, my friend, is the first item on his list. I would be not even surprised if he trades his dear "son" in exchange just to visit this exact dimension, then drags you away. Back through his vile place. Just to get what he wants. You are his "devil", my dear friend. Applaud, be proud of yourself! Kukukuku…"

"Cut the crap…" Constantine threw away his cigar, pointing his holy revolver on the demon's forehead. "Tell me what do you want. Or I will send you back wherever you came." He was aware, Nergal was more than enough to survive a blank range shot from his specialised demon killer gun. Moreover, strong enough to wreak havoc and destroy the whole city. But he as well had a few tricks in his sleeves. He will not go down so quickly.

"Hmmm… So impolite. But so be it. I do not draw you here to simply mingle with you. You know me too well."

He knows the demon for a long time. A fallen Aztec god of old. Because of him he was torn from his home — a parallel Earth — because of him he was forced to leave behind everything — that was not much, he must admit that. Still, it was his to take.

"Then spit it out, I have other things to do." he continued, then a violent cough stroke caught up with him. A coughing fit Nergal only watched with glee.

After the choking ceased, Constantine wiped away the blood with the sleeve of his coat, clearing his face from the red substance. "Finished?" the demon asked, bothering not to ask if he is all right or not.

"Spit it out…"

"Very well then…" holding a small pause, the demon started to relay his warning. "I just wanted to give you a warning. Free to charge this time."

"Let me guess; you will profit from this. Eh?"

"Maybe, or it will concern me, in a negative sense."

"Huh, typical, why I am not surprised…"

"I am a demon after all. But let's leave the small talk. I suspect you already recognised the shadows walking around in the city. Poor creatures, not even aware they were watched."

"Yeah, I recognised, what of them? They are everywhere since I arrived." lighting one more cigarette, he puffed the smoke in Nergal's face. "I must admit, you warded this alley rather nicely. I did not saw one since I follow you. So, who they belong to? This, so-called Sorcerous Kingdom? Or there are other players?"

"Hmmm… Some of them. But most of them affiliated by a recently arisen Demon entity. I don't have to say which one."

Constantine's eyes widened for a moment, then returned their previous impassive stare. Knowing very well which "Emperor" Nergal spoke about.

"I suspect "he" contacted you."

"Hmm… The gentleman indeed did so. Until now, I managed to halt the answer. Unfortunately, I will be hard pressed if I do not answer soon. And I fear…" he remained silent for a moment, looking in the far. "… I will not like the treatment they give me once I refuse their offer."

"Hah, I thought you do everything for power, Nergal, what changed? Unfair business? Finally, you will experience the other end of the deals you offer."

The demon just glared at him; it seems his previous easy going attitude disappeared in an instant. Touching Constantine forehead, projecting the pictures of apocalypse in his head.

…

 _Rivers of fire, souls chained and tortured endlessly. Gods, mortals alike, no one can escape. A black haired female figure sat on a throne made from flesh and bones, on her side two demonic figures standing vigilant. Watching how the gods flayed alive endlessly. The glee of satisfaction plastered on their face as they shared the cup of infernal power._

…

After a moment, the detective fallen to his knees, breathing violently, even his smoke fallen out of his mouth. His eyes filled with dread and the light of unbelief, slightly bleeding from the mental strain his mind experienced.

"John. This is serious. You have no idea what that madman is planning! Once he gets his hands on me, once he forces me into subservience, no one will be able to stop him! Not you, not the gods and demons of Earth. Not that so-called "Sorcerer King" and his servants! Once he gets the information about the artefacts, I collected and hid years ago. He will not only destroy this world but enslave every other. He will bring back his master if that happens. Game over for all of us!"

Slowly standing up, John shrugged his shoulder, giving a pained look. "So you say. That entity has a master, huh?"

"Yes, and I can only guess the strength of the master. But judging from "her" servant. She is way above our pay grade. Not even Lucifer would be able to hold the torch to her."

"Huh… At least that bastard gets spanked once a while. So, what do you want from me? How can I help?" even if it left a sour taste in his mouth, Constantine had to accept the fact. Nergal showed him the truth, as he found no counterfeit amidst the pictures of the vision.

One, it would be hard to alter memories without him not recognising it, two, it would take too much effort to create a forgery that can convince him. Thus, the only reasonable explanation was — what Nergal showed him was an actual future. A possibility amongst many. A future that may come into existence if he remains on the bench, doing nothing.

"Follow the young soldier and the fledgeling goddess to the temple of the underworld. Help the joker under its way. Giving it a lift might bring the needed change. After all, the Joker is the most unpredictable card. It may provide the change that might save not only you, this city but every existing realm. Assist the undead with your knowledge when the time arose. And you may survive."

Constantine just snorted. "You are joking, right? You want me to help and give me a prophetic riddle? In all time like this?!"

"That's is the most I can do in my current situation. The future is not as clear as humans like to perceive it, John, it can go on many routes. Only the ripples you wake can change it."

"Hmmm… Flattery at is…"

"One more farewell gift." Constantine was suspicious, but he accepted the hint nonetheless. "The city contains a rare artefact. If you can obtain it, it might help you out in time of need."

"Whatever…" Constantine closed his eyes for a moment. "Any idea where I can find it?" His inquiry found no answer, as in the moment the detective raised his gaze once more. The red-skinned fallen Aztec god was nowhere to be seen. Disappeared completely. Only his last whispers echoed in his ears.

 _"Helping strangers bring fortune, Constantine. Seek the Grand Master. Seek the alchemist lady with the stones. A grand battle in the skies will lead you to your destination. Remember… "My, my, my…" Beware the warlock of destruction."_

The last echo of Nergal's laugh still sent shudders through Constantine's spine. Remembering the many times he tried to fool him, offering unfair deals and dubious clues.

"Damn bastard…"

The wards kept the Shadow Demons away dismantled in the moments Nergal disappeared, giving space once more the dark creatures to return and escort the unsuspecting.

Leaving the alley, John found himself once more amidst the crowd of people. Mingling and changing stories, offering their wares.

 _"They don't even know what awaits them… Damn!"_

In the next moment, as he turned, a person collided with him. A woman of average stature.

"Hey! Just what are you doing!? Look what you have done!"

This woman had a head of slightly-curled brown hair, which she sloppily tied up with a cloth ribbon.

In addition, there was no sign of makeup on her face. The fact that she — as a woman — looked so slovenly and unkempt might make people feel that she had cast away any attempt at trying to look attractive or feminine. However, in stark contrast to her dressing, her body was curved and well proportioned, and her sensual body lines were visible even through her clothing, to the point where people dared not to look at her directly.

Constantine just watched her, for a moment. The woman is desperately trying to collect the bag of stones — somewhat rare minerals — scattered on the ground when their bodies meet.

"Look what have you done! Do you know how much, effort, time and money it took to collect all of these!" her tantrum earned not only a few but many gazes from the nearby people. Watching the duo surprised.

As usual, Constantine remained impassive, discarding ruined his smoke then lighting another. "Sorry kid. Next time. Look where you go."

"Typical…" she only mumbled. "You owe me a great deal of money! I hope you can pay!"

"Hnn…" John just snorted, looking away. Then, as lighting hit him, from the corner of his eyes inspected the stones, recognising the minerals from his alchemical studies. He was not only a warlock but an alchemist as well. Not the best, but known one or two things about ingredients and potions.

"Kid…"

"What!?" The brown maiden just snorted in disgust, and Constantine descended on her level, inspecting "her" stones.

"Care to tell. Are you an alchemist?"

The girl just blinked surprised; not many recognised her field of study. Even less kept it as a viable direction when it came to magical research.

It was expensive and provided less benefit other magical studies offered. Thus, the academy provides her little to none founding. Yet, she chose this. Because she believed, one day it will be recognised as the ultimate branch of magical exercise.

"Yes. I study alchemy. What of it?" she answered violently.

"Hmm…" John raised a stone, inspecting the simple looking shiny pebble.

"Put that down in an instant!" The girl pouted, reaching for the stone. But Constantine's words stopped her.

"Beryllium with a little bit of Iridium mixed in. With several crystal fractures."

The female immediately stopped her hand, watching him wide-eyed. "You know alchemy?"

"A little bit. I am not the best thou…" looking to the side; Constantine could only sight. " _Damn Nergal…"_

"Oh, I see…" She just nodded, watching the tired looking man, with the strange rod smoking in his mouth.

"These stones must have worth a fortune. Let me help you with them…"

Like, true professionals, the duo collected the stones, placing them back in the bag, discussing alchemy for a few moments.

"Thank you very much!" the girl bowed deep.

"Hmmm… don't mention it." as he turned his back, the unkempt maiden called for him. She hesitated for a moment as Constantine looked like a dubious person. Not the one you might invite to your home. But in the end, her curiosity overcame her.

"Mmmm… Mister? Care to accompany me. So we can discuss more about alchemy."

Constantine looked away for a moment, considering his options.

Follow Nergal's lead? It is most likely a trap, as the red-skinned demon was never the one who played fair.

Leave the trail uninvestigated? Leave the opportunity to gain a chance? A chance to stop the inevitable apocalypse.

John needed to choose. A choice, which may inevitably change of the lives of the many.

"…" It is decided, gazing at the brown-haired damsel. He made his choice. "Very well then. I hope you have something strong in store."

"Hmmm… My master, I don't think my master has drinks. But I know a good place. If you are willing to pay." she rubbed her fingers expectant. "After all, it was your fault my minerals almost ruined. It fits you pay me a meal."

"Hm… Fine then." Checking the money John received from the command and kept close to his heart, he had sufficient enough to invite the girl to a drink and some food. Know a little bit more of her. Get know, why Nergal whispered about her.

"Splendid!" She beamed a smile. "My name is Arpeggio El Lalena. By the way."

For a moment, John removed his cigarette from his mouth, holding it between his index and middle finger. A natural motion only disturbed his slightly shaking hand. "John, John Constantine." He can't help but find her name so familiar.

"It is nice to meet you, Constantine-san."

Thus, Arpeggio led John back to a restaurant. Eating away the "generous" allowance John received.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Somewhere in Londel:**

Sitting in the bar, Esdeath smiled at Ulbert — who hid behind his illusionary face — in exchange, the goat of destruction grinned back at her.

"Damn! That was a good race!"

"Hmmm… You can say so. So bad I lost it." Even when his appearance changed by a strong illusion, Ulbert's distaste was visible. Like back in the game, just as now, he really hated losing a battle. Be it a simple duel or a verbal one.

"It cannot be helped. You were put on ice for who knows how long. You are out of shape. But don't worry, your old friend will shake you up in no time!"

"Hmph…!" Ulbert just growled, drinking his drink.

"Come on! Don't be like that! I will buy you another drink. What would Ainz-san say seeing you like this? Huh…? Gloomy and grumpy, like an old man. Old papa bones will flay me if I make you sad."

"Oh!" A glee of satisfaction lit in Ulbert's eyes, watching his friend interested. "I never suspected you are like that, Raidyn-san… Kukukuku…"

"You know what I meant…" the dark elf deadpanned, watching her friend disinterested.

"It is easy to mess with you." Ulbert drank his drink. The illusion he cast perfectly hiding his elongated mouth, substituting his movements to fit his humanoid appearance.

His hair dark as night, his eyes violet and yellow, sharply cut. With a face every damsel would fall for, the girls had no chance. And because of this, near the table he and his friend inhabited, many female patrons gathered, gossiping amidst each other, watching him with adoring, hoping eyes.

"Do you think he is a master?"

"Or a royalty from the nearby country?"

"Most likely, look at his clothes. Not the usual, but certainly quality. A quality only royalties and nobles can afford."

"He is so handsome!" And the females continued, squealing like young girls over the prince. Esdeath started to feel herself in a girl's night. She detested such parties more than anything.

Ulbert, naturally enjoyed all the attention, smiling smugly, drinking his drink with satisfied glee. Occasionally winking and waving charming his fans.

"You are enjoying this."

"Oh, what you say? Enjoying the adoring stares of damsels? How unsightly conjecture… your words like daggers. Lady Raidyn. Or…" his smile returned from his diva play. Waving the females adoring his form. A wave, the girls fainted right away. "So handsome!"

Turning back his friend, he could only tease her. "Aren't you actually jealous?"

She just snorted, looking away pouting. "You speak nonsense. Me, jealous? What for?"

"Hmmm…" Patting her head with a smile, Raidyn could only growl like a kid on a tantrum. "Don't worry, my little friend. You are the only I keep my eyes at."

"What this supposed to mean?" her angry gaze piercing, making even Ulbert back slightly.

"Oh, nothing. But oh look! You as well have a few fans. Look those men."

Turning her head towards the "men", her expression turned even bitterer. "You are just joking, right?" the people eyed her were almost all drunk, and there were barely any of them that could be considered average, or even good looking. "Come on my lap babe. I give you free sausage." one of the drunkards shouted, giving her a hazy, lust filled look. A belch after the company burst out in gleeful, drunk laughter.

"Do I take care of them for you, Princess?"

"Hn! Just ignore those idiots, under the years I got used to such wisecracks — idiots and trolls must be ignored, or their heads grow bigger."

Her friend's face contorted, giving her a berating sight. "You should not allow them to treat you like an object. Don't forget. You are better than them."

"And what makes me better?" she watched her counterpart reflecting in her drink, then turned back to Ulbert.

"Huh?" Ulbert could only raise his brow. "What do you mean? You are stronger; you are a higher being. Act as such."

"What does it change? What would it change? Even if I beat all the drunkards those staring me like this." she pointed at the still laughing people. "There will be more of them. That's how people are. And what does it worth in the end? Nothing. Strength is not everything Ardyn-san. Sometimes, the most powerful are the loneliest. Sometimes, the more powerful you are, the more you want to prove you are the best, the more you remain alone."

"Hmmm." Ulbert just hummed, fondling his majestic illusionary goat beard — That made him stick out like a true villain. But also, give him the aura of mystery, making him even more enticing in the eyes of the opposite sex. "Under my long years, I hardly recognised that."

Raidyn tilted her head listening to her friend attentively.

"On the contrary, I recognised, the more power I have, the more people want to be around me. Became my subordinate, or simply, my thralls. Out of a feeling of abandonment, or fear I might turn against them. Or even for protection. They all came under my wings eventually. Of course, I knew they are not with me out of any honest intention, but to use me for their own end. That, in most of the cases I inverted, used their own end against them and came out of the top all the times. Well mostly, being frozen and trapped in that crystal was not in the plan. But, oh, minimal interferences came and go."

Esdeath watched the drunkards starting a fight, and in all honesty, she really envied her friend to be able to think this way. "I envy you so much. To be able to think like this. You are fortunate, Ardyn-san. Since I came to be like this, except Momonga-san and a few people, I feel everyone is dishonest with me, painting their words with honey. I don't really like dishonest people. Sorry, I-I just can't think the same way as you. Even after all that time, except the few, I am all alone."

Ulbert just sighed, placing his hands on her. "You are not alone." the goat flashed a smirk. "We will always be here for you. Thou don't forget that. You can never get rid of us."

After a small smile, her face turned flat. "Duh… Because I am going so well with the two of you. Thanks for the nothing."

"Well…" Ulbert winked joking. "My little self is all you get; you better get used to it."

"Hm. Is that so? Then I try my best…" with a bowed head, the only thing she said is… "Thank you very much…"

The opening ring of the door echoed through the establishment at the next moment. And it was not only her head angled towards the newcomers.

A well-curved woman with brown hair, and a weathered guy in the midst of — maybe his forties? She can't decide. Appearance can be deceiving. The end of his hair greyed, but it well blended with his dirty blonde hair.

"That guy…? Are my eyes not deceiving me?"

"Hmmm… He seems familiar. Where I saw him?" Ulbert fondled his chin beard, curling it around his fingers.

"Don't do that; it creeps me out." Esdeath urged him flat faced. Ulbert just grinned back, intensifying the caressing his chin fur. "Do you like it? I can do it all day." 'Rustle, rustle, rustle.'

"Ugh! You are just like a kid!"

"Speak the one who looks like one."

"Shut up," she mumbled, watching the guy.

"Why does he looks so familiar?"

"Hmmm…" Her eyes widened, recognising the "guy". "I know!"

"You know?"

"Remember I read a lot of old DC and Marvel comics when we were back in our original "reality"."

"Yeah, you bragged a lot about them. It was annoying after a while."

"That guy…" she pointed at the blonde dirty looking man with a knee-length trenchcoat. "That guy is John Constantine, from the Hellblazer series. Damn, I loved that comic. That guy was badass without being overpowered. Using his wits to beat guys like Satan and alike. Beating them using his clevers, then crawling out from places like hell then laughing giving them a middle finger."

"Oh, very interesting…" Ulbert rolled his eyes. "Don't say you want to ask an autograph from the guy."

"Do you think he would give me!?" she jumped up suddenly, eying Ulbert with a grin on her face. "It is a rare occasion, after Batman, he is my favourite!"

"Ah, for a teen like you? I don't think you are his type. Or…" after a sip, Ulbert continued with a grin. "Maybe he is hiding his 'free candy van' in the alley, do you want to investigate it?"

"What? You say I am ugly?! Is that some kind of sexual joke?" Her tone, offended, making Ulbert think with fear. " _I really did this time…"_

 _"_ Well… not exactly ugly…" the dark lord pulled his mouth blushing.

Sitting down, her fingers crossed before her mouth, leaning on it. "Let's discuss our preferences then…"

Thus, their minute's long debate started. First debating their preference. Then witch character they prefer when it came to comics, games and lore. Speaking about meaningless things, ending the argument in a stalemate.

Knowing Fluder need no personal oversight to conduct Ainz's business, the friends bothered not to watch the time. Both of them laughed off the pointless argument after ten more bottles of ale consumed — per person. Leaving the establishment signing a slightly morbid melody.

"There's a monster that lives 'neath your bed  
Oh for crying out loud it's a futon on the floor  
He must be flat as a board

There's a creature that lurks behind the door  
Though I've checked there 15 times  
When I leave, then he arrives  
Every night

Tell the monster that lives 'neath your bed  
To go somewhere else instead  
Or you'll kick him in the head

Tell the creature that lurks behind the door  
If he knows what's good he won't come here anymore  
Cause you'll kick in his butt at the count of four…"

And the melody continued as the two proceeded, earning many strange glances from the people all around. Some enjoyed the peculiar lullaby, some just frowned unpleasantly.

…

Meanwhile, on the other side of the academic city, Fluder Paradyne just finished with the meeting of the head of the town.

The session went better than he expected, too well if you asked him.

The Great Sages represented the mages of Rondel actually almost drooled on the gifts his king sent them. And it was scary how much they made him remember at his old self. The man he was two hundred years ago — when his lord and saviour arrived and revealed his divine might.

In the times of old, he acted the same, lowering himself to lick his boots literally. It was unsightly, even according to his Lady who told him not to do so. As it was really flattering for Ainz — and he was actually too polite to say it out loud — but it was too much flatter even for the undead king.

After that, he found other ways to show his willingness to learn — less humiliating ways to show his adoration. His true journey started.

The leader of the Sorcerous Kingdom's magical association worked even harder, ever diligent to show his worth.

But just now, he left his apprentices to deal with the further meetings. They needed some practice, after all, a mage should not only know how to negotiate but use old methods to solve problems. Magic can't solve everything, after all, Fluder learned it the hard way. Magic, no matter how miraculous it is, can't explain everything. His Lady also said so. And he learned firsthand when he almost died after an assassination attempt that damn Theocracy planned against him. He almost died, only his Lady's intervention saved his life.

"…"

Stroking his well-cut beard, walking around the streets, his adoration for the city ever grown. He saw many towns under the years. But this Rondel was really brought old memories. The town was not as big as Arwintar of old, and cannot be compared the shine of Carne. But definitely, the city brought him nostalgic feelings.

In different of Carne, the roads were not all paved with stones. The patrols were quite scarce, and despite it was the city of magic, the street lamps were still lit by natural fire. But the layout was nicely made, and some building was quite nostalgic. Thought, he found the corridors scarcely narrow and the place lacked the proper traffic control.

As he walked down on the paved road of the research district, a few explosions hit his ears, blasts that followed by the drip of water. And naturally, many complaining voices.

"Nooo! My thesis!"

"Look what you have done to my robes!"

"You idiot Sage!"

"Noooo! My cabbages! My poor cabbages! Why!? Just why!? First in Italica, now, here!? Oh! Why the gods hate me so much!?"

Many complaining voices filled the square as the passing mages berated their fellow for his failed experiment. Poor cabbage trader with his destroyed, small cart was the loudest of all.

The Sage just stood confused, his robes fuming, his body covered by blackness. "Duh…" from his mouth smoke filtering.

"Ah… old times when I could find something interesting to experiment on. Oh! Good times…" Fluder mumbled, remembering his old self. Then, one moment to other… a shadow popped on the corner of his eyes, and his magical senses pinged. Danger lurked on the horizon. Feeling the presence of someone eerily familiar, someone he met quite some time ago, he can't help but smile.

"Ah, youngsters are so hasty…"

"[Explosion]!" in the next moment, an explosive ball of death sprung behind his back, reaching him rapidly.

The old mage not rest of course, with a motion of his staff, cast his barrier. "[Anti…]" the fiery ball of orange energy engulfed the old mage before he could cast his spell.

The surrounding people started to flee immediately, giving more place for the warring sides.

The buildings immediately damaged and shook from the shockwaves the tremendous explosion caused. The boom sprang forward can be heard even from the other side of the city

Smoke and dust covered the streets, and just like that, a wave of magical wind swept away the blackness, revealing Fluder. Safe and sound, his white uniform impeccable, like always. His posture is not faltering the slightest.

Holding his engraved, wooden staff. The area around him thoroughly charred, blackness and destruction followed the wake of the [Explosion]. Only the place he stood remained clean. "Hmmm… My, my, my… youngsters really are hasty."

The girl before him was short; her charred looking staff contained a red jewel as head, sandwiched between the staff's gaping gaze.

Her fair skin and a light complexion contracted her dark brown hair and crimson eyes. A bored, apathetic look settled on her face as she mumbled under her nose. "Need more practice…" she said so, lifelessly.

Her traditional witch attire such as a black cloak with gold border with a choker, her attire fluttered from the after-effects of the explosion. Holding her wizard's hat with her left hand that was adorned by fingerless gloves, the girl assessed her surrounding wisely.

Watching Fluder impeccable appearance, she can only mutter as such. "Master really became careless. Barely able to block my strike. Such is the old age…" she deadpanned, an expression Fluder can only smile.

"Oh! Meguminoi-chan. Long time no sees. This is how you welcome your old master after so long? Huh? So cruel girl you are."

The girl just stared at him, saying nothing for long moments.

"But I must admit, well-done, your magic grown leaps and bounds." still fondling his beard, the master expression was not angry, no, in the opposite. It beamed a satisfied smile. A proud beam of a master who sees the light at the end of the tunnel. A possible candidate who can inherit his title.

"Master Fluder…" Meguminoi's dead eyes gazed him relentless. "It is time for our usual duel…"

"Oh, is that so?" a mischievous expression sneaked on the old man's face. "Hmm. Maybe you are right. It is some time I trained you. But are you sure you are ready?" Fluder's eyes opened, squinting slightly. A dangerous light lit in his oculars. "Your chance of loss still marginally higher than the possibility of winning. You still had much to learn, young apprentice."

"I am aware of that…" the girl replied, nodding steadily, swinging her staff towards her master, ready to battle, ready to fight.

"Very well then. But first." hitting the ground with his staff, Fluder concentrated his power. "Let's repair the damage. What would Ainz-sama say if we leave a mess behind us?"

The crimson witch nodded, agreeing with his master.

"[Reconstructive Works]." Two more knocks from the tail of his weapon and an invisible wave left the magic caster.

It was like time turned reverse. The charred ground regained its previous shine, the buildings pieced together. Cracks sealed, burn marks disappeared. Every onlooker who know this exact part of the city gaped surprised, as the buildings looked all new instead of their old self.

The patched, yellowing plaster on the walls turned white, without any fault, the roof repaired, regained its original colour. The furniture and the inside of the houses renewed.

You may call this act of magic a miracle, as the affected area Fluder's magic reached turned inside out like it was built yesterday. All of it under a few moments.

But it was far from that…

Fluder Paradyne not accidentally considered one of the mightiest, and most knowledgeable magic caster of the kingdom. This little elusory spellcasting was nothing to him.

Being in the Magical Academy lot of duels took place, contests those usually ended with a ruined environment. The scholars came up with this spell early. Dealing with repairs and the cleaning of the ruble was bothersome after all. And the mages of the academy was like programmers and IT guys, lazy to do something if it can be solved automatically.

The people all around watched the man in white, the man in his prime. A wise-looking magic caster in robes cast his spell. Making the impossible possible, even the patron deities of the city, the twin Gods Ran, and Elange turned their heads. Feeling the immense magic power Fluder released, reversing the damage his apprentice turned to an adventurer caused.

…

Watching him from the far, even the twin Gods had to admit, Fluder and the girl facing him had immense magical talent. More than any men and women walked the path of mortals ever possessed. The two together even surpassing their own apostle.

Whatever will happen next, it will be a show to watch. Yet, they were aware of the end result of the duel. The gap between the facing sides was just too vast to span by sheer will.

The man might look in his prime, but he was far older than that. Ancient magic enchanted the air around him. Betraying his hundreds of years of experience, the numerous magical duels and battles he encountered and lived through scarred his very aura irreversibly. Marking him as an avatar of magic amongst mortal men, the knowledge weaved and oozed from his direction was intoxicating. Danced like a raging storm in his calm soul.

Turning their heavenly gaze towards the crimson eyed girl, she was still young. Inexperienced, but her growth potential was vast. Once, she might even surpass her master, if she lives that long. But with her current, "explosive" lifestyle that is not likely. She needs experience; she needs to grow. Maybe if they offer her a chance, bestow her their blessing. Maybe, just maybe she will feed them with her knowledge. The grace every newcomer refused to accept since their coming.

Refusing their whispers out of the reason they worship different gods, the so-called Forty Ones. Ignoring them, calling them tempting, demonic whispers, praying and pleading towards the Supreme Beings to cast them away.

Many gods tried their tempting voice on the newcomers under the passing months, and only a very few of them succeeded. Gaining nothing more just a few peasants, a few pawns in the game of queens and kings, nothing that can help them out.

On the other side, the newcomers gained ever more foothold, their religion, like a virus spread through the vast lands of Falmart. The gods those offered physical evidence of their existence and might. Provided true miracles personally, not only after praying.

The god of death and the forty of his companion gained more and more follower day by day. Unstoppable, like a juggernaut trampling, through the freshly planted flower field.

"Ran-Ran. What to do?" Elange asked his sister, turning to her in their heavenly domain.

"Elange, Elange. We watch, study and analyse, as always." answered the second part of the twin in a low tone, turning back to their city.

As the twin gods of study and knowledge, they were well aware Fluder's real person. Watched him since he entered their city. It came from their very nature, but it was rare someone caught their attention. And now, their city was flourished with such exciting individuals.

The Dark Lord of destruction, the demi-goddess Dark Elf who hid a dubious existence, a burnt-out warlock, a vampire girl, the Apostle of Emroy, a simple looking soldier in green, who's future hid a great potential, and many more people, some of them not yet arrived.

No matter what others said. It was indeed rare to see so many interesting people gather in one place.

And you may call it a cliché intuition, but the twin gods felt, it is only the beginning of the significant events to come. If the events bring collapse or a flourishing future, even they can't divine that.

Watching these individuals, the urge rise, again and again, summoning, then questioning their reasons was indeed tempting. But sending their apostle to measure the source of Fluder's, and the other's power and knowledge was not their style.

"Simply learning is but the first part of the studying. The next is rearing the ability to understand, and the last is refining your wisdom."

At least, they left this phrase before their ascension. Contradicting their own wisdom would be nothing more than foolishness.

Like good scholars, like a scientist, their method was narrowing down the possibilities, designing the experiment in theoretical level, observe the phenomenon, analyse it, and then conclude the result, sharing it with each other. Only acting when it is necessary.

This is why they do not insist the whole ordeal by sending their own apostle. Because they were well aware, only observing the situation, waiting patiently will provide them with the necessary information.

Not like that fool Hardy, even thinking about that woman sent a disgusted ripple through their celestial existence.

"…"

Dismissing the unpleasant thought of her, the twin gods turned back their gazes at the happenings. Fortunately, the city was full of worshippers. Thus, both of them saw everything clear. Inspecting the happening close second made things even more interesting, even when they had to endure the foul presence of the dark demons walking around their town.

…

Using [Fly], the air rippled under their feet. Raising themselves far high. Now, the two of them barely visible flying in the air.

The mages gasped all around, seeing the sheer height the two of them started their battle. A battle that shook the heavens scattered the clouds all around.

Explosions, water, lightning, fire, earth, and unknown energies liberated under the duel. Painting the skies into rainbow colour. But damaging not the city, as the two was far above the area their magic damaged the environment. Thus, only the air and their own person get hurt by the clash.

Watching from the ground, Lelei gazed the skies wide-eyed, noting every happening happened far above. Through her, La watched all along. Using her worshipper eyes to analyse the situation.

Rory bit her lips excited, feeling the heat of battle. The struggling respect of the student, as well the pride the master felt.

Seras and Tuka just blinked surprised, knowing not why the sides actually fought.

Itami gulping turned to Zeno who stood not far from him, asking what the hell is actually happening. "What the…

The Sun Knight just facepalmed, shaking his head. Yao is watching him confused. "That idiot explosive maniac companion of mine…" muttering, the paladin watched the battle between his fingers ashamed. He will cut the girl's daily sweet after this.

"What? Is that Meguminoi?" Itami asked wide-eyed. "Wow! Those stunts pretty crazy, and that is an?" Using his binoculars, he only spotted them for one moment. As both participants either utilised dimensional movements to change place, or wind type accelerating magic to change position in the air rapidly.

"Is that Gandalf? He certainly looks like him. White Gandalf with a shorter beard and younger appearance. Young Gandalf… huh…" he muttered with a slight chuckle. A chuckle Tuka only accepted with a pout.

"Father! What if they get hurt!?"

"Ok, ok, geez…" he deadpanned, turning back the battle. "Can't say a thing…" Still pouting, Tuka's sharp ears heard everything, earning him a hard noogie. "Auch!"

"…"

"That Meguminoi!"

"Fluder-sama, just why you have to accept her challenge every time?"

"Sigh…" the three apprentice of the archmage sighed one by one, shaking their head seeing the master's irresponsible actions.

Meanwhile, near the academic district of the city, not far from Itami and the band, the two adventurers watched the skies.

"Oi! Look Ardyn-san! How magnificent battle!" Raidyn grinned, pointing at the sky.

Fondling the lower part of his mask, the dark mage just hummed with a nod, watching his companion with slight curiosity. "Want to join the battle, eh? Raidyn-san."

"Nah, we don't want to destroy the city." she waved away the offer. "Maybe next time."

"So be it, but don't forget, I never forget."

"Fufufu…" she only shook her head with a slight chuckle, remembering the old times, the old duels the two of them shared. "Yeah, you are as subtle as an elephant in the porcelain factory."

Even more, elsewhere, standing near the side of the building, and holding a wicker basket filled with foodstuff, an old looking lady sporting a sage attire watched the skies. On her face a gentle smile curled, pressing her face with calm mixed joy. Her eyes closed all along. "My, my, my… This makes me remember the times of old. Your "homework" was hard to crack, Rory…" she mumbled, snickering pleased. "That fool Kato…"

"…"

Watching the destruction of the heavens, Constantine could only frown. Using magic so careless might raise the attention of the forces of the underworld, even demons. On his side, Arpeggio leaned closer, a fearful expression on her face.

"Wha-What is this!? Are the gods warring in the heavens?!"

Dragging his smoke, Constantine only mumbled. "Not gods… But trouble."

"[Explosion]!" "[Counterspell]!" The two attacks resounded at once, colliding, the struggling magical power has gone awry, shaking the buildings and the people on the ground. Alas, in the end, as the crimson witch's power collided with Fluder's staff, it reflected back at her under a moment of notice. With slightly increased power, it hit Meguminoi. And a huge explosion engulfed the heavens.

 **"BOOOOOM!"**

Everything turned black, for normal mortals, the arisen smoke was impenetrable above the city, and long moments passed before a single figure had broken the thick, black cloud.

Ever fast, her grimy body accelerated towards the underworld. Surely, death awaits her once she hit the ground.

Zeno and Rory were well prepared, at the right moment they will jump and catch her. But just at the moment, she reached in their superhuman range. The same, white-clad magic caster she fought materialised out of nowhere. Flashing into existence and catching her, holding her in his arms.

"Hmmm… It seems, I won, my young apprentice. You have a long path ahead of you…" His robes slightly charred, sooty. On his forehead a few drops of sweat visible. But compared the crimson witch's torn attire, and exhausted appearance, he looked just fine.

Smiling, Fluder looked around, setting his gaze on the surprised crowd, descending slowly. The magical energies leaked from his eyes, and the aura surrounded him slowly faded.

Many people surrounded him, many sages pleading him to teach them. But there were ones those complained relentless, presenting him berating words.

Spotting his ever awake pupils force a way through the crowd, the only thing he could do is to caress his beard, hum contemplating. "Oh, such trouble. Now I am really in pain."

But once spotting the hooded Dark Elf and the "Dark Lord" amongst the people, his heart calmed, knowing, everything is under control.

"Master Fluder! Are you all right?" their voices filled with worry, but the greatest mortal magic caster of his nation just hummed. "Master! How can you be so careless? Accepting this brat's challenge every time!?"

"Umu… Everything is fine. Carry on." He just waved away every word, caring for them not.

Treating the whole situation so calm, the people all around was surprised, that was an understatement.

Amongst the storm of the question, the Arch-Mage spotted one exact person. A girl with silvery blue hair watching him ever intense.

He felt, the medallion his master bestowed him whisper, someone is spying after him through that girl. " _Hmmm… Interesting. That girl is interesting… her eyes indeed filled with the lust of knowledge."_

His apprentices already started to treat Meguminoi, and with that conducted, the only thing he needed to do is explain the situation.

After all, today, Fluder Paradyne fought there…

* * *

 **Scene Change: Western Borders of the Saderan Empire: Snowy plains:**

Around two hundred kilometres away from the borders of the Empire. On the wild steppes where normal humans can't live or sustain themselves, a big group of demi-humans gathered. Camping, their well-made leather yurt's, living places symbolised their ancestors' heritage. The nomad lifestyle they lived according to for a long time.

Males, females, kids and elders of different races inhabited the mobile camp, conducting their simple lifestyle.

Albeit, the encampment was sizable. It was not the only one appeared on the western side of the Empire. Neither the closest, as the closing enemy built more and more fortifications under the way, steadily advancing and creating its own supply and defensive line as they approached the borders of the domain of the Saderans.

The camp mentioned first was neither the biggest. Yet, the encampment contained a significant amount of guards, well-fortified with temporary trenches filled with wooden spikes and quickly set observational towers. The camp settled on a hill. Thus, the terrain was also advantageous for the defenders.

It was quite well made compared to the snowy place and the lack of material the advancing forces possessed.

And if it would be not enough, a vast fleet appeared outside of the Empire's territorial waters. Ships never seen before, so close to the waters of the Empire, bearing mixed Asian and ancient Mongolian design. Ships fully prepared for battle continually patrolling, bringing more and more demihumans to the coast.

Their armour uninformed, made from mostly leather parts. Reinforced with metal and lined with layered fur to provide protection against the cold. Though, it only needed for the demi-humans possessed no natural protection — such as fur or a thick hide. In their case, it was not required.

Most of them carried uniformed weapons. Curved sword, metal-headed javelins, battle-axes, recurved composite bows and crossbows. Thought, some half horse demi humans — centaurs — also pulled remote devices. A stout looking metal tube that rolled on wheels. (cannons).

Also, there was a group, wearing metal, conical hats and heavy leather armour that marched carrying muskets with bayonets fixed on them. There were also squads carrying ceramic grenades. Battle ready, keeping the formation.

The mages and Stormcallers, cast their magic, wore a segmented leather robe, reinforced with metal parts. Waving their staff, and murmuring something inexplicable, the weather bent to their will. The wind moved the clouds, chasing away the coming snow storm.

On the skies dragon-like creatures — wyverns, and substantial armoured bats patrolled, carrying their riders on their back. Every present and arriving members of the Great Khanate Bore two symbols. The crest of the Great Khanate — the great Horde, and the clan they came from.

The large, muscular orcs and goblins wore bulky looking, fur-lined metal armour. Their grey, green, or purplish skin and pig/ape-like faces barely visible from the covering close faced helmets.

The said creature is known to have a violent temperament and durable resistance to injuries. They did well under the fight both Dalnus and Arnus. But the advanced firepower of the JSDF and the fierce Beastmen legions of the Sorcerous Kingdom overwhelmed them.

Strangely, now the brutish looking figures were remarkably calm, discussing everyday topics. From food to women, everyday things meanwhile guarded the entrance of the encampment with utter obedience.

Around the camp, the second most common seen guard force were humanoid figures with a wolf-like appearance. You may call them werewolf if you see them first. Albeit, the race name was Volralden. The Volralden was famous both for their reliability and tenacity. They were excellent security force and mercenaries. Thus, they were the ones entrusted to keep the order in the camp — function just like the military police would.

Albeit, there were a few demi-humans that armour differed from the rest, wearing custom-made arms and protection. As you may surmise, they were mercenaries. Hired as a supplemental force for the grand campaign.

Metal weapons, padded leather armour with resistant ore parts covered their body. In all sense, these mercenaries carried themselves like true professionals. Keeping their eyes focused and compiled their contract.

But strangely, many women with bunny-like parts also patrolled the area. Keeping both their eyes and ears peeled, searching for possible intruders.

In different of men, many of them wearing their traditional armour, gear allowing them to manoeuvre easily using their racial talent. Equipment that showcased their nicely shaped tights and offered a small cleavage. Thought, those who guarded the central yurt wore the black variant of the armour. Their bodies were entirely covered by black leather where the metal part left it vulnerable. Bearing a royal symbol and red lines all over their body.

Wearing a mouthless mask that gave them a dangerous look. They were elite warriors of the highest quality.

Naturally, many more races inhabited the camp, donning their equipment, preparing for the massive coming march.

As more and more forces arrived in the area, the army expanded its surveillance zone, making sure their supply lines well-fortified. Prepared to retreat if necessary.

As it was already closed to nighttime, the guards started to patrol more intensely. Not even bothering to lit torches, as it was unnecessary due to the capability of the demi-humans to see everything clearly even in pitch dark. The elders and kids, and non-soldier civilians returning to their yurts, earning their well-deserved rest.

They were most likely the kids and relatives of the soldiers stationed here. The relatives they refused to leave behind. As the campaign against the Empire most likely will stretch longer than expected. For long years if the commanders calculated it right.

The central tent was big, befitting to a true stationary command centre. Yet, it was barely lit, but it was well enough for the demi-humans to see everything clearly.

Surrounding the command table, several figures leaned above the command map, watching the characters on it intensely.

Small holographic statues created by magic are representing fortifications and forces of all kind of power appeared on the leather map.

The crumbling Empire, the JSDF, the SKEF, nomad tribes, various nations and many more. A complete overlook how the tilt of balance standing right now.

The leadership of this grand army came well prepared. Scouting the balance of power then preparing the required force and equipment to win this war, at all cost if necessary. Sailing the ocean, setting their gaze on this continent, the continent the young Empire beat them out long ago.

Five people are standing around the table. Five of them from different races.

One was a sizable orc with full plate battle armour, his face scarred beyond measure. One of his eyes missing. Covered by an iron patch embedded in his very flesh. His face painted with the ash of his former comrades.

The second was a draconian female. She resembled mostly at Giselle, the herald of Hardy. Thought, her skin was red, and she bore different tribal tattoos all over her body. As well, her eyes more strictly cut. With her skimpy clothes and wings stretching behind her back, she was indeed a sight to gaze. The battle painting of hers clearly visible on her mask and naked skin.

The third was a tall Volralden. From the first sight, it was visible that he was the alpha of his pack. Snow white fur and red eyes. An albino, yet, he carried himself with pride. Geared fully for battle. Not many dared to question his authority, even less lived to see the rays of tomorrow.

The fourth was a centaur, a female one as it. Wearing a lamellar leather armour. Her skin tanned, her dark hair made to be a ponytail. And finally, her gaze is piercing yellow. Holding a spear in her hand, and a Magyar Bow on her back. The bow may be too big for a normal human to use it effectively, but for her, it was perfect.

"My Khan… Is it truly all right to station our forces so close to the border of the empire? What if the enemy gets a glimpse of our invasion? It may inevitably blow our plan." stated her worry the draconian.

"I agree, let's march and use our momentary advantage. Invade them before they can recognise our presence." offered the orc, his statement approved several of the surrounding warlords. "With a pincer attack, we can crush their fleet in no time, then land deep in their territory. With our inland forces continually marching, and the continuous transport of our soldiers to the landing points. We can easily win a two-front war, crushing them with plier tactic." He motioned on the map, looking at his "Khan" for confirmation.

The tactic was sound and good, yet, the fifth figure just hummed bored.

"It would not work, under such circumstances, the invading forces may recognise our presence so early, don't forget, we also need to deal with the invaders. Until their gates working, they have a continuous supply of fighting force. We are in dire disadvantage. Until their Ether gate is working, we can't just invade…"

Explained the young looking Warrior bunny. His hair pure white falling on his shoulder, his eyes crimson red, strictly cut, mirroring his determination. Under his nose, a Fu Manchu moustache stretched. "Anyway, the enemy will move not without provocation. We have as much time as we want. And when they do move, it will be already too late."

"But the Empire…"

"The Empire will not attack." the warrior bunny stated cold. "They are occupied not to fall apart. The men in green appeared on Hill Arnus restricted in their own zones of authority. The nearby kingdoms dare not to move, or else they call the wrath of the new players. As well, they are too exhausted to mobilise. Don't forget the report. Most of their forces mascaraed when the Empire called them to arms. The most they can do is to remain neutral and gather their strength. We will deal with them later."

Turning back to the war map, the young warrior bunny only murmured his last sentence.

"The only obstacle is the Sorcerous Kingdom. As our spies told us."

As he said this, he pointed at the map, where the strange figure stood with writing, the nearby warlords nodded seeing what he meant. After a moment, his gaze turned towards the armoured orc.

"Admiral, how is our fleet doing?"

"We managed to land safely in this continent. The ships of ours are supplying us with fresh soldiers and supply continuously. Our routes well-guarded in the sea" Explained the scarred orc, resting his sizable Warhammer in his hand. "Our fortifications constantly built to bolster our position. If not some miracle, our superiority on the seas is but guaranteed."

"What about the locals? Do they willing to fight for our cause? How about our overland advancement?" The Khan turned towards the Volralden general, questioning him.

"It seems, the locals are willing to raise arms against the weakened Empire. We only needed to fan the idea before them. And the nomad tribes inhabiting this land jumped for the opportunity. We recruit them at a constant rate. Offering every joiner a hefty pay, training and full citizenship in your khanate, my Khan." the albino Volralden bowed respectfully. "The fortifications and domestic supply route constantly built. Making sure even in our retreat we can cause significant losses for the enemy."

"Good…" he twirled his moustache. An instinct like motion he picked up after he claimed the mantle of the Khan. Youngest amongst his peers he earned the title. Winning every competition, defeating every tribal adversary wanted to snatch his rightful title. Either killing them or turning them to his faithful aide.

Just like the Centaur female and the Volralden in his tent. They challenged his rightful title, yet, after defeating them, he turned them to his allies. And with them on his side, his Empire, his horde grew even stronger.

"What about the reports of the spies, spymaster?"

From the shadows, a black-clad warrior bunny stepped forward, wearing a white mask.

"Our preparations are ready, my Khan. We sent the necessary agents and assassins. The seeds of chaos already hinted within their ranks. Soon, they will fight with each other. Too busy and tired to stop us. Though, I must warn you. The creatures the enemy control are dangerous. Each of them bearing the might of an army. Their king possesses the valour of gods. An undead ruler with terrible power, with terrible servants. A ruler managed to chase away a Demon of old."

"Hmmm… Troublesome. But we as well have the gods on our side. Their heralds bolster our forces. And if the need arises, the Adam of Darkness promised his help. He will not leave us alone in the time of need." His smile is confident as he twirled his facial hair, watching the map with a glee.

"We made the necessary steps to push them into their own sword. The only thing is needed to wait. For the right moment. Wait for the signs of chaos to arise. The assassins and agents we dispatched will be more than enough to incite chaos and destroy their route to this world. Don't forget. Gods can be easily manipulated. The only thing is needed to use their own pride against them."

"Hmm. Good tactic. But I recommend caution. Put a few more failsafe's just to be sure." ruffed the albino werewolf. His face contorted, watching the area on the leather map that labelled as "Hill Dalnus".

"Already underway." quipped the draconian confidence, holding the sword on her side.

"Good, very good! Then the next point of our invasion is…"

One moment to other, the flaps of the tent torn open, an elite soldier stepped in. Clad from tip to toe with a segmented armour. Her face bearing a strange tribal mask.

"How dare!" Gripping her war spear, the Centauress immediately pointed against the warrior bunny, but the "Khan" raised his hand, stopping her.

"Report." from outside, the disturbing noises of the soldiers moving into position can be heard. His sensitive ears picked up the sounds immediately.

"My Khan! An intruder appeared in the middle of our camp, what are your orders?"

The Khan's eyes widened for a moment, then returned to its usual, calm self. "Hmmm… Troublesome, but expected outcome Tell me, is the lookouts and divinatory sages predicted the arrival of "this" intruder? If it were natural, our dispatched lookouts would have recognised long ago. No?"

"I don't know my Lord! We as well as confused as you, the creature just appeared in the middle of our camp. Our sages are trembling since its arrival. Saying it is darkness incarnate, emitting a tremendous amount of magical presence."

"Did it attacked you, did it stated what it wants?"

"No, my lord. Our warriors are surrounding it. But refused to get any closer. Whatever that "thing" is, it gave away a dreadful aura."

 _"Hmm… Strange… Maybe the demon lord the reports told me about?"_ the Khan contemplated. What to do? If it is the demon his reports spoke about, the forces responsible for handling such threat not yet here. Also, the chief deity of his people, the Adam of Darkness offered his help with one premise: it only intervenes if other gods also do. After all, watching others doing your work was much more comfortable, and usually, people care not about ants under their feet.

Under such circumstances, against such an overwhelming foe, the Khan had only one option.

"Invite our guest in, let's hear it out."

"But my Khan! What if…!?" the words of the Volralden general caught on his throat as the young leader raised his hand.

"What it wants, only comes to light if we hear his words, no?" the face of his mirrored his total confidence. The confidence befits to a ruler who earned everything so early. Led his people and nation with great efficiency. Ruled over his whole continent, where the Empire drove his people hundreds of years ago, forcing his ancestors into poverty.

But as always, the spirit of the Warrior Bunnies cannot be exhausted so easily. They rose from the dust, they conquered, and in the end, they unified all the tribes under one banner! And now, they returned, freeing those left behind in their retreat.

In the next moment, the flaps of the Yurt opened once more, revealing the demonic figure.

What greeted them surprised everyone. It was a small girl with dark hair covered her shoulders. Her face covered by a grinning demonic mask, with eyes of the jewel. Behind her back two scalies, demon wings stretched, befitting to her nature, she showcased them proud.

Sporting a black, Japanese style school uniform — with white stocking hugging her thighs, the mini skirt barely covering her modesty, and a red scarf hugging her neck.

Her style was elegant, yet threatening. A cute, demon chibi figure hangs from the bag she carried on her shoulder. Her skirt adorned with the sticker labelled: 'Bad Girl.' The visible parts of her skin slightly tanned, giving her an exotic look. From her backside, a metallic looking bladed tail sprouted. Compared to Jaldabaoth, it was thin, still considerably long and elegant. Feminine you might say.

Even without carrying weapons, just watching her, the aura of danger radiated from her very person.

Everyone watched the demonic, short girl with a surprise for a long moment, as she looked around satisfied, scanning the people and her environment.

"Who might you be? Stranger? You caused a great calamity in my camp. Care to explain?" stated the obvious the Khan, assessing the newly appeared figure.

"Greetings, Great Khan of the Golden Horde. I am Sophia. Sophia Kircher. The first daughter, and aide the Great Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth." she postured cutely. raising her skirt elegantly, a glee plastered on her face under the mask.

Measuring her, the Khan just don't want to believe this little girl actually the aide of that creature his agents spoke about filled with fear and dread. It just not fit for the picture. But as he was an educated person, he learned to not judge a book from its cover. Not without investigating what's in the book first.

"Ah, is that so? And what the great Demon Emperor want from me? Why his daughter, no less, grace me with her presence. I doubt my humble self or my people can offer anything for an esteemed individual like him."

"Hnhnhnhn…" The girl chuckled adorable, covering her mouth slightly. "That's where you are wrong, my Khan. My father always said, without reliable people you are nothing. And considering our current situation. He wants to aid you in your conquest."

"Oh, and why does he thinks I actually need his help?"

Looking around, she pointed at the strong looking orc guard nearby. "Order him to kill me." Her smile under the mask was relentless, hiding sadism and the anticipation of dread.

"Hmm? Do I look stupid to you? You would kill him instantly." judged the Khan immediately, giving her a calculating smile. The brutish looking towering orc of course just stared his ruler wide-eyed, unable to understand how it would be possible. "Throwing away a good soldier, no less my greatest Admiral out of the measure of strength. It would be a waste."

"Oh, and how can you judge that?"

"From your posture and manner of speech of course. You are a warrior, just like me. Just like my ancestors were." remembering the tales of conquest his father told about — before his early death — he could only sight satisfied. "This is why I know. In this yurt, you are the strongest. Able to kill all of us if you want. So…" placing his palm on the pommel of his ornate curved sword, the negotiation started. "Let's hear what your master offers in exchange of my help."

"Your help?" the girl tilted her head confused.

"It is he, who needs me. Not versa. I need not him to conquer the Empire, drive out the Sorcerous Kingdom and the men in green. So, let's hear that offer…"

Understanding what the Khan meant, a devilish smile contorted her face, twisting it demonic. She only said… "Everything…"

The Khan just smiled, everything went as he expected. "Kukukuku... Oh, then, let's make a deal, let's make a deal…"

Thus, the Khan dealt with the devil.

Will he be able to pay the due of his trade? Or he will be swallowed by his own greed like many kings before him. Only time can tell.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Hey all!**

 **Sry for the delay.**

 **Unfortunately, my proofreader is quite busy nowadays and will be not able to finish the skimming for a few more days.**

 **Because of this, I release the chapter earlier.**

 **Hopefully, this "beta" version of mine will be good enough to stomach.**

 **Well, good luck with it!**

 **By the way, how do you like the new cover of the story? It made by J. Krypt, give him/her many virtual cookies! He/She deserves it!**

 **RNR!**

 **In the next chapter: **

**Negotiations**

 **Will the Dethroned Queen, the Overlord, The Fox, and the Black Knight find what they seek, or they fall for the cleverly planned diversion?**

 **How will Lelei's exam go? Will her friends will be able to help her out? What will happen in Rondel?**

 **What mischievous tricks Raidyn and Ardyn planned in their drunkard gale?**

 **Many more thing will come to light in the next chapters.**

 **Stay awhile and listen.**

 **Until that. Good night, safe winds, safe travels!**

 **May the Force and the Flying Paste be with you!**

 **RNR!**

 **Send PM if you have questions, or want to chat.**


	27. Tyuule

**Hey!**

 **It's been long, sry not posting a new chapter so long. Life and stuff came in the meantime, you know, the usual :P**

 **As well, I was out of a whole week out of some private reason.**

 **But here it is!**

 **Today a present you the new chapter.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Comment/cry/PM/whatever!**

 **Now... the usual prattle...**

* * *

 **Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There**

 **by oblivon2991**

 **Proofreader: aGuestfromGreece45**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.**

 **I don't own the _Overlord_ (** **オーバーロード** ** _Ōbārōdo_** **?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **Please review it. I know I will make mistakes that I intend to correct and will try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

* * *

Four figures flashed in existence not far from the buzzing camp. Their characters were strange, with one wearing a jet black armour with violet and golden edges, a crimson cape draping over his shoulders and two well made, massive-looking onyx swords settling on his back.

The second was a warrior bunny, a woman with a beautiful, pale face and a good figure. Her aspect was painted with the usual warpaint of her tribe, her body draped with her tribal armour made from leather stripes and metal plates. A lavish fur cloak hung from her shoulders; a sharp sword hung on her sides.

"Thank you, your Majesty. I don't know how you managed to get back my long lost royal armour, but you did so. Because of this, I will be forever in your debt."

"Umu… don't mention it; it comes without notice," the Overlord, wearing his dignified, red golden lined gown, which was adorned with various plumes, waved away the courtesy, chuckling gently. "The Saderan Empire is my vassal now. Though, it is a slight abuse of my power, I can ask them that much, no?"

His bald head was covered by a hood adorned with a golden halo and a crown, his face with a plain-looking mask, the eyesockets embedded with an illustrious jewel each.

"…"

Tyuule, the "former" queen of the warrior bunny tribe bowed her head humbly. "Your majesty is too humble and kind." Her face hardened instantly, remembering Zorzal's treatment. "Those barbarians would have deserved annihilation. Destroying all their cities, all their people, men, women, kids. Salting the very grounds their damned palace stood…"

Her fist curled into a ball, slightly trembling out of her rising anger.

"Muu… Don't be like that, Queen Tyuule," Ainz placed his gloved hand on her shoulder. "You can't blame a man's crime on a whole nation. Don't forget, not all of them are like that. Every individual is different, every one of them is unique with all their flaws and charms."

"So gracious my Lord. You are truly compassionate beyond measure, just like your subordinates said so. Even so…" she clenched her fist. Momon looked in her direction with blazing eyes.

The queen kneeled, like a vassal before her king. "Please, let me take Zorzal's head if the time comes. This is my only wish! If you give this to me, I swear, my whole tribe, my people, will swear allegiance to you."

"Your whole tribe…" Ainz turned towards the bustling camp, the flames in his eyes intensifying.

Being the whole thing was around a few kilometres away from them, and the small group was hidden amidst the woods using the spell [Perfect Unknown], no one was able to detect them.

There were even a few groups of scouts and soldiers of various beast races patrolling around, bearing the tribal armour and warpaint of the warrior bunnies of Tyuule, and a few other tribes.

"Yes…" the queen nodded, bowing her head deeper.

"Hmmm… you offer may seem enticing. Yet, you have not yet regained your former ruling position. I offered to help you previously out of the knowledge you will agree… but let's state one thing…" Ainz raised his finger. "If your people are unwilling to bow, if they attack me and defy the deal, you and/or their newly elected monarch, there will be no mercy upon their souls."

Squirming a little, the white fur of the warrior bunny started to rise, pointing towards the skies, knowing very well what kind of creature Ainz was, what deal she had made with him. In her current situation, she couldn't do anything more but agree.

She might have made a deal, but the Sorcerous King would most likely be unwilling to ruin such resourceful territory like the Saderan Empire was, though she was partially satisfied with the knowledge that damned family of Zorzal had become a mere puppet before the Sorcerer King's might.

"…"

It couldn't be helped, he wanted it all, and if it meant the annihilation of the ones threatening his territory and domain — that, in the current case was her tribe — then so be it. Her clan was not influential enough to spend much thought on them. Not in their current state. Not, by a being like Ainz was. It was easier to erase them than bothering later.

Yet, Tyuule was filled with glee, knowing at least one part of her planned revenge had worked out — even if it was not intentional. Also, she considered a partial success the fact, the Great Sorcerous King was willing to make this trip to help her out — even, if it was just a little elusory, as her tribe was not the biggest, nor strongest amongst the gathered, newly reformed demi-human tribes the Empire had previously subdued and chased almost to extinction, then assembled in the northeast territory of the subdued Empire, hearing it's weakened, conquered state.

Moreover, she had gained the opportunity she thought long lost when she made a deal with Zorzal — who in the end betrayed her. Maybe, with the help of this Sorcerous King, and her "love" Momon, they will be able to explain the situation.

 _"Momon-sama…"_ Her eyes twinkled with adoration, watching the black-clad warrior for a moment.

Even if she did not regain her position as a queen, she hoped, at least she could convince her people to join under Ainz's banner. Then move in the Sorcerous Kingdom, marry Momon, and live happily ever after.

 _"Even If I'm not his first wife, even if there are more women in his life, I am willing to share, just to be with him…"_ though, it may have been, or not, her real wish. For a moment's notice, this was her goal. Just now, she imagined the numerous half bunny warrior, half human children surrounding them, the two of them living happily, peacefully, until the end of their time.

"Ah, so beautiful…"

She murmured daydreaming, watching Momon intensely, even reaching the state of spacing out.

"Is she…" Ainz watched the fourth person standing not far from him, searching the reason why the warrior bunny queen had spaced out so sudden.

The fourth figure just shrugged, shaking her head.

"Khn…" Ainz cleared his throat, even raising his hand to give emphasis to his intention. "As I said… keep your part of our deal, and I will also keep mine. Your people will be safe under my rule and not suffer any drawbacks, I swear on my name. Also, they will gain full citizenship once they accept my authority as their sole monarch, and you, or their chosen leader, as my representative."

Though he could simply brainwash them to gain what he wanted, forcefully intimidating the people, or merely controlling them using his magic, or even using several other more sophisticated methods came to his mind suddenly. It was actually much more challenging and fun to gain what he wanted through binding them to himself with promises and deals. Playing the "good politician", as others may say.

"Sigh…"

Even he, a so-called "god" with cosmic scale powers — after his ascension that happened in that dreadful, dark universe where he and his friend finally managed to break through the bottleneck which held them back to gain levels after the maximum level of 100, even then, a so-called deity also needed some fun, or they would burn out. He was unable to go crazy, or be affected by any mental effects thanks to his undead status. Still, it was just bothersome to sit around meanwhile your subordinates did all the work.

 _"Without challenges, or direction, or people to share your achievements… life is quite empty, no?"_ He still remembered his friend's quote, and he could not agree more with this sentence. Without these things, existence was quite an empty place to reside.

Actually, nowadays Ainz had already found a few new hobbies to spend his eternal existence. One of them was to conduct schemes, or appear on the battlefield, terrify the enemy — with a stylish, grand speech — then after giving them the last rays of hope, annihilate them. It was kinda sad, but even an undead like him could also feel boredom and the lack of do after a while.

"Ainz-san, don't be a bully. Consider Tyuule-chan's position. It is not easy for her," a sweet female voice resounded on their side. A kitsune with eight black tails, that had white undersides and white markings on them which looked like the phases of the moon, stepped forward, sporting a beautiful kimono, which was adorned with white flowers and strange symbols, coloured red and black as the base.

Her appearance was that of a slender woman in her early 20s, her height being about 165 cm tall. Her left iris coloured amber, while her right iris was coloured blue, with both of her pupils being vertically slit like a cat's.

"…" Ainz just watched her for long moments.

 _"Indeed… even after 200 years, she always protects the weak without waiting anything in return. Foolish…?"_ he pondered, watching her for a moment. _"Maybe, but I need such people around me… no, rather we need such people around us. Or in the end, we might go too far. Even abusing our power without a good reason, that would be truly disgraceful…"_

"Umm… Yes, of course. That was not my intention, Elysia-san…" Ainz waved away the kitsune. "I just want to make sure my investment will pay out in the end."

"Hmph! I see… typical of you," the black kitsune rolled her eyes humming.

"Well, shall we proceed?"

Every present person watched Tyuule for a firm decision, a decision she accepted with a big gulp, but firm resolve under a moment.

"Ye-Yes… we can proceed... It has been some time since I actually met my people."

"It will be alright…" Elysia placed her soft hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you, Elysia-san. I truly appreciate your kindness."

"Don't mention it. As the chief diplomat of the demi-human races of the kingdom, and the queen of my people, it is my duty to help, and negotiate peace between the sides. From time to time, helping a queen to regain her people's trust is the least I can do. A daily practice you may call it. And…"

Elysia's eyes slid on Momon softly, with Tyuule tilting her head confused. In the next moment, her face flustered, glancing at the black-clad warrior embarrassed, and then chuckling slightly.

"Representative, you are so dirty… but I'll certainly try it, thank you."

"Haahh…" with shaking heads, the two present men could only sigh. "Shall we proceed?"

"Yes!" Tyuule firmed herself, and Ainz dispelled his magic, revealing themselves when no one was around.

A few minutes of walk later, the small team had already reached the borders of the camp. Many demi-human eyes were nailed in their immediate direction as they approached.

"Halt! What are you doing here?"

It seemed, the camp not only contained people from the warrior bunny tribe, but cat people, sirens and Voralden. A lot of them if it came to that. After the warrior bunnies, the werewolf-like creatures represented themselves in the most prominent margin. Almost all wearing leather or scaled armours.

"Most likely mercenaries…" murmured Momon in silence, inspecting the two wolf-men patrolling the border clad in heavy mail armour.

 _"Hmm… they are called Voralden. I read about them in the reports. They look like typical werewolves, yet, I don't think they actually are… maybe demi-humans evolved that way? I need a few bodies for further investigation."_ Ainz's train of thought did circles like that, he was actually very interested in the different biology of the races in this region.

"…"

He had seen many things under his rule, under his new life. Yet, from time to time things popped up, even he, himself found surprisingly odd.

 _"I wonder how strong undead I can make from them… or, rather, what kind of special abilities they have. According to Demiurge's report, theirs are a nomad race, well, mostly… his reports also explored a big Voralden tribe far in the southern borders of the Empire, living amidst the snowy plains. According to him, they mostly occupy themselves by offering their services as mercenaries or security force."_

"Truly interesting…" he muttered under his golden mask.

Tyuule stepped forward with a firm expression on her face. "I am Tyuule, the queen of the warrior bunny tribe residing in this land. Let me pass or else face my judgement. With me, there are the great Sorcerous King and the representative of the Demi-human coalition of the Sorcerous Kingdom."

The ruffled-looking, grey Voralden watched his comrades for a moment, blinking while sitting on his horse. Then one moment to the next, all werewolves burst out in a full stomached laugh.

"Kekekekekekeke! You… really?!" the oldest pointed at the group. "Those clowns behind you? You really think we will believe that clown in those ridiculous clothes is the Sorcerous King who defeated the Demon Emperor!? Hahahaha! You are a joker, lady!"

Though the guard thought like that, he, and his companions kept their eyes on the four, feeling the immense danger the three behind Tyuule posed.

"…"

The continuous laugh made Ainz feel slightly awkward. But as he had experience with such welcomes in the past, he did not even bother to retaliate. These guards were only grunts, wasting energy for them would not do. For a royalty like him, even caring about them would not do. As he had learned under his years as the sole monarch of his kingdom, it was the task of the subordinates to treat such disrespectful nuisances.

"Shaaa… Once again…" Elysia shook her head, facepalming, watching Momon to see if he'd actually do something. Who, just like expected, did nothing, as he was here only for Tyuule's request to give her some emotional support, not to actually fight.

When Elysia wanted to step up to solve the situation, Tyuule stepped forward, bearing her sword.

"Stop your mockery, you mongrels! Or I will slice you apart!" Even after Zorzal's rough treatment, she was still a demi-human. Moreover, the queen of a tribe with a warrior society, possessing a pure bloodline which could be traced back to the times her people had migrated into this world; with such heritage, her influence and power were not to be underestimated.

Amongst her people only the strong ruled. To inherit the throne you needed to fight for it, you needed to earn it. Only purebloods could be queens, and her blood's purity edged the margin others could only dream of.

Only thanks to the Empire's overwhelming numerical superiority and trickery they managed to win and force her in such an unsightly situation.

"Grrrr…" the guards growled hearing her threat. "If you really are who you assume yourself to be, then I would advise against going in that camp. "Your" people will most likely tear you apart the moment they see you, then sacrifice you for their gods, hoping for some favour, or victory in battle."

"I am willing to take the danger head-on. Lead me there!"

The Voralden whispered something to his companion, who rode away with his horse in the next moment.

"Wait a few minutes. I am just a hired guard, after all; I need confirmation from the contractor. I've already sent my pack brother to inform her."

"Her?" Tyuule raised her brow, unable to define the identity of the new chief of her people.

"Umu…"

"Please, can you tell me about the current situation?" In the next moment, Elysia said so, gaining the attention of the wolfman.

"For a pretty lady like you, anything!" with a grin, the man winked. A gesture Elysia only accepted with a modest smile. She had already gotten accustomed to similar treatments under her time. Thus she was not bothered in the slightest. "I will tell you what I know. Though, it is not much. I am just a mercenary after all."

"That will do, thank you!"

With that, the ruffled wolfman started to speak, informing them about the current situation.

Every sentence that left the Voralden's mouth churned Tyuule's heart, giving her a hard time to endure.

"…"

A little time later, horses approached them from the direction of the forest. The few returning warrior bunny scouts who recognised Tyuule just glared at her, spitting once passing her, mumbling "Traitor" and "Whore!" under their nose.

'Galopp-galopp-galopp!'

More time passed, and a few horses approached the group from the direction of the camp, carrying black-clad warrior bunnies. Tyuule recognised them right away; these were the elite warriors of her tribe, royal guards.

Their leader was an impressive woman, her face painted with the symbols her royal guards used to wear in the past.

"The chief of the tribe authorised your entrance in the camp, as well, the Sorcerer King and his envoys accompanying him. Though... she has a condition," she glanced across the people, her eyes stopping on Tyuule.

"…"

She recognised Tyuule right away, squinting her eyes dangerously. Yet, Tyuule recognised her former bodyguard's sadness, and sorrow buried deep underneath those contemptuous eyes.

She was one of her bodyguards that fought until the end. Until now, the former queen thought of her as dead, having fallen against Zorzal's forces. Yet, now she was here, she was breathing, and from her look, she hated the situation just as much as the former queen did.

"…"

It was a sour recognition, but if it were the positive one, the situation would be different. Only one thing was amiss…

 _"So… even you hate me… Elise…"_ Only hate radiated from the striking silver eyes of her, her fiery hair made to be a practical ponytail.

"State it…" Ainz stepped forward, the lights in his eyes intensifying.

"The former queen has to answer for her crimes before the council and the new chief. They will accept you and your envoy, great Sorcerer King. But she must pay for her crimes."

With a sour expression, Tyuule lowered her head. But before she could say anything, Ainz raised his hand. "That's out of the question, Queen Tyuule is under my protection. And as a king, whom she, my new vassal swore allegiance to, I will not let any harm come at her."

The surrounding guards clenched their weapons, cracking them under the immense pressure.

"This is your last decision? Know it, Sorcerer King. If you protect this traitor, you will turn away a possible ally, and gain a new enemy. No matter who you are, our alliance will never bow to you. We will fight till the end."

"Is that so… kukukuku…" Ainz's laughter was ominous, and a heavy air immediately descended on the whole area. "My enemies never live long. Be aware of that…" Ainz subtly hinted, allowing a minuscule amount of his aura to leak away. Only the bare minimum, else, if he did not restrain himself to his lowest point, people would have instantly died around him, crushed by the solidified negative energy around them.

"Ugh!" the people against he aimed the pressure immediately fell on their knees, barely able to keep themselves conscious. Like thousands of tons weighting their bodies, pressing them down to the dust.

"Ainz-san…" Elysia turned her head, her face giving away traces of sweat. She might have been far from Ainz's level, even so, with that minuscule power Ainz released even she was able to keep standing, though she needed to exert some effort.

The pressure just grew and grew, and it was like the sky cracked, turning gloomier with each moment. The sun started to fade away slowly. Even the skies began to thunder a few times.

Ainz ignored the queen of kitsunes, continuing to release his small showcase of power.

"Yo-Your majesty… " Tyuule gasped, her whole body shaking on the ground, grabbing Ainz's royal garbs in the dust. "P-Please… don't hurt my people. I beg you… great Sorcerous King. Great god of death…"

Ainz watched Elysia, then Momon for a moment, both of them nodding with a serious expression. With that, the pressure lessened immediately, though, the sky remained dark for a few minutes.

"Do you really wish to do this? You know, I can help you out, as my vassal, you can ask that much."

"No…" Tyuule stood up still gasping heavily, looking in the direction of the camp that was on full alert and chaos.

Guards on full alert, trying to save what they could. Indeed, Ainz's might was undeniable. And he was willing to exert it if the situation warranted it, either to protect his investment or to mess with others if it came to that. Being an immortal Overlord who ruled over the law of death, one could become bored quite easily.

"Please… your Majesty, let me handle this. They are my people; it is my task to solve this problem. To ruin your reputation after you and Momon-sama saved me from that "beast", it will not do. Even if it costs my life, I will barter out an alliance for you."

"Hmm… so be it…" Ainz nodded, seeing her dedication. Elysia just frowned in the background.

"Why did you even call me then if I have no function here? Several other matters are going around home… stupid baldy always bossing around." Taking out some cookies, the kitsune started to nibble on them, fuming subtly.

"Sigh…"

It could not be helped; she always acted like such when she was angry. Elysia was indeed an impulsive woman. Since he knew her, it was always like that.

Ainz just sighed inwardly, knowing very well her nature. But once, smiled brightly, seeing the signs of new life flicker in her. Even if she was not yet aware of it, Ainz could sense them using his special ability.

 _"Women can be temperamental when they are in that state, moreover when carrying the seeds of life. This doubly applies to her… she was always like that."_

"Thank you…" Tyuule bowed, turning forward to her former bodyguard, Elise, then offering her hands. "According to the ancient laws of our people, I am willing to take on the consequences. But…"

"But…?" Elise raised her brow.

"I want to live with my right as a monarch; I want my people to listen to my reasons, listen to me before saying their judgement. I want a fair trial."

"I will relay your request to the chief; I can't promise anything more…" Elise said so, shackling Tyuule's wrists.

"Are you sure it is all right?"

"Yes, Queen Elysia, I am sure; this is a burden I have to carry alone."

"Still…" She bit her lips, the black furred kitsune did not like this at all. From what she had heard from the reports, Tyuule's people would ultimately ordeal a show trial to make her falsely repent, only to atone for a sin which was not her fault.

Ainz placed his hand on Elysia's shoulder. "It is her decision. They are her people, her choice. If she wishes to do this, then so be it."

"Hmm… Maybe you are right."

"Follow me then. I will lead you before the newly elected queen of our tribe."

Elise waved to the guards, and they led away Tyuule. Even shackled with the bindings, she held herself straight, like a true monarch.

…

The hours passed slowly in the makeup prison tent, which contained a wooden cage where Tyuule was held. The guards let her to wear her armour; respecting her former status, she could keep it.

"For now, it is up to his majesty and representative Elysia. Ah…" she sighed, looking at her side where a small bowl of water and some dried meat could be seen.

"Even if I lose my rank and title, I know, Momon-sama still believes in me. With him around, everything will be all right."

She hoped, imagining her life with the man.

All in her life, all under her rule she bowed only once. Only to that traitor Zorzal… just then, out of desperation to save her people. To make him spare them. Yet, as she heard it from her last, loyal spies, the man had betrayed her. Leaving her sacrifice in tatters, all of it, everything blamed on her. Her surviving kin were thinking her as a schemer, a traitor of her own people. Nothing more, nothing less.

"I hope they will execute that whore…"

"Yeah… wonder how long she schemed with that bastard. She truly is… disgraceful."

Even now, she heard the guards speaking on the other side of the tent flaps. Ridiculing her sacrifice, but in truth, known nothing of how much she did for them.

"…"

Previously, her soul was calm. But hearing it once again, again and again. Seeing the disgust that filled the eyes of her own people. The spirit of vengeance rose once again in her heart. She wanted to make it right! She wanted to erase Zorzal once more!

Now, speaking with Ainz, she was aware. Not all people of the Empire were terrible. Thus, she could concentrate on her vengeance, keeping her profile low as to not lose her love, Momon. _"It was all his fault, all Zorzal's fault! Fortunately…"_ a smile curled on her face. _"My contact promised his head for me if the time comes. I don't have to wait long."_

The flaps of the tent opened, revealing Elise's angry face.

"Elise…" she said with an utter calm, eying her former bodyguard.

"Tyuule." Not even caring to call her on her former title, the bodyguard's expression was apathetic. With a single move, she sent away the guards, leaving the two alone for the time being. Being the right hand of the chief, she had the authority to do so.

"I hope you are alright. I feared you died under the battle."

"Barely… if not for my comrades finding me, I would have bled to death."

Pulling down the neck part of her armour, she showcased the deep cut adorning her neck. The sight made Tyuule question how she was able to survive such a grave injury.

"I… I am sorry…"

"But even so… Do you really care? I ask you… why a person like you would really care if her subjects, fighting to the end, died. More importantly, would a whore like you even be capable of caring?" she frowned disgustedly. "After all, you betrayed your own people. Handed us to the grasp of the Empire. And what for? To be fucked with that human? Truly miserable, disgusting… and you called yourself our queen. You… called me, your beloved. I don't even know what to think of you anymore…"

For a moment, Elise's eye watered but fought off the urge to cry. Though, she was barely able to do so. Seeing Tyuule once again filled her heart with sadness.

"That's not…"

"Pathetic… you're still protecting yourself, a sinner. It would be better if you never returned. In that case, we would have simply buried you as a simple traitor. Keeping that small amount of dignity you had left as a queen, dying alone, in a dark hole, as traitors like you intended to do so!"

Tyuule turned her head away, looking ashamed.

"I don't know how you managed to convince that… Sorcerer King or whatever was his name to help you. But I hope, the council and the new chief sentence you to a slow death, or life sentence. Dragging you out in the public day after day, shaming you until you can't take it anymore and commit suicide. Burying you into the ground with only your head visible, then pouring honey on you so that the fire ants will eat your rotten flesh! Chopping your ears up to the hilt!"

Tyuule's heart churned. Committing suicide was both against their god's will, and was considered a grave crime against nature. Whoever did it became a dishonourable person, who committed suicide was not even buried usually, just thrown before the beasts to be devoured, their name forever erased from the books.

Cutting one's ears to its base was even worse. Be the people did it before or after death. According to the superstition, bunny warriors losing their ears dishonourably could never pass to the afterlife, stuck in the mortal realm to watch how people spit on them, unable to do anything.

"It was not me, it was a setup," she whispered. "It was all Zorzal's fault; he was the schemer!"

The bindings around her wrists strained as she jumped forward, but her former bodyguards just frowned, not even reacting.

"Pathetic, still trying to lie, to shirk the blame to others. We all know, Prince Zorzal is a monster, but he is not a smart individual. Our sources say he is an utter idiot. The only one who could come up with the plan was you, offering your tribe to ensure your survival, offering your body to live in the luxury the palace offered." A tear rolled down on Elise's face. It was visible how much she struggled with her inner self, how it pained her. "You were my everything! My chieftain! My queen! My love! Yet, you betrayed your people! You betrayed me! I would have died for you! I loved you!"

Tyuule had enough, with gritting teeth she shed her armour as best as she could under a moment, showcasing her bareback.

"Do you think it was me who did all of this!?" she roared, showcasing the mutilated back of hers, full of scars, full of former traces of damage.

Zorzal was a beast. Hurting her, leaving a brand on her body, burnt into her flesh with a hot iron. Naturally, all of the scars were positioned on places where Zorzal couldn't see them under the physical acts, yet, from time to time the man positioned her in a way to see them, just to give in his perverse fantasies.

"Those…" Elise's eyes widened, backing, seeing the sheer number of damage on the formerly spotless skin.

The healers of the Sorcerous Kingdom naturally could heal such scars, but Tyuule had refused the offer. Until her vengeance was fulfilled, she needed a reminder of why she was doing this, that's why she had refused every treatment. That's why she had left all of it intact.

"Do you really think, I did this to myself? To lower myself as a mere whore just to live in luxury? Do you not know me enough!?"

"…"Elise turned away her head, feeling a little bit ashamed. "That… still…"

"Still what?" Tyuule's eyes flashed.

"They must have been for the after play of intercourse… to…"

"To what!? Think a bit, woman! Why would I throw away my kingdom? My people? My duty?! My dignity as your ruler for that man!? My companion! My love! For that disgusting leech!"

Elise backed immediately, unable to find her words, her throat dry, unable to utter the answer.

"I… I sacrificed myself just to save all of you! To be deceived by that bastard and chained to his perverse fantasies for years! For years! And yet, you sent assassins on me! Yet, you wanted to kill me!"

Elise tilted her head confused, unable to process all of this.

"Assassins? What assassins?"

Tyuule scoffed, equipping her armour once more, strapping it together. "Don't say you don't know about it. Your assassin even managed to infiltrate into the quarters of diplomats near Fortress Gown and almost killed me. If not for Lord Momon patrolling around, I would have been already dead."

Elise pondered for a moment. Being a high ranked person in the tribe, she knew about most of such missions. If a person, she must have been aware of an action of that calibre. Though they did send out a few assassins in the recent days, neither of them were aimed against the former queen.

"According to my knowledge, we sent no assassins after you. Officially, we considered you a dishonourable discharge. A person who is never mentioned again. A dead, dishonoured queen who will be erased from our ancestor's books."

"Hmm… I see. I guess, the council voted about it."

The girl nodded. "Indeed. I will be back soon. I need to investigate a few things."

"Before you go, please, can you tell me who the current queen is? Who did the tribe choose?"

"Eostre. It was Eostre the gathered elders chose to be the next chieftain and queen of the gathered survivors."

Tyuule's face stiffened. The two of them were relatives, well, if you could call them relatives in a sense. Warrior bunnies did not really have the concept of family. Instead, the women of the tribe jointly raised their youngsters. The closest thing Eostre would be to Tyuule if we could see the bloodline relation would be a cousin.

"Eostre…"

She remembered, under their childhood, the two often played together, and even as adults were close to each other. But after what happened, she didn't know what her dear friend will think of her anymore. She only hoped, she would not give up on her, and at least listen to what she had to say in her defence.

"Then I am glad, knowing my tribe is in good hands."

With a suspicious look, Tyuule's former lover left, leaving her alone once more.

…

In the central tent, the sides faced each other. Wearing the royal armour of the queen, Eostre met Ainz's and Elysia's gaze. Momon was not present due to it being a meeting between diplomatic parties, not a place for a bodyguard.

Though a few elders were present under the discussion, the tent was now reserved for the two parties, only a few guards standing in the room aside from the queen and the elders.

"Great Sorcerer King, your offer is generous. But let me ask you something."

"State it…" Ainz's eyes flashed, though, it was not visible from his mask.

"Do you think us as fools?"

The red eyes of the woman flashed, her long white hair hanging under her tiara.

"What do you mean by that, Queen Eostre? Isn't his majesty's offer generous to your people?" Elysia asked meanwhile Ainz remained silent.

Ainz pondered, watching the woman who with a few key differences really resembled Tyuule.

She was younger by a few years, as well not as developed like the former queen was. You could call her flat, a lolicon bunny warrior — if you like that better.

 _"If she were to appear on an anime expo, I am sure she would win the contest with her cuteness and appearance…"_

Thought she was a lolicon, her expression made her look dangerously cute. "Are you seeing me as a fool? Your offer is just too generous. No kingdom would be willing to give a tribe so much freedom an autonomy, in exchange of simply swearing vassalage."

"Hmm… but this is the truth, Queen Eostre. As you've heard, my kingdom is not an ordinary one. Amongst our ranks, hundreds of races, amongst them demi-humans, with similar qualities like yours live prosperously."

"Is this true?" she turned her head towards one of the elders who were responsible for information gathering and intelligence.

The elder bunny warrior just whispered in her long ears, and the queen hummed. "Hmm… I see… still, suspicious."

"Then your answer is…"

"We refuse to join you," said the queen coldly, glaring at Ainz relentlessly.

"Please, your majesty, think about it. His Majesty's offer is very generous. And after what happened with your tribe, you are still recovering, having just gathered once more in your former territory," Elysia bowed her head.

Though she was a good diplomat who thought logically and clearheaded under pressure, it was still a pain to her seeing others suffering. You could say it was her weak point.

 _"Damn! Convincing Ainz-san to give them extra good treatment and conditions might have been a mistake… who would have thought their new chieftain would be this suspicious?"_

Biting her lip, she felt uneasy; maybe it had been a mistake…

"…" Ainz just watched her for a moment, sighing. "You see… I said so."

The kitsune queen just daggered him with her double coloured eyes. She wanted to retort with her sharp tongue — which had caused trouble more than once under the years, but doing that would stain Ainz's dignity as a monarch, a development they couldn't allow. Since she had become a queen and the representative of the demi-human races in the kingdom, amongst many things, she had learned this.

"…"

Turning back towards Eostre, Ainz's eyes dimmed dangerously. "In that case, I have to ask to confirm the reason. Why a fully armed camp has appeared near the borders of my vassal?"

The queen raised her brow, chuckling, then bursting out in laughter. "Vassal? Hahahahahaha!" She hit her knee. "You really are a joker, Sorcerer King, Ainz Ooal Gown!"

"Hmmm…" Ainz was slightly irritated but did not show it. Without inquiring the reason, it was just foolish. "Why do you say that?"

"If you had lived here as long as we, knowing the history of the Empire, you would have known. Since its existence, the Empire has never been subjected to other countries. True, they were pushed back a few times. But in the end, it was always them who came up at the top."

 _"Reading the report and the history of the continent, it is indeed true…"_ Just now, Demiurge's report reached him through a mental link, notifying him about the "unexpected" visitors on the other side of the continent. _"I see… so, let's see how long this invasion can stand…"_

"Yet, this is true. If you don't believe my words, you can see it yourself; we have brought a copy of the vassalization clause, signed by Emperor Molt himself. Elysia, if you may."

"Of course…" Under her clothes, she produced a parchment, showing it to the bunny queen whom's mouth curled into a mocking smile.

"Ah, I see…" showing it to a few elders they nodded, confirming. This was indeed the Emperor's wax seal and signature. "Though, from what I've heard about your magic, it is easily able to forge the document."

"You doubt my word and honour as a king, Queen Eostre? Even from you, a fellow monarch, the chief of this tribe, this is an affront I cannot tolerate." The two jewels in Ainz's eye sockets flashed up dangerously, the pressure immediately growing tenfold in the whole camp.

"Don't misunderstand me," Eostre panted, trying to regain her dignity and composure.

Despite her looks, she was quite athletic under her armour, just like her fellow warrior bunnies of the tribe. Their physique was a lot better than that of a simple human. "It was not my intention; I just never dreamed of earning the time when an Emperor of the Empire would turn into a conquered prey instead of being conquerors."

"Hmm… I see. As you know, the higher you are, the more prominent your fall is."

"I will remember this," she hummed, remembering the fall of her tribe. In truth, the current gathered people were multiple tribes combined as one big. After Zorzal's attack, they decided it was the best to combine their strength and create a nation. It took some time, but her people gathered in one place. And after several trials, chose her to be the leader of the unified Bunny Warrior tribe.

Naturally, the monetary support the "unknown" ally had provided them was also a big help. Gladly accepted. From that money, the tribe managed to build themselves up from nothing. Gear up after their losses several years ago.

"So, what do you say? Do you accept the offer? Is your tribe willing to join my kingdom?"

"With one condition."

"State it."

"You said, the former queen, Tyuule is under your protection. Even now that she is our prisoner, I am aware, you will get revenge on her death if we try to harm her in any way."

"And?"

"I want the right of judgement over the traitor. We want to judge her actions by ourselves."

"So be it," Ainz agreed immediately. Elysia watched him wide-eyed.

"Ainz-san… you promised her!"

"I promised her to bring her here, and help her possibly regain her throne. But seeing it is already occupied by a new chieftain and her position is firm, not speaking about Tyuule forgone her diplomatic protection when she handed herself over to the tribe's judgement, I can't do anything more."

Elysia squeezed her fist into a ball. "Then I will provide her protection! As a queen, I have the right to do so."

"I forbid it," Ainz answered again.

She remained silent, though, through the mental connection, the two continued to converse, fighting a mental battle for their truth.

 **[Message]:** "I don't care. From now on, she is my country's diplomatic refugee."

Eostre watched Ainz and Elysia, waiting for the final judgement.

 **[Message]:** "Do you know what you risk with this?" Ainz's eyes flashed dangerously. "Your country, your people. Know your place. As my vassal, I command you to stand down!"

 **[Message]:** "You know it is not right, Ainz-san…" Elysia whispered on the ground, breathing heavily. "This is not right! She suffered so much! I saw her memories! She was betrayed, assaulted, raped! Her people want her dead. How much does she have to endure?!"

 **[Message]:** "She knew what she was up to when she accepted their judgement. Deal with it, or leave."

 **[Message]:** "I will not allow this!"

 **[Message]:** "You are my vassal, deal with it. Or you can leave my kingdom. But after that, if you ever return, you will be treated as an enemy and attacked on sight. Your people will suffer the consequences."

 **[Message]:** "She will not comply with this, you know it very well!"

 **[Message]:** "What do you think? Who will she listen to? You, who she barely knows for 200+ years, or me, who she spent eons together…"

 **[Message]:** "Eons?" Elysia watched Ainz for a moment, having no idea what he was speaking about.

For even Elysia, Ainz's and his friend's adventures were unknown; she knew not how much the two friends had gone through under the years.

 **[Message]:** "Forget what I said. Knowing her, she'll most likely raise her voice once I get you banished. And that will only make things complicated, and my head hurt. Let's say; I will try to negotiate something."

 **[Message]:** "That's all I asked. Ainz-san, don't let the last remnants of your humanity fade away! Or, you will truly become a monster."

 **[Message]:** "I am undead, I concern myself not with such measly things. My main concern is efficiency and the preservation of my friend's legacy."

 **[Message]:** "Then you are truly lost."

 **[Message]:** "Duly noted…"

The conversation went with light speed; thus, with the exception of Ainz and Elysia, neither parties recognised anything from it.

Seeing Ainz's absolute authority over the kitsune made Eostre think in a better light about Ainz.

 _"Such charismatic pressure… he is indeed worthy of his title."_

Had Ainz not practiced for hours when he had gained his role, he would be unable to know what to do with the situation. But since he had come to be like this, his daily practice had paid out handsomely.

"With one condition, I'll hand her judgement over you and your people."

"Tell us…"

"Accept the offer and subject your people to me. Or leave the borders of my vassals, or risk to be forcefully expelled."

With a tilted head, Eostre was on to open her mouth and speak, just for the opening of the tent flaps to disturb her monologue.

"Chieftain! My queen!" In the next moment, Elise burst into the tent.

"What's the meaning of this, royal guard, Elise? Why do you disturb our meeting, when I directly ordered to not disturb us under no circumstances."

"It is urgent information about the former queen and her betrayal."

Eostre raised her brow, turning towards the bodyguards, then against Ainz. "Your majesty, representative Elysia, if you'll forgive me for a moment."

"Of course…" Ainz waved her away, and the queen left. But before that, she ordered a break. Thus, the guards led the duo and motioned them towards the guest tent where a sumptuous feast and a nice furniture environment waited for them.

"Sigh…" Elysia sighed looking around. Her double coloured eyes were glittering with doubt.

"Strange…" Ainz muttered, sitting in the lavish chair the tribe had prepared him, caressing the chin of his mask.

"What?" asked the kitsune queen suddenly, "Momon" serving her some refreshment.

"According to the reports, and what Tyuule said to us, her tribe was completely scattered and massacred after Zorzal and his forces beat them. How can they be so organised? How can it be that so many survivors managed to gather?"

Elysia pondered, looking at the ground and playing with her drink. "Well, it has been a few years already. Maybe they just organised, and their people united for a common goal. You know, even under a few years whole cities had been built on Earth back in the 19-20th century."

"That is a little overestimating," pointed out Ainz.

"You know what I meant," the eight-tailed kitsune frowned. "With teamwork, everything is easier."

"Even so, all that armour, all that money to build this big camp, inviting back all those people, a lesser army worth of Voralden mercenaries patroling around…" Doubt started to rise in his frozen heart.

From the information Ainz had gathered under their invasion, Voralden mercenaries could be the best you could find, but they were freaking expensive.

After Zorzal most likely robbed their wealth, enslaved, or killed every warrior bunny he could find, the survivors couldn't possibly hoard enough to pay for all of this. They also had gathered so fast — no matter the prolific nature of the warrior bunnies, producing and raising offsprings in this rate was impossible.

"Maybe they just hid some of their wealth. Many tribes in the past did that, amongst them, "my" people. I clearly remember once an elder telling me about a similar case. Also, considering the warrior bunnies' kingdom was only namely one, in truth it was many smaller tribes continually warring with each other, only having a loose connection by their queen — it is not surprising," theorized Elysia, having read previously the history of these people.

"I remember the story as well. But it was almost half a century they gathered once again. Not just barely a few years like the warrior bunnies did so."

"You are too suspicious Ainz-san."

"Maybe…" Ainz hummed, looking towards Elysia. "But this is what kept me alive… or, rather unalive under my stay. I am paranoid for a reason."

"Tch…" Elysia snorted amusedly. "Yet, your paranoia cannot compare to your friend's. She even checks every shadow around her doubly when she goes on the toilet."

"Fufufu…" Ainz chuckled, remembering how paranoid Esdeath was, how much precautions she always took before every act of hers. Even if she carefully concealed it with seemingly meaningless acts, or hiding under the concealment of insanity. "That… I cannot deny."

"So… what do you think? Somebody sponsoring them? I heard Demiurge sent further reinforcements towards this border. As you know, your new vassal, the Saderan Empire is nearly not in the shape to fight off an attack. Not speaking about the surrounding kingdoms have also mobilized, bearing their teeth on the treasure trove that is the Empire's former provinces. I heard they are quite rich. Perfect targets for them to attack. Being we also need to keep on check the JSDF and the continuously streaming NATO forces, I fear we will stretch too thin."

"I have considered this situation. And came to the same conclusion. These suddenly appeared settlements and the kingdoms' mobilization nearby is quite troublesome. With our conquest in our own world, I fear we need to draw the line of how far we can stretch. How much we will be willing to sacrifice for this new world."

"Can't you use your power? Any of you to keep the balance?" she asked suddenly, eyeing Ainz for a moment.

"It would be too early to reveal a trump card just now. There are forces in this world, I feel it, primordial forces a simple being cannot even comprehend. It is too early to act rashly…"

"You speak about the celestial beings? Those so-called gods that rule over this plane, no?" she inquired, yet, Ainz only answered first with a dubious hum, considering his answer carefully. She had seen him contemplate like that many times. And it often led to a confusing conclusion.

"One might think, yes. But in truth, in the galactic scale, they are just the local governors of the place. Their influence only extends on this world. You can call them a small fish if you like that better."

"Small fish…" Elysia snorted unamused. "They are close to level 100; some may even reach it. How can you call them small fish?"

"Small fish, because according to the celestial rank system, they are quite weak."

"Celestial rank system?" Elysia asked baffled, unable to decide what Ainz meant.

"Let me explain." With a raised a finger, Ainz started his explanation.

As he elucidated, the Celestial level system — he and his friend had set up under their travels in other realms — deduced celestial, and other beings' influence and power over the laws of nature and forces according to a ten-level scale.

The higher the rank was, the more power and influence the being possessed, and the more laws they were able to influence, control or create. How much, how widespread they could control the world around themselves in other words.

Either in the bounds of the same universe, location, or parallel universes out of their own. Even going that far to set new laws in, or outside of their own domain.

Laws, such as death, space, time, or even sin, etc. Pillars of the universe and existence, yes, you could call laws that way.

For example, the being who understood and controlled the Law of one of the seven original sins was unable to be erased as long as the concept of that sin existed. They simply reappeared later, born anew from the very idea itself. In that case, you could kill the person, but one's idea was a lot harder to erase completely.

"And how high you place us? And the guardians?" Elysia inquired, watching Momonga with interest and suspicion.

"According to the scale, after we used our power to give them levels and ranks, most Floor Guardians are around rank two, or halfway rank three, Rubedo being Rank 3, well, almost. She edges near the bottleneck that separates the two ranks. Before that, only Rubedo was above rank one. You need to understand, level deduction introduced by YGGDRASIL standards not really comparable the rank system. Even a being with less than fifty levels can be rank 2 or 3, true, after a certain rank, level also plays an important factor as vitality is necessary to advance…Still, it is all about influence, control and creation above all."

Ainz summed and Elysia gaped in disbelief. "That's…"

"The gods of this world are around 1.5-2, maybe a little higher, of course, only in their own plane and domain where their own laws rule. Even the strongest, are definitely not reaching the third rank. Outside of that, in the physical plane, even possessing a suitable body they reach only rank 1. That means, even if we fight against them on their own plane, victory is possible."

"What!?" her eyes widened baffled, unable to comprehend how godly existences like floor guardians measured so low. _"If that's true then…"_

"You spoke about that strange being you and Esdeath encountered on Earth before it was restored. It called itself some kind of "architect"."

"Ah, yes…" Ainz hummed, remembering the strange boy. "He was crucially weakened, almost falling below rank 5. But how strong it can exactly get or originally was, I have no idea; I can only guess."

Elysia just gulped, remembering what her friend had told her about the events that happened on Earth. How quickly that boy restored the whole planet with just a wave of its hand.

"I assume there is a huge power gap between ranks," she nibbled on some snacks, looking worried. It could not be helped; she always ate when she was worried. But strangely, under the past weeks her appetite had grown considerably.

"Oh, yes there is. Each rank can be broken down by sub-levels of development. And before each rank-up, there is a huge bottleneck to be conquered. So much, some people are unable to conquer it under their whole existence and are stuck in that certain rank forever."

"Ah… I see… I wonder how strong the two of you are. You said previously you became stronger, finding some way to remove the level limiter a normal player has."

"Fufufufu… certainly." With a hum, Ainz looked at Momon, nodding, and with a bow, the black-clad warrior left.

After a few seconds, Elysia became impatient. "So, what is your rank, if I may ask? Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!" Like a giddy kid watching her uncle, she jumped up and down.

"Kukuku… care to guess?"

"Tch! don't ask me; it is your system."

"Spoilsport…" Ainz looked away with gloom, watching the plentiful of food settling not far from him, supporting his chin with his gloved fist.

In truth, he wore a mask and covered his bony parts not to terrify others. He was well aware of how his appearance made others react who had never met him before. True, he could use illusions to cover it all. But he never liked that, it just made him feel like there was nothing there.

"And you are just like your friend. Childish, even after 200 years…"

 _"It was way more than that…"_ Ainz sighed inwardly.

Seeing his unwillingness to share more information, Elysia sat down on a seat not far from him. "I assume you heard about what happened with Emperor Molt."

"Yeah… unfortunate," he said dismissing.

"Also, the investigation found several suspects. Amongst them, your son, Beelzebub is being suspected."

"I heard it… so what?"

"So what!?" she almost shouted, her eyes gouging Ainz ever intensely.

"He is your first son! And he is the most likely suspect of the crime! I think you are well aware of what happens with those who kill your local governors or the monarchs ruling in your name over the area. It is a law you brought to life, after all."

"Sigh… I am well aware of it. But the clues, as well the interrogations are pointing towards a few suspects, amongst them, Beelzebub."

"You know very well. This is an obvious ploy to weaken your family and maybe, the preparations for something bigger. Considering the appearance of the beastmen and different people on the borders, considering the surrounding kingdoms ready to attack at any moment, the NATO mobilizing, sending more and more forces in the area. I don't like this at all."

"I am well aware, my most trusted agents are already on to investigate the situation. As for Beelzebub, it will be a good lesson for him. He is a sharp kid, and maybe he looks quite chivalrous and knightly on the outside. But, deep inside, he is like his mother, tenacious and tactful, with the potential to surpass even her, and Demiurge. Some may call him a monster if they really know his real self. Just like his mother, the outer appearance is just an illusion for the show. His real self lays dormant under the tempting flesh."

"Your family is sick…" Elysia beamed coquettish, playing with her wine.

"Wine is not good for the kids…" Ainz pointed out, deep inside grinning amused.

"What? I'm not pregnant, am I ?"

"How should I know…?"

"You are the worst."

"I know… but back to the topic. It will be a good lesson for the kid, do not be overconfident. Even the most sudden obstacle can push one down from the top. Practice and real situation play is the best teacher."

"Still, you could have helped him out."

"How should I?"

"You are the king. Your kingdom spans over multiple continents, ruling over billions of subjects — Or who knows how more. You are the central figure of that glorified religion thingy. You do whatever you fucking wish in your kingdom. Make new laws out of nowhere. Execute a whole country worth of people because your dream was unpleasant."

"I don't sleep…" Ainz pointed out sarcastically, making Elysia even more pissed.

"Whatever, don't interrupt me." With a growl, the aura of danger surrounded her.

Yes, she hadn't changed since her arrival 200 years ago. Just as persistent to do what was good for the people — even if it went against logic, and him. True, since she became a queen, Elysia had matured considerably, yet, her nature remained the same.

 _"It is a real pity she can't shed that thick skin of hers. Still, it is what makes her a reliable person. To be a good ruler, one certainly needs people like her."_

"Well then…" with a quick motion, Elysia crossed her hands under her breasts.

"Well…"

"Care to tell why not help the poor kid?"

"Who said I did not help him?" Ainz chuckled gleefully. "You know. A king, however he wishes, can't act according to one person's wishes. A king needs to think and consider the whole picture. Kukuku…" with a confusing chuckle, Elysia was not even able to retort, as in the next moment a voice resounded, entering the tent.

"Your majesty, Queen Elysia. We are ready to continue the discussion, as well, the former queen has prepared for her trial."

"It is time to go then…"

"What do you mean? You helped him?"

Walking towards the entrance, Ainz gave her a last look. "You will know when the time comes. The cake never lies, the wine never turns to water."

She just stood flabbergasted for a moment. Ainz left the tent, and her mouth flashed in a smile. "You old, tricky, bastard…" With a smirk, Elysia celebrated her victory. The fact she had managed to sweeten the cold heart of the old Sorcerer King.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Nazarick: Fifth floor: Frozen prison:**

A damp cell. Stinky, dark, wet, unlit. The walls and the bars were made from the strange material. Material made to restrain strong beings with vast potential.

At least, that's how a cell with usual proportions looked like in almost all parts of the world.

The cells in the current place looked dry, icy, and blue with way below the positive degrees of the Celsius meter. Though, it was how a usual cell looked if we spoke about the Frozen Prison of the fifth floor, where usually the dangerous captives of Nazarick were being kept — even dark if you asked a few people.

One cell differed from this. In the deepest part of the Frozen Prison, a strange individual sat on his throne. Behind the sturdy alloy door, behind the multiple force fields isolating the prisoner, and the wards drawn on the walls, floor and ceiling to keep it at bay, a lustrous, royally furnished room settled.

With all the comforts and necessities befit to a royal heir. A small table with fine wine, some cake on it positioned. A comfortable bed and a chair where the resident could read. There was even a shelf worth of books to read for the prisoner.

And yet, this was quite a lousy treatment if we consider who the current denizen of the cell was.

"…"

Resting his head on the backside of his comfortable armchair, the resident of the place opened his eyes, watching the person standing before him.

"Son…"

Quoted the beautiful woman waiting in the doorstep of the open, alloy cell door. Her body was wrapped in a full dress, raven black just like her hair, her pale, but pristine skin giving her beauty a new meaning, even in the temperature way below zero.

"Mother…"

The resident bowed his head in respect, his raven black hair falling forward for a moment, covering his face, which was filled with shame.

"I came as soon as I could. How did this happen?"

Compared to the situation, his mother was quite calm, preserving her poker face even in this situation. But it was not surprising, the first prince knew her as such a person. Always keeping her emotions in line, always considering her duty above all. Serving his father before anything else, even if it came to him, her husband was a priority above all.

"Please tell me everything…"

Her eyes fluttered, giving her descendant a proper, motherly gaze.

"Are you all right? You got everything you needed? Do you lack anything?"

The boy remained silent in the dim room, resting his head on the pillow part of his chair.

Being a demon/undead hybrid, he did not need any light to see perfectly clear. And being such a creature, residing in the dark was much more comfortable for him.

Watching the layered force field separating him from his mother, he was aware, doors in this place only served to provide the false feeling of privacy. In truth, they were utterly meaningless; if the wards and magically created force fields were unable to contain the prisoner, a single alloy door could hardly do it.

After the prisoner broke free, it was up to the numerous patrolling guard squads to stop the loose captives.

"Sah…" a tired sight left his mouth, closing his book with a thud. "You should know. After all, it was you who arranged for my stay here. Without your instrumental intervention, Aunt's wardens would have long ago put me into one of father's Tesseract prisons, leaving me shackled from tip to toe with suppressor seals, imprisoned in the dark in one of those maximum security places."

Beelzebub chuckled gently, remembering what he had heard about the prisons the Sorcerous King and his Chief Enforcer jailed — world-threatening hazards. Menaces, according to them, even the frozen prison could hardly contain.

"Sigh…"

Naturally, no one knew where these complexes were located. Some said they were in a dessert; some mentioned a cold place. Some even guessed, the said Tesseract prisons did not even settled in this plane but always changed position, teleported according to a pattern. Many guesses, many theories, most likely neither of them were correct, or all of them at once…

"Because of that, I thank you…"

"Umu…" An acknowledging bow, Albedo only gave that much to her son hearing him out. "It is the least. You are my son after all. I can't just let those "barbarians" close you in that place, and drag you away based on some accusation!"

Albedo glared at one of the beings standing guard near the door, in return, without hesitation they eyed her with the dimming light intensifying in their sockets.

 **"Grrr…"**

Indeed. The two dreadful beings standing guard before the cell were the cream of the top. The Elite Prison wardens of the Sorcerous King, their double coloured eyes dimming up in gold and negative violet. Without rest, without emotion, without any regret. Unexhausted, incapable of sympathy. The two wardens glared at Albedo, caring not about her position of the crown queen.

These elite wardens of the Sorcerous King were not alive, but neither dead. Their bodies were covered by a scaled ebony armour, dimly lit by violet and holy light filtering from the brands. The wings protruding behind their backs were made from bones, lightly armoured and bladed. Only a slight membrane of skin and a few charred feathers remained on them, signing their heritage before becoming what they were now. From the sockets of the demonic skull, dualistic light lit. One was golden; the other was violet.

"Leave us… I want to converse with my son."

Albedo ordered, but the beings moved not.

"I said, leave…" her eyes squinted threatening, but instead of moving, one of the creatures defied her.

 **"Even if you are the crown queen, you do not have the authority to remain with the prisoner alone. Nor to order us. Only the chief warden and the two Supreme Beings possess the authority to do so."**

Even knowing this for a long time, an ire started to rise in Albedo's bowels, reaching the point where her face flustered slightly with anger.

She was aware of why her husband had ordered and introduced such secrecy and precautions when it came to "Who can order" the Elite wardens of his. Even so, the succubus felt humiliated by the fact that she, the Guardian overseer of the Great Tomb, the Crown Queen was refused by mere creatures, mere summons like these "things."

Only the Chief Warden of the Tesseract Prison System, her husband, and the Chief Enforcer had the authority to order the creatures. And even with all her authority, she lacked the jurisdiction to order them. She lacked the power to do anything. The most she could do was…

"Tch… fine then."

With a move, her slender hand disappeared in the blackness, and pulling it back, a badge of authority appeared on it.

It was a bland badge with no distinct quality, only the dark power and the counterfeit ID it radiated made it differ from other such stones.

 **"I see…"** nodded one of the creatures. **"You have five minutes. Not more, not less."**

Even with the badge, her husband bestowed her, she could do only that much. Turning away, the creatures walked farther, giving the two some privacy.

"Finally…" she spat, gritting her teeth.

"Mother…" Beelzebub's eyes blazed for a moment before turning. "Please, calm down. We don't have much time to speak."

"I know…" Albedo turned her head flustered. "Yet, despite all of this. I am unable to understand."

'Thud!'

The sturdy enchanted walls cracked under Albedo's fist. Looking down, her face was filled with anger.

"Who dares to divert the suspicion to you!? WHO DARES TO ACT AGAINST MY FAMILY…?!"

Seeing her, it was scarce to see his mother like this. When she really showed her demonic side. All that hatred, all that primordial infernal wrath her nature contained. Even under his life, it had happened less time than he could count on his one hand.

"Those despicable Secession supporters amidst the ranks of the nobles. The Empire itself? No that makes no sense. They would never dare, neither have the method to do so. They are under complete surveillance."

She pondered on further options, her eyes moving rapidly, watching the ground intensely.

"The Supreme Being, that damnable bitch playing her senseless games once again? That despicable child…" her eyes widened in realisation, one more option coming in her mind in the next moment. "That brat…" she spat it with a disgust filled expression. "I knew she wanted the throne for her daughter… but this…"

"Sigh…" Beelzebub just sighed, shaking his head and drinking his wine.

"Mother, I know what you think about Shalltear Okaasama, and Eleanor, but this…"

Albedo stopped for a moment, turning her head to Beelzebub meanwhile still nibbling on her index. Her expression was turning serious. "I never said I meant them… Are these children coming up with such a scheme? Hah!"

She couldn't help but laugh. The two scheming against her son? They!? Don't make her laugh! She had planned their every step even before they could come up with it. She had prepared a plan for their every action. There was no way they could outsmart her.

The two vampiresses might have thought they were schemers, but in her eyes, they were far from that. In Albedo's eyes, those two were nothing more than children playing their childish Sudoku game. It was like this when the Supreme Ones created them, and it was like this since her daughter had been born.

 _"Teaching your daughter that way just makes her weaker…"_

"Also, please, refrain from speaking that way for Aunt… even if you are the crown queen, you need to give respect to a Supreme Being. No matter how much you don't like her childish nature."

It was like biting a sour lemon, but the succubus accepted the reasoning.

"Yes, you are right. It is unsightly…"

Beelzebub's eyes flashed in the dark. He had never seen his mother so distressed. Her form, her peerless charm had started to shatter, barely able to contain her real intentions.

"What about father? What does he think about this?"

Coming back to reality, Albedo turned to him. "Unfortunately, he didn't yet have time to see you. He is very busy as you know. Leading a kingdom that spans across multiple continents, and leading the negotiations on the other side can be cumbersome. Even if it's shameful, it is cumbersome, even for a Supreme Being."

"I see… I am sure he will come personally when his time allows it."

"Certainly." Albedo obliged.

"Have you met anyone since your stay here?"

"Demiurge and my sisters were here previously. As well Neuronist-san visited me, giving me her regards…"

"That pumpkin bitch…" she resounded her opinion about Neuronist Painkill. She never liked that bloated creature.

Beelzebub just exhaled tired, continuing.

"As usual, Eleanor laughed at my misfortune and taunted me how I am even unable to counterfeit such a laughable accusation. Serene and Demiurge swore they would find the person accountable for this outrage. As usual, they were always like that. As for Aunt, hah…" Beelzebub looked into the far, smiling.

"What about her? What has this child done?"

Beelzebub grinning looked back at Albedo. "She sent me a cake baked by her, oh, and of course, Eleanor left her favourite brand of wine here." Eating a slice from the slightly burnt cake, Beelzebub imitated a sour expression. "It is horrible, by the way, as usual," then sipped from the delicious wine.

Albedo's eyes widened out of shock, rattling her teeth in rage.

"That bitch… that damnable kid! How dare she mock my family!?"

"Ara! Ara!" Beelzebub raised his finger lecturing. It seemed he took this situation too easily. And Albedo suspected why. "Even if you don't like her, she is still a Supreme Being. Speak about her like that, and assassins may target you. You know whom I am speaking about…"

"I know… still…" Albedo looked at the side. "I know, Ainz-sama's law states, anyone who kills or attempts an assassination on his vassal representative who rules the foreign region in his name will immediately be confiscated, if deemed guilty, their soul will be stripped and tortured for thousands of years until nothing remains from it. But his own son…" biting her lower lip hard, some blood sprouted. "This is still shocking. I would have never thought this day would come."

"Hah…" Beelzebub looked at the side, supporting his head. "Father decreeded this. Even if he is a Supreme Being, retreating from his own word will make him the subject of laughing stock. I hope you know what that means, mother."

"Instability…" she whispered with squinted eyes, hatred and fear filling her golden balls continuously. "The seeds of rebellion in the vassal continents will rise once more. The seeds "we" extinguished with sweat and blood, solidifying the "one's" rule. We can't let this rebellion disturb Ainz-sama's cherished peace once more. Sacrilegious!"

"Exactly," Beelzebub nodded wisely. "It would be really unfavourable under the current political pressure and conquest. It might even require father or even Aunt to come back and solidify the peace once more with their presence. Or better said, I don't have to remind you what happens if father once decides to send his Chief Enforcer to take care of the rebellious elements."

Albedo twitched. "I have no qualms against her methods. It might cause some political ruckus and uproar, but who would dare to go against a Supreme Being's judgement? Moreover, if another one supports it."

"Shaaa…" the first prince shook his head. "I know mother; you think everything father rules are his puppets, those, as the crown queen, you have the authority to rule over and do as you wish, thinking of them as simple possessions."

"They are the Sorcerer King's property," she answered level headed and strict, a cold expression returning to her face. "Leaving them alive was a gift itself. Living such a prosperous life under his rule is a favour provided by his majesty. It is nothing more than Ainz-sama's magnanimous self, an act of kindness of the one above all provided."

"Shaa…" Beelzebub sighed once more, shaking his head.

Being his mother outside of the necessary interactions did not really make contact with simple people — and even then was just to gain political advantage for her husband, using her "fake" smile and persona — she couldn't really understand the real feelings of the people outside. He actually accepted his mother like that, and his father had already explained she was created this way. Still, Beelzebub just couldn't seem to get used to it.

"Mother, you can't treat everyone like tools. They are more than that."

"I know it very well," she brushed aside the lecture. "Don't forget, I taught you everything you know."

"Thank you for reminding me," Beelzebub growled sourly, remembering the harsh lessons that served as the building of his carrier and his image as the first son of the Sorcerous King. But after this, his face became concerned.

"Still, with the appearance of Ulbert-sama, the instability can grow anew. It can even lead to a new civil war. You spoke about it, mother, when I was little. Remember? The time when I was not even born. You experienced it firsthand. It can come again if we let the reins slip out of hand."

"I will not allow that! I'd rather die than let anyone else rule outside my Ainz-sama! And you, of course… my dear child…" her oculars softened in the end, shining with motherly love under watching her own descendant with adoration-filled eyes.

"I am aware you think this way. Even so, things are concerning me. This is just too much of a coincidence. The assassination attempts of Emperor Molt, the demi-humans father left to investigate. The fact the real assassin was trying to put the blame of all people to me! I don't like it." Biting his finger, the raven head first prince started to mumble, cracking the arm of his chair.

"As I said, I know, it is a scheme…" Albedo's eyes flashed for a moment with a level-headed gaze. "I will do anything to expose it, but even with my position…" with clenching fists, the gritting of her teeth was clearly audible. "I am powerless…"

"Better said, because of your position, our position, we are powerless," Beelzebub corrected her.

"From time to time, the more powerful you are, the more powerless you become when it comes to an unknown situation. And now, currently, you can't do anything that can change my situation. Even asking father to make an exception is meaningless, as it will only make him a laughing stock if he goes against his own rules."

"You say then…" her blood froze for a moment, unable to believe what he had just proposed. "To leave you, my own son in the death row!? Just like that!? You know what happens with you and the other suspects if they don't find anyone else, don't you?"

Albedo remembered the few unfortunate victims that had plotted assassinations or assassinated the Sorcerous King's local peacekeepers only to disturb the peace or tried to break the power balance.

All of them without exception were captured. Their soul was extracted in the most painful way — slowly — then even in death, the torture continued until the spirit completely disappeared. Or turned into a vengeful spirit, which afterwards was either used for experiments or annihilated without a trace. Demon, human, or any other race… it did not matter. Anyone who rose against the Sorcerous King and threatened his power was annihilated mercilessly.

And being Molt was the local governor of Ainz himself, ruling the Saderan Empire in his name, an assassination attempt against him counted as a grave crime against the Sorcerous King and his domain itself.

"By the way, how is Piña? Is she… alright?"

Albedo's concerned gaze was disturbed, turning disgusted hearing the name of that woman.

"Why do you care about that girl? She is just a human…" With a frown on her face, Albedo deeply despised the growing relationship between that despicable girl and her son. True, it could be handy if the two conducted a political marriage. But with a lowly human? Even the presumption was ridiculous! Her son? With a human…? Don't make her laugh!

"Disgusting…" she muttered.

Though she thought Beelzebub did not hear her, he glimpsed what she had whispered. And it filled his heart with a mild sadness.

"…"watching his mother, Albedo just frowned.

"According to my information, she is quite depressed since that night. And out of the growing responsibilities on her shoulders, this pressure will only grow on. It might even come to that her mind will break down. Currently, she hardly responds to our inquiry. The whole empire is in chaos since that damned puppet emperor fell in a coma. Torn between the loyalists — who blame us for their loss and their Emperor being on the verge of death — thus refuse to cooperate. The faction who wants to barter out the help of the JSDF and Earth — and the ones who wish to cooperate with us in the closing crisis. You don't have to guess, after their Emperor's assassination attempt was blamed on you, our support drastically dropped amongst the rank of the Senators. And without the support of the nobility…"

"… The only way to keep order and avoid civil war in the Empire is actually enforcing our rule by leaving a big amount of force there — spying on people like a true tyrant," Beelzebub finished his mother's sentence, who responded with an uneasy nod.

"We might be able do that. And the common folk show more and more support towards Ainz-sama, rightly worshipping him as a god. Thinking of him as the only choice who can save them from the "Demon Emperor". But without the support of the Senators, the nobles and their standing armies, and the connection backing them, relying only on our own strength to not only sustain Ainz-sama's kingdom but enforce our rule and keep the order over a widespread power like the Empire is just too costly, it just…" she clicked her tongue annoyed. "It is hard to admit, but even with the kingdom's wealth, it is not worth it. It would be easier to kill every native there, then colonize the area with our own citizens. That would solve all of our problems in one go."

"You know the gods of that side would not allow that," Beelzebub snorted, remembering the reports about the deities of that world and the worship people followed there.

"Meaningless…" Albedo waved away his concern. "We already have countermeasures against them. If the time comes, and they are not willing to submit themselves to our rule, they will be collected as Ainz and Esdeath-sama ordered so. There will be not a problem with that."

"I see then…" Beelzebub hummed. "What about the Emperor? Will he survive?"

"We dispatched our best healers for him. Of course, not from Nazarick. A lowly human, even if he is Ainz-sama's local governor, deserves no such treatment. If Ainz-sama orders so, we will of course send our best, just as natural. But as he has not order to do so, we only sent the best available and not from Nazarick."

"I see… so Molt is a short time investment then."

Albedo hummed, knowing what her son meant. "Yes. Even if he dies, we already have his replacement. Maximum sending a "puppet" doppelganger to act as a replacement will do for a while. Acting as Molt has recovered miraculously."

"You really are cold-hearted, Mother…"

"No… I am just considering what is the best for the kingdom, for Nazarick, for Ainz-sama, and of course, for you, my dear son… I will make sure, when the time comes, you can take your father's throne, as intended."

"Hmm…" he smiled calculative. "As if, you know it very well. Despite what he said, both he and Aunt like fair games. It will not be that easy. Besides that, I heard in many regions they prefer Aunt instead of father, worshipping her more than father… what do you say about that? Some news also say a few people prefer her instead of our king. Also, never underestimate Serene and Eleanor. Their mothers are quite persistent, and popular among the people. It might come to that our small race for the throne will be cut short by either of them."

"Despicable people…" Albedo spat. "Even if it's true, it is a minority, and can be silenced easily. Just let me handle those brats. Okaasama will take care of everything," she beamed a loving, sweet smile before continuing.

"As for the Supreme Being, not like she wants to rule anything. She is like a child, wandering around, playing those stupid games. Don't forget why she is called the "Bloody Fist of the Sorcerer King", "Angel of Death", "Impaler" the "God of Massacre", "Great Joker" and several other distastefull titles. She neither has the mindset, nor the will to rule over things. Esdeath-sama is just a brute."

"Oh, but out of her unwillingness, this minority grows ever intensely. Day by day, year by year. The time will come when they will want a change of rule. When they'll want an Empress, instead of a King. No one can rule forever, mother; this is the law of the world," Beelzebub said so, looking at the dark corner of his room.

"Then I will change it! I will change this natural law if I have to! Just to provide you, and my beloved the treatment you both deserve!" she waved her hand before her violently, making a wide arc filled with anger.

'Thud-thud-thud!'

A few heavy steps resounded, signing the arrival of the elite wardens.

 **"Time is up, my queen…"**

It sated apathetic, making Albedo frown disgusted, then look back to her son with a soft expression.

"Take care, Beelzebub. Okaasama will make sure everything is set."

"Goodbye, Mother. Take care…"

Placing her hand on the force field for a moment, she said her last goodbye, leaving. After this, the heavy alloy door closed, leaving Beelzebub alone once more.

"Huh… it has come to this…" He raised a small note, reading its contents. "It may come to that; I need to accept the "unexpected" favour… hehe."

His expression softened, reading the paper, amongst the many lines, the next few were only slightly more mysterious than the rest—.

 _'…Don't forget, young one, even the Morning Star falls once, in its place, a radiant moon shines in the breaking dawn. Destined to descend into the dark, dark place. Shed your very being, shed your wings, little one. Only after that, one can find true light. Impenetrable darkness hides it, deep down underground. Help comes from the lowest, most unexpected places. You only need to accept this favour. But be aware, the price you have to pay will be heavy…'_

"You did not win, dear plotter… Beelzebub Ooal Gown cannot be taken down so easily. I swear…" his face hardened once more, wrinkling the small note in his fist, then bursting out in maniacal laughter. "Fufufufu… Hahahahahaha! I will find you, in the name of the Forty One! In the name of my father, Ainz Ooal Gown! I will find you!" His golden eyes flashed with an ominous aura, mixing golden, and negative energy coloured in a violet hue, dancing in an insane, zealous glee.

* * *

 **Near the borders of the Saderan Empire: The main encampment of the newly formed Bunny Warrior kingdom:**

Shackled in the open, the former queen, Tyuule stood before her judges. Not far from her, her cousin Eostre stood before the central place.

The fires blazed in the gentle wind, placed in a formation as their ancients had orchestrated.

This was the ritual of judgement, a crucial rite her tribe practiced since the ancient times.

'Thud! Thud! Thud-Thud! Thud! Tdududududududu! Thud…'

The drums resounded all around, signing the start of the ceremony. Several warriors carried weapons and torches, half-naked, their bodies and faces painted according to the rite.

"For the grace of the ancients, today, we judge the former chieftain and queen of our tribe, Tyuule. Deprived of her title, and the name bestowed to her by the clan. She will subject to our earthly judgement. The judgement of gods, just like the ancients intended so."

"Just like the ancients intended so," came the sentence from every mouth.

"…"

Looking down, Tyuule stood, staring her naked body, only her chains adorning her limbs. Even the painting that previously adorned her face had been washed off. Signing, under the trial, she had no rank, no name. She was just a being who had possibly sinned, waiting for the gods to judge her.

"…"

Her current situation made her remember when Zorzal first stripped her naked, giving her the order to satisfy his needs.

Daring not to oppugn the man, she did so, fearing her people might have been in danger. Only later to realise, it was a meaningless act. All of her sacrifices were for nought, with Zorzal's crime blamed on her.

When she realised the traitorous act, she almost bit down the man part of his when he forced it in her mouth.

 _"Disgusting leech…"_

Watching the ceremony, it finished after a few more similar chants and ordinary rituals, preparing the circle of judgement.

Eostre sitting down signed the start of the real trial.

"Tyuule. You sinned against your people. Despite your queen status, you sold us out, giving us away to our enemy, the Empire. Since then, we struggled, we starved, and our tribe almost disappeared from the face of the earth, leaving nothing behind, just bad memories. Yet, here we are. Established once more, passing judgement upon your soul. Tell us, why did you betray your own people? Why did you throw everything away? Your dignity, your pride as a queen and as a warrior. Tell before the ancients, before the gods. Was it worth it? What can you bring to your defence? What do you think you are?"

The tribe utilised strict rules under the rituals and customs. Going as far as to even punish youngsters that disturbed the tradition with their inappropriate behaviour. Amongst these gatherings, the ceremony of judgement was the strictest with different rules and customs for each case.

"…"

Raising her head, Tyuule looked around, spotting Momon who stood on the sideline, and encouragingly bowing his head.

"I am innocent," she said so confidently, daggering her cousin.

"Innocent you say…" Eostre raised her head accusingly. The crowd started to become rowdy, the noise she chided with a confident shout. "Enough!"

"We will see if you can prove it. Don't forget, lying before mortals is sinful, but can be forgiven. Before the gods' all-seeing gaze, is an unforgivable crime, punishable by the most severe repressions. Not by us, but the demons of Hardy."

"I am willing to prove my innocence."

"So be it. According to the ancient laws, you have the right to do so. But if you fail, if you lie to us, and through us, the ancients and the gods, I don't have to tell you what awaits you."

A resolute expression settled on Tyuule's face. Everyone watched her with solemn spite. Naked, stripped from her title as a queen, her armour, her everything. The only thing remaining was her dignity, and knowledge of her sacrifice.

"…"

Thus, she started her resolute apologia. Going through point by point how she had just protected her tribe, how it was Zorzal who betrayed her and blamed all of it at her.

Momonga just watched her, sighing.

 _"Without clear evidence, she will never be able to prove her innocence,"_ Ainz mused on this, watching Tyuule's clear argument. Yet, the people around just watched her with spite and unwillingness. Unwillingness to accept her innocence, unwillingness to accept her once more after her "betrayal".

After hearing her out, the chieftain called for her people.

"Now, we heard you out, Tyuule. It is time for the judgement. By the grace of the gods, and the ancients, the tribe will decide your fate."

"Death!"

"Torture!"

"Excommunication!"

"Death!"

"Death!"

"Sacrifice her to the ancients' grace!"

"Wash the shame with her blood!"

"…"

One by one, the people shouted their decision, started by their elders, then continued by their lower members.

 _"It cannot be helped. The people around have already made their decision. Even if they believed her innocence, being they are unable to reach Zorzal and punish him, the only scapegoat remaining to hurt is Tyuule. It is truly… a show trial masqueraded as the trial of gods. Only serving the purpose to satisfy their urge to take revenge on someone, to satiate their bloodthirst…"_

Ainz concluded, watching her hard expression.

He could help her of course with simply showing his might. Hell, even Elysia would be enough for that, or even the simple higher doppelgänger masqueraded as Momon to level this entire place.

Yet, he refrained from enforcing his will. In truth, for Ainz it was all the same if it was Tyuule — through these people swearing allegiance to him — or her cousin who currently occupied the post of the chief. The effect was all the same. Naturally, Tyuule was the preferred choice due she was doubly loyal to him thanks to Momon and his intervention by giving her shelter.

But doing it through sheer force, or merely brainwashing these people was simply dull and could come with adverse effects later.

"…"

Brainwashing, manipulating people's memories was a dangerous game. Even for a being like Ainz. Not for himself, but the person who's memories he messed with.

Enforcing his rule came with the risk they would rebel against him in the worst situation. Just like history had showed, tyrants imposing their rule by sheer brutality were short lived.

Naturally, being it was a trial conducted by the tribe, showcased before the gods, even as a king, he had no authority to do anything. True, Ainz was an existence above gods in his own religion — for his distaste — yet, these people neither knew nor acknowledged his kingdom's religion as their own.

The maximum either Elysia, or he could do was to vouch for her innocence, that, as their outsider status warranted, the people of the tribe would most likely ignore.

"Anything else to add, Tyuule?" Eostre asked eyeing her with a cold expression.

"Yes…" she muttered.

"Let's hear it, even as a traitor, we respect your last words. Your last wishes."

"I wish to confess!" she shouted over the crowd. "I wish to confess."

The crowd chatter died down. Ainz was fondling his chin with an intrigued expression.

"Ainz-san, what is she up to?"

Ainz only answered Elysia's inquire with a low crackle. "Whatever it is, it will be entertaining."

Eostre regarded Tyuule for a beat. Tyuule looked up at the elders and the queen.

"You wish to confess?"

Tyuule gazed out at the crowd, who were taking such pleasure in her destruction. Then, she started her confession, her most likely last speech.

"I saved you. I saved all of you! I saved my people and all your worthless lives! I sacrificed myself just to let you remain alive! I should have let Zorzal kill you all without condition, then reap all the benefits without going through that hell—"

Once again, the crowd started to hurdle, speaking about how she dared to go against them.

"If this is your confession…" Eostre raised her hand, but Tyuule continued, turning her face to the queen.

"Yes, I'm guilty. Guilty! Is that what you want to hear?"

"You admit you betrayed your people? To give them on the hands of the Imperials?"

"No, of that I'm innocent. I am guilty of a far more monstrous crime. I am guilty of being a person who cared about her people!"

"Your achievements and the current state of the tribe shows a different result."

"That may be. But it is still the truth. I've been on trial for that my entire life. Carrying the burden of the ruler, caring about my people too much. Unable to recognise they cared for me not under all that time! Willing to give myself to that beast, just to save you all!"

"Have you nothing to say in your defence?" Eostre's expression was still cold, having already decided what to do with Tyuule.

"Nothing but this: I did not do it. I did not betray and sold out my tribe for Zorzal."

She turned from her cousin to the surrounding people.

"I did not sell you out, but I wish that I had. After all that I did, all that I sacrificed for you. You treat me like this. A traitor, trash! Seeing after all of this, it worth notch. Seeing you all die would have given me more relief than seeing the death of Zorzal a thousand times!"

The elders and the crowd never hated Tyuule more than in this moment, yet, Eostre's expression was ice hard, showing no emotion at all.

She turned from her and looked out at the crowd of nobles.

"I wish I was the monster you think I am. I wish I had enough poison for the whole pack of you. I would gladly give my life to watch you all swallow it."

The uproar from the crowd started, spitting in her direction. "Killer!" "Monster!" "Whore!"

Eostre sighed disappointed, waving towards the guard force. "Escort the prisoner back to her cell; we will decide her fate soon."

"I will not give my life for you, Zorzal, or anyone else. After I regained my freedom, I refuse to do so! And I know I'll get no justice here, so I will let the gods decide my fate." (beat) "As the former queen of the tribe, I demand a trial by combat!"

The roar of the crowd was deafening. Elise could only sigh, shaking her head.

Ainz watched the scene intrigued, and Elysia could only bite her lips. "Her chances are slim… I suppose…"

As for Eostre: she stared straight ahead, apathetic, without any expression. Yet, a strange tingle of sadness vibrated in her eyes.

Tyuule, defiant, stared right back.

"Hahhh… I feared it would come to this. But so be it," the queen agreed. "As our ancients decreed, you have the right to choose a champion, or you can fight by yourself. The fight will go until death. From now on, you, or your champion have two hours to prepare. No withdrawal from the fight."

With a distinct wave of her wrist, the guards removed the bindings, letting Tyuule return to Ainz's side.

"Use your time well, former queen of the Warrior Bunnies. It may be your last…"

Nodding with a hard expression, Momon offered her some clothes somberly. Plainclothes fit for her current status. Not because he wanted, but because Elise on their side had explained to them the custom.

On the battlefield, there were no queens or simple peasants. There were only warriors.

…

The preparation time went in a flash, and just around twenty minutes separated them from the start of the battle.

"Are you sure it is fine, Tyuule-san?" Elysia asked humbly, looking at the leather armour-clad Tyuule. Several metal plates covered her armguards and shins. "You know, Momon-san and I could be your champion, and I am sure even his majesty would be willing to take the mettle."

With a glance, Momonga nodded. Though it was not in the plan, Elise who accompanied them in their tent explained it was possible for a fellow monarch to challenge the chieftain for the pardon, or the release of the accused, as it was how their ancestors did so. As well, it was possible for the sinner to choose a champion who was willing to fight in his/her stead — without compensation of course. The act had to come from the person's selflessness, not fueled by greed.

"…" Her face was unadorned, wearing no painting, scabbards hanging on her waist. "Thank you very much. But it is not necessary, it is my burden to bear, alone."

Her eyes glinted a dead light, but at once, a firm resolute started to arise in her gullet.

"Esteemed Sorcerer King. Please, can you give us a moment?"

"Of course." Ainz and the rest left, leaving Tyuule and her former bodyguard alone.

"You are stupid…" she heard Elise's words resounding, turning in her direction.

The girl bit her lower lip hard, struggling with herself at the moment she turned her head away. "Just leave, you can just always leave, and never return. You know it very well, who will be your opponent. You have no chance…" one of Elise's eyes watered, unable to bear how Tyuule had thrown her life away.

"If I escape, if I do not take this up now, you know it very well how it will end. They will learn of our past relationship, and the first one who will be executed will be you."

"I don't care! Just leave, you stupid traitor, I don't want to see you…" her voice quieted in the end, making Tyuule sigh hard, standing up and caressing her face.

"You know it very well; I can't, I can't run anymore. If I run now, I feel, it'll worse than dying."

"Then you'll just let me see you die, is that you want!?"

"I-No… of course not. I will see this through. If I am unable, how should I face the Sorcerer King, Lord Momon, everyone who helped me until now? And before all, you?"

"I-I thought you only wanted vengeance on Zorzal…" Elise stammered, watching the calm, and beautiful former queen.

"I still plan to enact my wrath on him. But it is secondary now. If our ancestors wills it, he will be dealt with, in time. Now, the only thing that matters is us."

"A-At least you should have accepted the items the Sorcerer King offered. The weapons, that necklace which would warrant your victory."

"You know what I think about such trinkets…" she smiled. "Gods only reward the brave."

"Then…"

"Shhh…" she placed her slender finger on Elise's lips, sealing them. "We have only a few minutes left. Use it for the best." After this, the former queen locked her lips with her former bodyguard.

Not many knew the relationship between the former queen and her bodyguard, less wanted to recognize it as a true rumour. The fact, their queen, participated in such a forbidden relationship, and her sexual preferences were oddity amongst the ruling faction.

…

"Fufufufu…" Ainz crackled, hearing the soft moans from outside, but also making sure no one heard aside of him. Naturally, it might come to that Tyuule died, it was the least he could give her.

"What is that perverted sound once again, Ainz-san, don't say you are peeking!" With a flustered, wrath-filled expression, Elysia glared at the Sorcerous King, questioning him ever intensely.

"Oh, me? Peeking? What are you hypothesizing? That I am a pervert?"

"That's not…"

"Elysia, Elysia… you indeed have a weird fantasy."

"Stupid sack of bones…" she mumbled defeated, inflating her face adorably. The expression Ainz just shook his head amused.

…

Time went like a flash, and Tyuule had already geared up. Standing before the appointed place, Elise's eyes were still red after crying, remembering what Tyuule had said to her.

 _"I only ask you, if I die, forgive my sin, my cluelessness, excessive trust in an empty promise, a promise that brought us all here. I only ask, remember me who I was, not what I had become."_

Watching her standing in the makeshift ring, watching her, and the spiteful kin all around, her heart churned in sadness. She never wanted this; she never wanted her to die. Her words were rash, filled with her own sorrow and grief, her own desperation to see her again.

"I commend your bravery, Tyuule," Eostre said her commend. Clad in her leather armour with armour pads, wearing her two swords on her side, the loli queen of the warrior bunnies offered an impressive sight.

"Umu… I wish we could reunite under better circumstances, Eostre."

"Indeed, but according to the ancient laws, and due to your challenge, today, only one of us will leave the battlefield."

"Umu…"

Eostre looked towards the high elder of the tribe, nodding.

"By the grace of the ancients and the gods looking down upon us today. Two sides will face each other. Nameless, equal, only the gods will decide which side owns the crucible of truth. The preparations have already finished, let the trial by combat begin."

The elder didn't have to say anything more. The two sides immediately unsheathed their double swords, charging with full speed.

'Fush! Fush! Fush! Flash!'

For a normal human, their speed, their agility was abnormal. Just like that, being the finest specimens of their kin brought its result. Their swords clashed, again and again, leaving only clanking sounds behind inside of the boundaries of the ring.

'Clang! Slash!'

 _"Since long ago, people spoke of us warrior bunnies as a cruel, violent, and debauched race."_

Under the fight, Tyuule remembered the past, the present, and the possible future of her tribe, and her people. How they lived all along.

'Clash!'

Her weapon collided with her cousin's, rippling the dust under their feet.

 _"Part of it was true, or, is true even today…"_ Pictures of warrior bunnies of the same kin fighting with each other flashed before her eyes. Remembering how she lived, how her people lived in the past. Remembering the rituals they conducted day by day. Cutting their enemies' heads down, pouring their blood in an urn, then offering it as a sacrifice to their gods.

 _"In the north-eastern plains on the continent where our kingdom stood, every day our tribes would hunt one another. Massacre each other without end, only in the end for the victor to judge the defeated, only in the end to come that our very nature caused our downfall."_

'Clang-clang-clang!'

Multiple cuts adorned the body of both sides after the few minutes long clash, signing the heated battle between the two. Tyuule was right, after all, hers was a warrior society where the strong thrived and gained titles, while the weak perished. Jumping back she charged once more.

"…"

Her opponent might have been physically weaker, but was just as fast, more agile thanks to her tiny, thin frame and extraordinary technique, balancing out all her disadvantages.

Meanwhile, Tyuule also had to balance out her own disadvantageous position, the detriment of lack of practice, lack of battle situation her people found fulfillment. Yes, she lacked all of this under Zorzal's imprisonment. Thus, causing her technique to go slightly rusty.

'Clang!'

Since her capture, since Zorzal enslaved her, she hardly practised, becoming softer under the years, "rusty" one could say. Sluggish compared to Eostre, who in the meantime drilled day after day. Using her time to gather the scattered remains of the various tribes, unite the many small, into one big.

Zorzal might have killed every warrior bunny that did not submit to him, and enslaved who did, but her people were way more scattered than that. Not a single tribe, but many small. Because of this single fact, their survival was guaranteed.

'Clash! Clang!'

Just now, the moments when her tribe fought fiercely flashed before her eyes. Remembering how fiercely the warrior bunnies dominated the men of Empire until the overwhelming, seemingly never-ending flood of humans and orcs overwhelmed her people.

'Slash! Slash!'

Tyuule bore without a sound as the slices reached her, moving forward, fighting ever more fiercely as more and more of her blood poured to the ground.

If nothing else, Zorzal's harsh treatment had made her learn how to bear pain without even giving away a grunt. Concentrate on her task in spite of the pain.

 _"I waited for my supporters to fight, to defeat Zorzal. Yet, those supposedly fierce supports looked slow… from the safety of my position…"_ The pictures of her sitting on her throne, surrounded by her bodyguards flashed before her eyes, remembering her true betrayal.

'Clash! Slash!' blood splattered on the ground.

 _"Driven by fear and anxiety. I claimed to sacrifice myself for my tribe…"_

Though she did not see her face on that time, she felt the same as back then, she remembered what she felt back then. The same facial expression played through her mind. The bitter mask of fear and anxiety.

'Clash! Slash! Clash!'

 _"But in reality, I just escaped the fortress on my own. I… really betrayed everyone. Deluded by my own dread…"_

'Clang! Thud!'

With a loud clang, and a spinning kick, Tyuule pushed down Eostre on the ground.

Though the former queen managed to gain the upper hand, her body now was adorned with stabs and cuts, heavily bleeding.

"Wheeze-wheeze-wheeze…"

Only her spirit kept her alive, kept her standing.

"…"

Pointing her only remained sword against her opponent, her breath became haphazard.

"It seems, I lost…" Eostre turned her head away with a dead expression. "Finish what you started. Then leave. It seems the gods favour you today. From now on, it is up to the next queen, and the elders to preserve our people."

So broken... The girl she remembered had utterly disappeared. Being a monarch was not for everyone, and it seemed, the task had broken Eostre under the way. Or, it was not the task itself what stripped her from her emotions, the cheerful girl she was in the past, but the knowledge of the betrayal her dearest friend had committed.

"I am sorry, I tried to shirk the blame for so long," lowering her blade, Tyuule looked towards her people. "It may be Zorzal who committed the genocide of the tribes, but it was my dread, my fear, my decision to believe his promise. A promise which would have granted you safety, a promise that in the end, gave pace to the genocide conducted on our lands. It was not only me who was betrayed, but all of us. Not only our friends, family, and people who died on that day, but me…"

With a distinct motion, Tyuule raised her blade in a move that was on to behead Eostre. The girl had already closed her eyes, waiting for the end. Just then…

'Thud!'

Opening her eyes, she was still alive, the blade not far from her embedded into the ground, with Tyuule walking towards the edge of the ring, standing not far from it.

"Tyuule is dead; she died long ago. At the moment she gave in to her desperation, she died disgracefully. Long live the new queen… long life Chief Eostre…"

She muttered, but as she was on to walk further, her sense of danger tingled, signing something terrible was about to happen.

Immediately, just as fast as her legs could bring her, an arrow, enchanted with fire and lighting flew towards the still flabbergasted Eostre.

But Tyuule was faster, standing before the thin girl, she was prepared for the piercing feeling.

"I am sorry…"

— But the piercing feeling did not occur. It was odd; she expected her life to end just now.

Looking back, the arrows were completely frozen in the air. Just like time itself had twisted to protect them.

"I expected the assassin to strike, but now… how amateurish," Ainz muttered, lowering his hand.

In the next moment, space cracked and numerous spatial tears appeared, from them a lesser army of dark figures jumping out. Clad in black, the only thing that one could make out was their sickly glowing eyes under the hood. Many appeared on the top of the tents, straining their spatial bows, releasing ethereal arrows.

"Hmm… void assassins?" Ainz raised his brow, swinging his staff that immediately killed the one jumping towards him, disintegrating it in a mild fog under a moment.

 _"Even if they are weak in their current form, they are formidable assassins with huge resistances against domination effects. Only beings above rank two can tame them."_

"Hah, what a joke!" Ainz crackled, signing Momon and Elysia to act. The two immediately jumped, trying their best to protect the innocents.

 _"These void assassins are still in infancy. In another way, in their matured state, they would be on par even with the eight edged assassins, or the Hanzo units. But to attack now? Either something triggered them — maybe the triumph of Tyuule. Or someone is controlling them from a distance."_

'Swing-swing! Swing-swing!'

A tornado of steel, that's how Momon could be described the best. His every move was calculated, swinging his huge swords with great speed and precision, killing multiple opponents at once, but sparing the warrior bunnies and the Voralden mercenaries that did their best to defend themselves, though were crucially outgunned by the creatures.

'Slash! Slash! Slash!' Elysia, like a flash, moved between her enemies, cutting them only once before going onward, dodging every attempt aimed to reach her.

"…"

She saw how those weapons affected living beings. Only one cut and your soul was either sucked away — leaving an empty husk on the ground — or you died in a pitiful way. Cuts many mercenaries had already fallen victim to.

'Ssss!'

She stopped suddenly, the enemy having already surrounded her, jumping in her direction and pushing their weapons forward to her.

She just cut her hand, throwing some blood in the air before chanting her strange magic.

"[Tel'Mer Dreaith Fumlangh]!"

It was a language no one had heard before, but even hearing it filled the people around with the feeling of emptiness. Not bad, or good, just the feeling of void filling the air.

'Boom!'

A wave left her body, disintegrating every attacker reaching her immediate range. Then with a flash, each one of the enemies she had previously cut with her strange, golden handled Mythril dagger, which was decorated with strange void runes, cracked.

"Indeed… that strange, void magic that old witch taught her came handy this time."

"…"

Ainz remembered the woman that taught Elysia that strange magic. Her magic resembled that of the Wild Magic of old, the magic system the Dragon Lords of old used, yet, differed completely. It still possibly originated from the new world, yet, when Elysia met the old witch, only two users existed.

Though Ainz called it void magic as the ability drew the necessary power from the very void itself, it ran under a different name according to the old witch. It was called, Nal'Magi Verdim. Simple people could translate it to Void Magic though…

Strangely, this kind of magic normally did not need a sacrifice or mana points, but to invoke the word of power to draw power from the void.

It might sounded good, too good if you asked him, at first… but of course, everything had a drawback. That being, the higher the level of the chant, the more words it contained. And the highest level of it could not be shortened by pre-emptive chanting or blood sacrifice (like Elysia did when she threw her blood in the air), but required the user to stand still and chant all the words without pause.

This magic system also carried the danger, from time to time it attracted void dwellers, calling them into the plane of existence. Beings possibly dangerous to the user itself.

Under such circumstances, Ainz would rather used tier based abilities which were safer.

"Hah!" Ainz crackled with joy, killing even more enemies with a swing of his staff; it had been since long he could enjoy a fight.

Besides, using his magic against a weak enemy like this was an insult. His physical strength and speed were more than enough to take care of every shadow in the camp.

"Do you think I need magic against you!? Try again!"

With a swipe of his staff, the Overlord beheaded another creature.

 _"The enemy just wants to collect information about me and my power. Using them recklessly will just expose me. Considering my enemy is a being at least rank 3, I need to be careful."_

Rank 3 beings were nothing to Ainz and his friend. With their power, since they had removed the level restriction bottleneck their status as a player warranted, the two continuously accumulated power and advanced, from time to time visiting another world to learn more.

Yet, even an ant could defeat a giant if the giant let itself get stung long enough. Ainz learned that after a huge defeat.

'Smash! Smash! Smash!'

Moving like a flash, Ainz smashed apart every enemy in his way with his staff.

He was well aware, a warrior society like the warrior bunnies usually respected physical strength, but despised magic. Like the trolls in Forest Tob.

The chief of that troll tribe — honestly, he did not bother to remember his name — mocked him due to his long name, and attacked him right away. In the next moment, Ainz used the creature to practice swinging his staff. It was amusing at first, but also sad how easily he defeated a War Troll although he was a magic caster.

"Boring…" he mused dismissing.

The people around gasped how easily he massacred every shadowy being with his great speed and swings. His form and the respect nurtured in his direction was growing ever intense with each fallen enemy.

"Kree!" another being died pitifully.

At first, the people looked in Ainz's direction dubiously, not trusting the magic caster. But seeing how gracefully he moved, and his show of power, saving their people, their friends and relatives, he indeed gained a great amount of recognition that day. Recognition which would spread after the events playing out today, inserting him in many tales and legends in the future.

'Clash! Clash! Clash!'

The battle raged on for a few minutes, but in the end, thanks to him, Momon, and Elysia, the causalities were minimal.

"Ainz-san! I managed to capture a few! We can extract information about who sent them."

"Umu… good." Waving to Elysia, Ainz headed towards the shocked queen who sat in the ground, holding the heavily injured Tyuule.

"How it has come to this…" muttered Eostre, watching her cousin's dying form, holding her head in her lap.

Her eyes were filled with fear, unable to comprehend how this had happened. "They promised… they promised my people would be safe…"

"I can save her…"

Just now, the shadow of death loomed over her, removing his golden mask, revealing his skeletal face and the dreadful flames that flashed in his eyes.

"Of course, it will cost you, Queen Eostre."

Eostre trembled, trembled uncontrollably. Like Ainz's gaze penetrated her very soul.

"We can do this the easy, or the hard way. Tell me, who gave you the monetary support. Who orchestrated all of this…?"

With lowered head, Tyuule's consciousness started to slip moment by moment. The simple cut she had gotten from one of the creatures painted her whole body with festering wounds, producing pus continuously.

"You don't have much time." Ainz looked towards the dead bodies, which already emitted a stomach-churning stench of pus and faeces.

"She has one more minute, if I had to guess…"

A sour realisation dawned on Eostre. Trying to choose between to save her cousin, and to reveal who gave them the money her tribe crucially needed. It was indeed a hard decision.

"In that case…" an ominous aura surrounded Ainz's hand, reaching forward to the queen. Whatever the avatar of death was planning, it would not end well. Not for her, not for her tribe. Even feeling the closing skeletal fingers filled her with hopelessness.

"Wha-Wait!?"

"Oh!" Ainz stopped his hand not, the dread ever closing.

"I-I will tell you everything, please, save her!"

It always amused Ainz how easily tables could turn.

Just before, the waves of hatred, mixed with sadness emitted from the direction of Eostre. But now… care and worry was what Ainz felt from her. And of course, fear.

Naturally, Ainz couldn't say if it is for her own, or Tyuule's life, but she indeed emitted heavy fear signals. So strong if a low-class demon was around which fed on fear, it would have filled its stomach in an instant.

"Very well…"

After this, not much happened, the queen telling Ainz everything he wanted to hear.

The only available option remaining was to salvage the situation. Naturally, most of the remained warrior bunnies swore fealty to him instantly. The rest left to search for a new community.

"Not good…" Ainz muttered, fondling a medal in his hand.

"What do you mean, "not good"?" asked Elysia standing on his side. "Didn't you acquire what you came for?"

"Remember what I said before?"

"What you said? You say many things. As Always…" Seeing her deadpanned expression, Ainz could only sight.

"This was but one tribe gathering on this end. Many more are gathering along the former borders of the Saderan Empire. And being all the previous provinces and vassal kingdoms stated their independence, bearing their teeth against the weakened Empire to enact their revenge. We are in a disadvantage."

"Hmm… it seems so," Elysia mumbled, gazing in the far. "Even with the military might of your kingdom, you don't have enough soldiers and summons to wage war on both sides."

"Umu… someone is pulling strings in the shadows. Firing up the rebellion against the weakened Empire, giving monetary support to the previously beaten demi-human tribes to build themselves up once again, enticing the provinces and previous vassal kingdoms to form an alliance to take back what they lost. And the list goes on…"

"They will be definitely beaten…" nodded Elysia. "But it will be a bloodbath."

"I have no doubts about it. What makes me worry, is the huge invasion force that landed on the wild steppes of the southern parts of the continent. As well the western part is also under threat. The sea of those sides is under blockade. And I fear, the main force of the enemy has not even revealed itself. Demiurge reported not long ago."

"Concerning…" with a hum, Elysia shook her head. "It might come to that, you need to stretch tighter your borders, or the enemy might ooze through the holes. Or even use Floor Guardians to monitor certain areas."

"That's… possible…" Ainz decided sourly.

The emperor poisoned, the gathering of the demi-human tribes on the border. The new union formed from the previous vassal kingdoms and provinces. All pointed towards the long-term preparation of a full scaled invasion. An invasion which would decide who would rule the continent, maybe forever.

Even if Ainz was powerful, using his abilities recklessly would only give the unknown enemy the edge. Usually, in power play who shot first was the side who fell. Naturally, it was only true if the attacked side survived the first engagement with minimal losses. Otherwise, it was a good tactic.

"We don't yet know what will happen, the only thing we know is it will be ugly. It does not help either that in a few days the diplomatic parties will visit the kingdom."

"I don't like it either, but we have already promised that meeting. The only thing we can do is swallow the bitter pill…"

"True… let's hope, nothing happens."

The winds fluttered across the lands, bringing the long-awaited, or dreaded, change in the balance.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Well, that's for now. With this, I have concluded the bunny warrior problem. At least, for a while…**

 **In the next chapter. Trouble in Rondel. What a jealous sister and a careless sage can do with the situation?**

"Oh, my, my, my… this is interesting… how interesting people. Oh! I know the right place! Come, come, please take a seat, everyone. The food here is pretty good, and since the customers are all cute girls, well mostly, it should get even better. The most important thing is — it's cheap!"

Lelei watched Mimoza's careless expression, thinking she looked completely different from the apocalyptic person her master had described her.

"Ma-master!? You're here?"

"Yo! Zeno-kun…" Raidyn raised her hand carelessly, welcoming him. "I am hungry, don't mind to pay for your old teacher's food, do ya?"

Zeno groaned, knowing he would once again go bankrupt if his master started to eat.

"Kukuku… how amusing." Ardyn and Rory eyed each other curiously, measuring each other's capability.

 **What awaits our heroes? You will know next time.**

 **Sorry for the long wait. Life is a bitch… as usual.**

 **With the next chapter, hopefully, I can conclude Rondel. At least, for now... (later the city might play a crucial role. :P)**

 **Then we can proceed with the visit of the Sorcerous Kingdom.**

 **Until that, please bear with me :P**

 **RNR!**

 **Good day! Good night! Sail safe!**

 **PS:**

 **The vote of the new story has finished.**

 **The end results:**

1; Overlord オーバーロード x High School DxD (with OC) 30 25%

2; Naruto x Overlord オーバーロード (either with OC or Momonga) 26 22%

3; Bleach x Overlord オーバーロード18 15%

Diablo x High School DxD 9 7%

Mass Effect reincarnation fic with gamer elements (non-human reincarnation) 9 7%

Naruto OC fic (reincarnation/transmigration/gamer elements) 7 5%

Seriously! Dude! Write an own novel! 5 4%

Diablo x Seven Deadly Sins/七つの大罪4 3%

Fallout/Elder Scrolls series x Re-Zero, Re：ゼロから始める異世界生活 (write in the pm witch one you prefer) 4 3%

Bleach x Seven Deadly Sins/七つの大罪4 3%

Other ideas (write PM with the idea) 2 1%

Unique voters: 66

 **A new vote posted to decide the end result. Please vote if you can!**

 **Okaa-sama=mother**


	28. Rivalry in the City of Wisdom

**Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There**

 **by oblivon2991**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.**

 **I don't own the Overlord(** **オーバーロード** **Ōbārōdo?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **Please review it. I know I will make mistakes that I intend to correct and will try to learn from them and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

* * *

 **Chapter 28: Rivalry in the city of Wisdom.**

Arpeggio El Lelena thumped her magic staff into the ground where she stood, on the eastern side of the road.

Master Kato had once spoken of this 24-year-old woman, saying straight to Lelei's face: _"If I had to mount someone, I'd rather mount someone like your big sister — with her perky boobs, slender waist, and juicy-fruit butt."_ Her sensual curves were immediately apparent even through a layer of clothing, and they drew the eyes of every man in the crowd.

On the west side, with her staff in the ground, was Lelei La Lelena.

If the maturity of their appearances judged this dispute, then it would be very obvious that this 16-year-old (she had celebrated her birthday just recently) would lose. Her scrawny body had only just started rounding out, and it was around this time that her feminine sexual characteristics were starting to develop.

The sisters faced each other, about ten paces apart, when the wind suddenly gusted up, carrying a spray of dust with it.

A bale of straw rolled across the ground as the wind blew. The mood of confrontation — like a showdown in spaghetti western films — intensified further.

Incidentally, this road was not very wide, but it was still enough for two, horse-drawn wagons to pass each other going in different directions. Therefore, the wagons and pedestrians behind the feuding pair found the road impassable. The two people standing in the middle of the road were basically blocking traffic. Still, perhaps it was because they felt they had front-row tickets to something good, or they had resigned themselves to watch, but there was no frustration on the faces of the bogged-down drivers; only looks of excitement.

"Well, who wants to bet?"

"Not now, master! This is serious! You need to stop before you lose more money! Again… Seriously, with your luck, you shouldn't bet at all!"

The muscled, high elf man scolded his scrawny looking dark elf master. Judging from her appearance, she couldn't have been older than 16 or 17. Yet, it was her who was called by the title of "sensei" by the man towering above her.

"Shush! Let me place my bet," she scolded her former pupil, preparing some golden coins and taking her bets.

"My, my, my, this is exciting. Two fights in one day, who would have thought?"

"Humph! Just like I suspected, the people around me are battle addicts. And this place is supposed to be called City of Wisdom, I wonder why." In difference of the old lady, the man clothed in a stylish, but rugged trench coat just frowned, drafting his smoke nervously.

"Hmm… now this is interesting." Producing some coin, Rory also made her bet before proceeding forward to play the role of the judge.

A few others present also did so, following her example.

"Fufufufu… let's start the fight." An iron masked man standing next to them gave away a mysterious, but sinister chuckle, making many around him feel uncomfortable.

"Itami-kun. Who do you bet for?"

"Well, ah…" Poor Itami, whatever his answer would be, he'd offend someone. Naturally, Tuka found all of this exciting, making her bets. "I bet on Lelei's victory!"

"Who?"

"The girl with the silvery hair," Tuka pointed at Lelei.

"Ah, so that's her name."

Soon enough, there were more people taking bets. A man who looked like a bookmaker shouted, "Three to one odds here!"

It would seem that the mildly famous Arpeggio was favored for victory.

Gambling was quite popular in the City of Wisdom. As for the reason why, one could say that they had no other forms of entertainment. In other words, one could view this as a local custom which also revealed the attitudes of the native people. In a way, life for the common folk here was difficult, but compared to the people of any other nation in any other world, they held their heads high and took everything as it came.

"Is that girl Lelei? I've never seen her before."

The crowd around the pair began a quiet discussion, eager to find out anything about the nameless girl confronting Arpeggio.

"She's wearing a Sage's robe, right? How come it's so dirty?"

"Look at her hair. Someone dumped soup on her head, right?"

Indeed, Lelei's hair and robe were dyed a deep red by a soup made with fruits and vegetables.

It was made by boiling meat and vegetables for a full day and night, with the marrow-juices adding to the taste as it dissolved into the soup. It produced a thick, rich flavor, which would prove quite difficult to wash out of her clothing. And now, it made a mess of her pure white robes.

"That's terrible. Who did that?"

"Who else but that genius Arpeggio? At least, that's what I can see from this."

"I think Arpeggio got mad and said 'how could a brat like you try to be a sage' or something."

"Uwah, seriously? So this fight's because of jealousy? Man, that's so uncool."

Alfie clicked her tongue as she heard the people whispering things like these around her.

"Just what I needed."

To get to know what's the reason behind the duel, we need to snoop back a little bit in the past.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Restaurant Marina: a little bit earlier:**

Sitting before a table, the rugged demon hunter stared blankly, a cigarette smoking on the side of his mouth.

"…"

After the duel between the two mages, the commotion chided slowly but steadily, making the people scatter once more, giving the woman the opportunity to earn more knowledge by making Constantine sit with her in this peaceful restaurant called "Marina".

For Constantine, it was better like this; he never liked commotion. Also, it made him able to investigate more and ask a few questions from the girl, leaving a few lingering enchantments on the site of battle to collect more information at a safe distance. He was here out of an assignment after all. Find something only the legends spoke about.

"…"

Rolling his eyes, the man, demon hunter, "self-styled" master of the dark arts, and the Hellblazer in one person watched the box of cigarettes on the table, playing with it by flipping it subtly amidst his fingers.

 _"Silk Cut… heh," h_ e thought to himself.

 _"One might consider the brand girlish. The smoke of the nonsmokers…"_

Indeed, it was quite a weak brand. One could consider Silk Cut not a really good choice of cigarettes, the only way to smoke them properly was to wrap a rizla paper around the filter to cover the holes up. You didn't see many men smoking them. After all, many considered it the cigarettes for non-smokers and women.

As a man, he should have been smoking something more manly, for example, BnB or Marbolo. Yet, if he did just that, he would have died long ago from lung cancer, or other illness coming in the way.

 _"Bullshit…"_

In truth, he smoked this brand because it was not that strong, but satisfied his need of nicotine for a while.

'Flush…' A thick cloud left his mouth, and seemingly, the unkempt mineralogist girl before him was bothered not by the thick cloud of smoke that had just passed through her head.

 _"Is she even breathing? I haven't seen her take a breath for five minutes. Speaking of that… has she even blinked? I haven't recognized if she did so since she started to spout her nonsense."_

"And then! There were my other experiments with the help of…"

And she continued, speaking, speaking, and speaking about her area of expertise.

It had been since a half an hour she babbled about her research, in the meantime, her previous steaming brownish soup had gone completely cold.

"I see…" Constantine got rid of the ash of his smoke with an elegant move, the patrons and the barkeeper shooting him angry glances all along. After all, it was a non-smoking establishment. But whenever they came along to ask him to stop, he just sent them away not so "politely," or used charms to divert their attention.

Watching the girl, first it seemed he did not pay any heed to her monologue, but in truth, he kept his attention all along. "I assume, your area of expertise is not a cheap one. Wonder how you manage to stay afloat."

"Well…" her ears flushed, looking away for a moment, fidgeting under the table with her fingers. "I used to do copy books as a side job. But honestly, it pays awfully."

"Ah I see…" the man gave away a chuckle. "So you don't yet have printed press and books..."

He concluded, and it seemed, the reports were true. This world truly did not have printed press. Although, it was strange. Even the most primitive binding and alteration spells were able to do so in his world. Even a kid could do it, assuming the child was talented enough.

"What do you… print…?" the brunette girl watched him flabbergasted, unable to decipher the unknown word.

"Nothing…" Immediately looking away, he'd rather not disappoint her even more. Poor girl, if printing ever appeared here — and he was sure it would appear shortly — then she would need to change occupation, or she would go bankrupt. Assuming, if she hadn't already gone bankrupt…

"So…"

"So…?"

"From where did you come, Mr. Constantine? It is not every day someone, nonetheless in Rondel, consider alchemy and mineralogy as a worthwhile area of research."

Raising his gaze at the unkempt girl, he could only smile snarkily. "Why do you think I am not from your city?"

"Hah! Please, don't joke with me, Mister…!" with a cute pout, it was apparent she had been offended.

She had been light-headed when she started to speak about her area of expertise, but Arpeggio El Lalena was a sharp girl. She kept her eyes on details.

"I live in this city since I can remember, and I've never seen you amongst the professors or students. Also, your clothes are quite odd, making you stick out… please, don't take it as an offensive criticism."

"Hmm, none taken."

"So, where are you from really? From the neighboring country? I've never heard about an alchemist named Constantine who know so much about minerals, alchemy and the like."

"As I said…" the man puffed his smoke once more. "Coming from very far away. And no, alchemy is not my main profession. I mentioned this before…"

"Then…"

"You can call me a man doing "odd" jobs, from time to time. Having connections in the right places. Under such circumstances, one can pick up one or two things from all fields he meets under his work…"

Arpeggio, of course, liked not such a lazy answer, but being she couldn't get more out from the man, she just sighed, continuing her inquiry, gaining more knowledge about minerals she could possibly use for her thesis.

"…"

Or, she would have done so, if not for the familiar voice coming from the direction of the door disturbing her intensive chat.

"My, my, my…" It was her! Her master! "You should have said you had a date, Alfie…" the old lady near the entrance held her face with a gentle, yet amused smile, watching her through her closed eyes.

Constantine immediately darted his eyes at her, hearing the key phrase: _"My, my, my…"_

 _"Coincidence? I don't think so…"_ he summed immediately, remembering his chat with Nergal and the prophecy the demon shared.

"Sensei!? What are you doing here!? This… This is not what you think!?" For a moment, her ears flustered, only her eyes widening right after that in recognition.

"Oh, sure, sure. Not a date…" the elder Sage chuckled satisfied, watching the unkempt apprentice of hers.

"That's…" For a moment, her words halted, recognizing the short girl amidst the bunch of people that had entered the establishment. "Lelei!?" Yes, it was her sister, Lelei La Lalena, she recognized her right away. And she… was that? Was she wearing what she thought she was? The white attire the ones wear who are prepared to present their thesis before the masses and earn the title of Sage?!

"Alfie…" the small mage with light blue/silver hair nodded back, still keeping her stoic mask.

"Ah! Constantine-san! We looked for you all around. I am glad you are alright," Itami waved relieved, and Constantine completely ignored him in return, finishing his strong drink.

"Just what I needed… the babysitters…" he mumbled dissatisfied.

"Constantine!? Just what do you think of yourself leaving without a word!?" The harsh voice of Seras came from the side, marching to the man and yanking his coat. "Do you know how worried I was!? You could have easily gotten lost."

"Speaks the kid barely having her powers for only a few years… suuu…"

'Cough-Cough!' Even if she was a vampire, the smoke of her colleague puffed in her face irritated her.

"Don't be so full of yourself brat. Or I will put you in your place just like I did with your master on our first meeting."

"That…" her red eyes twitched in annoyance and rage, remembering the case. The loss of her master around a decade ago still hurt like nothing else, yet, she had learned how to bear with it, gain power from the memory.

"Sorry," Constantine said with honesty, patting her shoulder, brushing his wrinkled clothes then sitting back in his place.

"My, my… what an interesting meeting," the old lady mused with glee.

Arpeggio just blinked, watching the people that had arrived with Lelei, then turned to Constantine. "You know them?" she pointed to the newly appeared figures.

"Unfortunately…" Constantine sighed unamused. "Yes."

"What do you mean, unfortunately!?" Rory pouted offended, giving him a serious glare.

"Sesh! Brats remain brats. No matter how old they are."

"Who do you call a brat!?" Rory almost jumped on Constantine. Only Zeno, Yao and Itami holding her back made her not to go out of bounds.

"…" Naturally, the rowdy looking veteran was completely unaffected, drinking his alcohol with complete calmness.

It could be helped; the man always knew how to make enemies, but, at the same time, turn them around to be his allies later. His name was feared for a reason even in the underworld. Demons only whispered with fear in every corner of the infernal plane hearing the name… Hellblazer.

"That…" for a moment, Arpeggio was out of words, a certain rage starting to gather in her gullet.

Behind Lelei there was a strange man in green uniform, three elves and a… a priest? Yes, the priest in gothic attire indeed looked quite similar. But where had she seen her? Currently, she had no idea. There were just too many things in her head. The busty girl near Constantine did not help either.

 _"I must admit, she has quite a good figure."_

She was educated, of course, putting great effort to learn not only how to cast magic effectively, but her mineralogical and history studies. Under circumstances like these, under her already overworked state, it was not surprising she couldn't remember every detail.

"…"

Yet, it was too much! With her being around 24 years of age, she was still young. But her sister? That damned brat beat her!? Arpeggio couldn't take it anymore, just how much behind had her sister left her?

At this moment, something went wrong, breaking in her mind, urging her to do her next act.

"Shhh…"

With a creaking chair, she stood up — her expression was gloomy, shadowed by her slightly curly brown hair.

"Alfie?" Lelei tilted her head confused, and wanted to approach her sister, when!

"Got it. You will only come over once. And even then… Mm, that's right, of course, I need to go over right away. I can't wait to talk to my little sister — the little sister who's now planning to skip the rank of Doctor and jump over her big sister's head to contend for the title of Sage, the little sister who ignored the feelings of her lonely big sister who has no luck with men, the little sister who wears earrings because she wants to look more attractive, the little sister who looks down on her poor elder sister while being well-to-do herself, the little sister who even brought Elves back with her — oh yes, I'd love to talk to her, about all sorts of things."

"…"

"Is she always like this?" Itami asked Lelei subtly, but Lelei could only shrug as an answer. Recognizing the bead of sweat that slid down from the girl's forehead, and then lingered on her cheek, let's just say, it creeped Itami out. And not only him, but everyone around.

"What's wrong? You seem particularly grouchy today, are you constipated?" Then… Mimoza dropped the bomb.

"That's not!?" Alfie wanted to retort, but in the next moment, a red-faced man, who seemed to be the owner of the restaurant, welcomed the little group, more precisely, Mimoza, the old lady with the title of Sage.

"Lady Mimoza, welcome. My, you have many people with you today. Are they all your students?"

"No, no, they're all my guests. Come, look, they're all… well, almost all pretty girls. How about it, do you like them?"

"Indeed, they're all very pretty. Well, most of them… It looks like I'd better give it my best shot today." The owner then looked in the direction of Arpeggio and Constantine, looking quite strict, but respectful. "Please, Lady Arpeggio, can you please ask your "friend" to stop smoking, this is not a smoking establishment. The patrons have already complained many times."

Arpeggio just watched Constantine expectantly, but the man just continued to sip once more, then extinguishing the already short "rod of death."

"Fine then. Happy? Red-skinned idiot…"

The owner mumbled angrily for a moment, then respectfully bowed to Mimoza and her guests, leaving.

"By the way… Mimoza-dono, what kind of food this establishment serves?" Zeno was quite curious actually. He liked to taste new foods and the cuisine of foreign countries. Following his lead, the "newcomers" around looked quite expectantly.

"My, my, my… let's leave that for the owner, shall we?"

The band nodded, and Mimoza was on to select a seat, when!

"My head!"

"Now, now. Don't be a grouchy granny. You wanted to compete, drinking yourself to the ground. I just agreed. Now then, this place might be good, let's che…"

'Thud!'

In the next moment, someone collided with Zeno's back, but did not budge him the slightest. Reacting to the event, the towering warrior turned around for a moment, recognizing the familiar voice.

"Excuse m…"

"Who the heck you think you are blocking the entrance to!? Are you nuts or what!? Do you want a knuckle sandwich!?"

For a moment, Zeno just blinked, watching the man with the iron goat mask, blinking confusedly. "I thought I heard my master… sorry… it must be my mistake."

He bowed, only then recognizing a fist flying in his direction, a very familiar fist. "Ma…!" 'Hit! Crash!' The colliding fist knocked him far, crashing into a table. Now, the adamantine ranked "hero" surely dreamed stars. "Mumble, mumble, mumble…"

"What's the meaning of this!?" Hearing the crash, the owner immediately came out from his kitchen, a grumpy expression painting his face.

"Shut up red! Or you can also get some! Bring us some food, now! I am hungry! My head is on to burst!" the short girl accompanied by the strange magician grabbed her head with a painfull expression, messing up her long hair.

The "Master," as Zeno intended to say before getting knocked out, grabbed her head, then her stomach, leaning against a wall and vomiting. 'Bleeehhh!'

The small-looking woman, standing in the presence of the figure wearing that menacing iron mask was quite threatening. Even if she was harmless, her bodyguard was surely strong, the owner would rather not risk the chance of confrontation.

"O-Okay…"

Surely, she could be some noble coming here from a faraway kingdom who drank too much. "So… sorry…" Thus he immediately retreated.

"Ra-Raidyn-san?" Itami watched her first surprised, blinking, then his surprise turned into worry seeing her smashed state.

"Are you alright?"

When Raidyn turned back, well… her face had seen better days before. No matter how caramel her skin was, now, it was completely pale.

"Itami-chan…" she mumbled, before falling forward, starting to snort. 'Snorr… Snorr…'

"Oh my…" the strange man — who Itami most likely had mixed for a dark lord imitator — just chuckled with glee. "Hah! It seems Raidyn-san can't take a drink. Fufufufu! Just like always. She is a weak drinker. That means, I won our competition."

"Wi-Will she be alright?" Though Itami was sure she was more than able to withstand a little alcohol, and would certainly not die, he was also sure her tolerance for booze was pretty low. Yes, he had heard from from Rory about what had happened back in the resort.

Yes, he was aware of it. From time to time it was good to be smashed, but to this extent? Even when he was in university, he had never gotten that smashed.

"Yes, she will be all right." With a wave of his demonic spiked glove, a handful of black ice materialized in front of him, a chunk he hid in a fabric of cloth, knotting it around Raidyn's head professionally.

"Well then…" he glanced at the band. "It is quite unfortunate, but it seems she will be out for a while."

"Master?!" the Adamantine Rank adventurer's eyes popped open, running to his master, then watched the strange man holding the black ice to her head.

"Who are you?" Zeno immediately reached for his blade, as he got an awful feeling radiating from the man.

Yes, the "man" was the epithet of an evil lord.

Sticking out from the crowd, like his master… No! His appearance and posture maybe excelled even more. Some dark presence floated around him, painting the surroundings with a demonic light.

Wearing a dark-colored trench coat, pinstripe trousers, and deep crimson hooded mantle — marked by golden and black diabolic engravings, elegantly running down on the clothing and his coat.

Evil looking armored gauntlets adorned his hands. Spiked, like a beast — the fingers could stab anyone he deemed unworthy to his presence.

His face was covered by a dreadful, evil, iron mask, forming the face of a goat, hiding his visage from the world. Two devilish lights dimmed in the sockets of the magic item. An elegant black fedora hid the top of his head. And his neck was hugged by a scarf colored yellow.

"My, my… what an interesting bunch of people…" Mimoza murmured, looking between the three sides with great interest.

"Hmmm… it does not matter now." Watching Zeno; a dreadful feeling ran through his spine. Like a dark presence skimmed through his body.

"Oh, my, my, my… this is interesting. How interesting people. Oh! I know the right place! Come, come, please take a seat, everyone. The food here is pretty good, and since the customers are all cute girls, well mostly, it should get even better. The most important thing is — it's cheap!"

Lelei watched Mimoza's careless expression, thinking she looked completely different from the apocalyptic person her master had described her.

Yes, Kato had made her look like the devil who burned down the whole Rondel once. About the reason, her master never mentioned what was it that caused Mimoza's rage back then.

 _"Scary…"_

The band pushed together a few roundtables, then settled near them, Raidyn starting to regain her composure, but still feeling pretty smashed.

"Ughhh… my head!"

"Lord Zeno… is she…?"

"Yes, she is vulgar, like ever," the adventurer answered Yao's unsaid question, a bitter embarrassment mixed with a smile settling on his face. "Hehe… but she is my master after all. It cannot be helped."

"…" Yao just remained silent, watching the person Zeno had spoken about so much. Praising her like no other. Well, it was an unexpected meeting that's for sure.

The adventurer was aware, Raidyn couldn't take alcohol well. And he was unable to understand why she still drunk so much from time to time. But for real! He clearly remembered he had to carry her home when she smashed herself by drinking too much many times! Be no matter how heroic the stories painted her, she couldn't take booze well.

"Master?" he poked her face a few times. "Are you awake? Come on! Don't do this again…"

Looking up, her expression brightened, her cheek being bright red.

"Yo! Zeno-kun! Hehehehe…" Raidyn raised her hand carelessly, welcoming him. "I am hungry, don't mind to pay for your old teacher's food, do ya?"

Zeno groaned, knowing he would once again go bankrupt if his master started to eat.

'Thud!' "Snor…" then she went back sleeping, her face colliding with the table hard.

"Kukuku… how amusing." Ardyn and Rory eyed each other curiously, measuring each other's capability in silence.

And so, after they had sat down and caught their breath, Mimoza suggested that Lelei introduce both sides, in order to make good use of the time until the food arrived.

Thus, Lelei started.

Being she and the band lingered so little in Mimoza's place — thanks to the tight, messy residence she and Alfie owned — seriously, one would think women take care of their place of living, yet, the two ladies — Mimoza and Arpeggio — were not the tidiest people you could find around, the whole place was a mess. All in all, the band quickly left, heading towards the restaurant called "Marina" to have some food and a good chat.

"This is Mimoza La Mel. She is a magician and a Great Sage, as well as one of the elders of Londel City."

According to Lelei's introduction, this old lady was Master Kato's senior, under the same master. Lelei's big sister Arpeggio was currently learning from her. She also added "she's highly versed in matters of archeology" — the info seemed directed to Itami, who was on a "resource investigation" mission (at least, he said that much for the girls at first) — thus, she nonchalantly hinted, "Sensei Mimoza would probably be vital for the resource prospecting mission."

After that, it was Itami and gang's turn.

Lelei introduced them in the order they were seated, from the furthest to the nearest.

Mimoza heard the introductions of the two-three Elves, her eyes sparkling, and she said:

"Well, seeing Elves and Dark Elves sitting peacefully at the same table is something new. More confusing, one serves the other. Are they?"

"I am Zeno-sama's loyal servant," Yao said confidently, overtaking the adventurer and pushing her chest forward in her tight strap armor.

"Well, I would not say servant. More like a companion I would say," Zeno fixed the statement with a humble expression.

"Ah, I see…" the old lady just smiled coquettish, but innocently. "Lovers then."

Yao naturally remained silent, not confirming, yet not denying the possibility. Though, the red of their ears could not be denied.

"How strange."

"We… We are companions. Yao is following me out of her own willingness." And Yao obliged immediately to Zeno's words, feeling the heat in the lower part of her stomach starting to gather.

She just watched Tuka for a moment, then nodded the same way towards Itami.

"It seems. Love finds its way, eh?"

As she finished saying this, Tuka and Itami exchanged looks and smiled uncomfortably.

"He is my papa!" she squeezed herself on the First Lieutenant, earning him a hard time.

"Tuka! You will suffocate me!" Of course, the First Lieutenant mumbled desperately amidst the pillows on her chest.

"…"

After that, just as Lelei was about to introduce Rory—

"It's been a while, Rory. Could it be that you came to find the answer to that question?"

Mimoza interrupted Lelei, indicating that there was no need to introduce Rory.

"It was 50 years ago when Rory and I were traveling around."

"Mimoza, you've grown old."

"I have indeed. Are you jealous? I'm the very picture of a granny now."

As she said that, the old lady raised her wrinkled hands. She seemed to be showing off a pair of prized treasures. Rory seemed envious herself, even pouting as she saw it.

"Then, Lili… no, no, it's Lelei. How about introducing the next one?"

The line went on, and Lelei introduced the rest. Constantine and Seras as supernatural experts and "soldiers."

"Oh! So interesting. News said many strange figures leaked in our world. How interesting. You are a vampire, no? Young lady?"

For Mimoza's question, Seras could only scratch her face nervously. "Ye-Yeah… but I became one not long ago. Less than a decade."

"Ah! So strange people. And that rough, young man."

Constantine just huffed, standing up and kissing Mimoza's hand with the style befitting to a gentleman. "John Constantine, supernatural expert and warlock, at your service."

"Oh my! So polite. I like you."

For the people sitting around his introduction was out of character. But in truth, he gave his respect where it's due and was quite a man of culture. John was a survivor, as well, he always gave his respect for people who he felt deserved such treatment. Being crass with them was just not worth the bother.

"If you have some time, Lady Mimoza, and know about the legends surfacing around Rondel, I would like to speak with you later."

"Hmm, sure. In fact, I am very well versed in history and legends. I can tell one or two things about them. Dismantle the truth between the myths surrounding the city since they first surfaced in the texts."

"Thank you."

After Constantine said his part, Lelei glanced at Itami who sat on her side under all of this.

"This gentleman is Itami Youjy."

Lelei did not say anything other than his name.

"Oh? Itamy Youjy… it's pronounced like that, right?"

"Pleased to meet you."

Itami rose and bowed politely, then filled in for Lelei — that his surname was "Itami," his given name was "Youji," and then continued:

"I've heard that you are well-versed in archeology, Mimoza-sensei. Therefore, I would like to ask; are there any useful resources or ores in the area? Do you know of anything like that?"

"Mmm, I can say I know a few. Of course, that depends on your definition of 'useful.'"

"Wonderful. If it's at all possible, I would like you to tell me."

"Mm, I don't mind you asking. However, shall we discuss that later? Right now, I just want to chat happily with all of you. What do you think?"

"It's fine. Until Lelei's done with her conference, I'll be around. I can visit you any time you're free."

After receiving Mimoza's approval, Itami bowed politely in thanks. Etiquette of this sort came naturally to Itami once he stepped into society. At this time, Mimoza eyed the fabric of his green uniform and asked:

"These clothes are quite rare. Which country do you hail from?"

"I come from Japan, from the other side of the Gate at Arnus Hill."

"Ah! Well, that's interesting. I've heard that a Gate opened at not one, but two places at once. Hill Arnus and Dalnus… but there's been no news about what's on the other side of the Gate. Now, tell me, what's that place like? Lelei, have you been there? Either of the places?"

"We've already been there," Rory said with a smug look on her face. "We have been in Arnus. And soon we're invited to visit the other side of Dalnus."

Mimoza leaned forward eagerly.

"Ah, I'm envious. Come, tell me about your trip!"

Under this, Ardyn watched the band with glee, finding it amusing how people had forgotten about them as Rory and Lelei told a few things about Japan and their visit to the country, gleefully inspecting the interaction between the people.

The sights he had witnessed in the past popped up before his eyes one by one. Now, a pecicular one melded into existence in his mind.

* * *

 **Flashback:**

In a lavish throne room, surrounded by infernal fires and servants, black onyx stairs led to an infernal throne constructed from blood, flesh, and gold.

All around it servants bowed and kneeled before the lord, a bipedal goat demon with a fiery brim in his eyes sitting, holding a strangely shaped skull filled with red liquid.

"…"

All around, he looked. His palace had no roof as it didn't need one, because he was the eternal emperor of his own piece of heaven, the infernal palace of Adramalech.

"Great Lord… is something wrong?"

A female walked on his side, leaning against him, pushing her juicy assets to his body, her face mirroring her honest concern.

"My Lord…" she whispered sensually.

"…"

Her body was almost exaggerated, yet, shapely, well balanced. One every man yearned for.

Some perspiration was pouring inside her inflated cleavage, making her red skin even more enticing — a slight leakage of milk stained the thin wrap covering her body.

"Samara…" Ulbert looked at her, smiling gently at the woman, then caressing her face with care.

"It is nothing… just old memories." The times when the forty-one were still together flashed before his horizontal pupils, making him yearn for the times of old. The times when his friends were together. The times when he had real friends. The times when everything was simpler.

Oh! How he wished for them to be here!

"…"

For a moment, his expression mirrored his sadness, his loss. But watching the swelling belly of the girl, he caressed it with great care, feeling the kick of his heirs. The act made his smile return immediately.

"Fufufufu… it tickles. My Lord! You are truly mischievous today."

The female said extra coquettish, watching her lord with eager eyes, moistening her lips inviting him.

"…"

Watching her for a moment, her lavish, long white hair covered her mischievous blue eyes, containing black sclera. Two horns protruded backward on the sides of her head, pushing backward and giving the vision of a proud dragon.

And that face… such familiar, beautiful face. Almost a carbon copy of the one he knew for a long time— yet, slightly matured.

A familiar face from the time when things were more simple, yet, miserably happy.

"Indeed. They will be cheeky fellows once the time comes. They will surely incite terror amidst the ranks of angels."

"You think so?"

"I am sure…" Ulbert replied proudly, kissing the woman passionately.

"What will be their names? Have you yet decided, my Lord?" the female asked gently, and Ulbert already knew a few appropriate names…

"Their names…?"

The fragment of memory blurred into nothingness, hidden by the fog of oblivion suddenly.

* * *

 **Flashback end:**

Ulbert had only started to regain his memories recently after the long hibernation.

Piece by piece, slowly, everything had started to return. He should have been feeling happy, being with his friends once more. Yet, now this exact piece had appeared. Now… he started to feel lonely. Something bothered him, finding not the exact piece he was looking for.

"Hmmm…"

Looking at his friend resting her head on the table, it must have been hard for them looking for the guild members under all those years. And just now, he was still unable to comprehend why he hadn't put in stone the name of the guild when he had reached the peak of his power. That piece was still missing, unable to recall no matter how hard he tried, like it was locked away from him.

 _"Dammit!"_

He had tried to recall what had happened in the last days and before that many times over, still, he was unsuccessful with his endeavor.

Be the name of his guild remained a secret to protect them, himself, or just wanted to move on, he would find out eventually. But for now, he had no idea.

"…"

Meanwhile with the rest of the group…

Lelei, Rory and Tuka looked at each other in response to Mimoza's request — telling her what they had experienced in Japan.

After exchanging looks for a while, they each began relating their own account of events — Rory talked about the sights on the streets, Tuka described the luxurious clothing that she had seen, while Lelei mentioned several Japanese bookstores she had been to.

"Those stores have an astounding amount of books. Also, according to Pina, there are libraries there, which contain all sorts of books and which are available to the common folk. If I get a chance to go there again, I'll definitely go take a look. I feel we should build one in Londel as well.

As Itami listened to them speak, a question popped up in his mind, and so he asked:

"Could it be that you don't have libraries here, in this Academy City?"

"Not here, no."

"According to records in ancient books, there had once been facilities like that, but in the end, they were no more."

"That's a matter for long ago. They used to fight holy wars in this region, and the zealots of a monotheistic religion burned the book storage to ash," Mimoza said with a sad look on her face.

"Hah! People! From time to time they are really stupid," added Zeno, a sentiment many could only oblige to.

"Indeed… from time to time, people are just stupid."

Part of the reason why the city of Londel was known as the City of Wisdom was that it contained many wise folks, who each possessed impressive book collections. Now that the libraries had vanished, anyone seeking knowledge had no choice but to gather it on their own. Under these conditions, only selfishly hoarding books would sate their thirst for knowledge.

"If it's really as Lelei says, then that would be great. However, collecting these valuable things presents certain difficulties."

"It's fine. The printing press makes book production easy. In the land of Nihon, publishing books are commonplace to the people there. As a result, they have large gatherings called Dou-Jin-Shi Mar-Kets where such materials are regularly released to the people. Every time this release takes place, countless people gather there. It is a majestic sight."

Lelei had a rare look of excitement on her face as she said this.

"It would be great if books were cheap enough to be easily accessible to people."

"That dream will come true one day."

Lelei looked to the sky and nodded, as though she had predicted the future. But just then...

"That's bad!"

There was a great crash, as though someone had hit the door with all their strength. Everyone slowly turned to look at the source of the sound.

"Wait, wait a bit, that would be bad. Very bad. There are people who would be inconvenienced by the price of books going down." Arfi had a really worried expression, grinding her teeth on the tablecloth sweating, but everyone ignored her.

"Well… that concludes it for now. Later, I will tell you more. But for now…" she turned her attention towards Ardyn and Raidyn who was grabbing her aching head and tried her best not to throw up.

"Ugh…"

"Hmm… Stranger. We know Raidyn-san. But care to introduce yourself?"

Rory asked, resting her head on the top side of her interlocked hands.

"Of course, please forgive me. I just can't help but immerse myself by the miracles of the other side and listening to your introductions."

"Ah, it was not that remarkable," Itami quipped, and Ardyn nodded. "That may be. Still, interesting. It is not every day you meet others who hail from other planes. Well, for most people…" His chuckle was mysterious. And after removing his goat-shaped mask, a strange face revealed before the band.

"That's… indeed a strange appearance."

"Umu… indeed."

His hair was dark, slightly messy flare cut and long under his fedora. Eyes violet and yellow, sharply cut. A face which carried eastern heritage, maybe Mongol characteristics with a well-trimmed goat beard adorning his chin. Truly, he looked like a handsome villain prepared to conquer the world.

'Creak!' his chair gave away the sound gently as he stood up.

"Ardyn Ziege Jormungand. Dark Lord of the infernal realm. Warlock, and Arch-Mage of the Void Plane. Subjugator of the Snake Dowager, Nefarious Filthbird and the Trial of Eye. And the destroyer of the Crystal Wall. At your service." he bowed elegantly, emphasizing his mannerism.

"..."

Hearing the titles, Rory couldn't help but doubt his words, though; she felt delighted one had such a creative imagination. At the same time, she felt the man was strong, though she was not sure if he was indeed able to conquer whole planes or not. Whatever was the case, only one thing was sure. He emitted infernal power she had never felt before. And it made her squirm in excitement.

If he was really strong or not, did not matter for now of course. She was here to have some fun after all. Competing with others was secondary.

"It is good to meet you Ardyn-san."

As for the others... what would they think about him?

Zeno, of course, liked not the man from first sight. Even after he removed that iron mask — a handsome devil was revealed with a human face. But he felt Ardyn couldn't be farther from a human or any humanoid creature than it was possible. He could be a monster hiding under a cleverly constructed disguise.

Just like every book described a dark lord who sought to charm the innocent with his "false" handsome appearance and smile. He looked just like that.

"May I know how do you know my master?"

Ardyn watched Raidyn for a moment, gently smiling, then turned back to Zeno with his happy expression. A face which in the end turned more dismal. "Let's just say, a long time ago we were companions. And leave it at that. Let's not harbor the past. Both of us experienced plenty of bad things in it."

"I see…"

Zeno really hated the fact Raidyn was with him. Less, sitting near him. Honestly, he was aware of his sensei's monstrous strength. Yet, he feared her safety as a woman. Being influenced by the man was certainly not good. Not for her, not for anyone. His instincts screamed to protect his "everything." The person who gave him everything and raised him from the dust. He owed her that much after all she had given and done for him. It would be simply betrayal not doing so.

"Umu…"

Constantine deep inside was wary of the man, feeling the dark, demonic powers lingering around him. Powers that could even send Lucifer to shun in the corner weeping. His sixth sense screamed to get as far away as he could, IMMEDIATELY!

 _"This is bad…"_

Tuka and Seras of course just watched him with a smile, innocently introducing themselves.

"I am Tuka Luna Marceau."

"Seras Victoria."

 _"Hmm… an elf and a vampire. What an amusing pairing! Fufufufu… really is, what an unusual vampire I might say. It has been some time since I felt that bloodline. The bloodline of the great deceiver. Are you in play once more, old friend?"_

"It is nice to meet both of you."

Seras might have been aware of the real nature of the man, but Tuka, her magical senses existed of course but were not as sharp as other people around, thus, her smile was truly innocent.

"…"

Lelei, as expected, watched him with a stoic face, considering what she could learn from him. Alfie sought the opportunity to gain money for her research. As for Itami…

"Wow!"Itami was taken aback blinking. "You really look like a dark lord from a game. You know that?"

This one sentence earned a glare from Constantine which said — _"You are joking, right?"_ — and a few confused, or even disapproving sights from the people around.

"Now that you've said it… really," Seras muttered, fondling her chin with a blank, anime gaze. "He really looks like a Dark Lord from a game."

"Well, thank you!" Ardyn smiled proudly, fondling the hair on his chin. "I get this a lot. In truth, I even have a tabletop game where I am the end boss. Hehehehe…"

"Wow!"

"A whole tabletop game!?" Seras hit the table with shining eyes. "Can I play it?"

Being a vampire, in the empty nights one could get bored quite fast. And Netflix only containef so many interesting films. Thus, she took up the hobby to play tabletop games through the internet with others.

"Fuffufufuf… maybe next time. I left it in my lab."

"Oh…" the girl sat back with a slight disappointment, looking down.

"So, I've never seen you before. And master never mentioned you under our travels."

"Is that so?" Ardyn glanced at Raidyn, shaking his head and sighing. "Though, it is not that surprising. It has been a long time since we last met. In truth, I only finished my long series of experiments and returned from my tower not long ago. As you know, we magic casters tend to spend a lot of time experimenting around."

"My, my, my… an educated man. And so handsome."

Mimoza had seen it from first sight. This stranger was indeed an interesting figure, coming from a faraway land. "Care to share the delicate details?"

"Maybe, my lady, a different time we can speak about it. But now…" reaching to Raidyn, he placed his hand on her head, an icy chill permeating her hair, turning it wispy. "Stop pretending…"

"Brain freeze!" Raidyn shouted aloud, jumping up and grabbing her head. Her teeth were grinding with a painful expression. "What's that for!?"

"Pretending to be drunk because you can't take your loss? Really, my old friend? And not even introducing yourself. Truly is! Fufufufu… you are like back then. A child…"

"I was not pretending…" she huffed annoyed. "I was sober around half of the discussion, just wanted some sleep.

"Still, it will not do, old friend. Introduce yourself, and you may get one from my special candy."

"Do you think you can bribe me with a candy!?"

"Ten candies."

"Still not."

"Twenty."

"Under a hundred, don't even try."

"Ughhh… Fine then. One hundred and ten." With a wave of his hand, a dark leather bag conjured in his grasp, passing it to Raidyn with a simple move.

"Yummy!" she tasted the candy, stuffing it in her mouth. Her expression was like a kid who got her sweets.

"Don't you forget something?"

"Oh, right! I am Raidyn, retired adamantine rank adventurer. Nice to meet everyone who I did not meet until now." She turned to Constantine. "Nice coat. Mr. Exorcist! How many demons you banished this week by shattering a mirror?"

The man almost spilled his drink, getting surprised by her sudden exclamation. "What the… how!? You are spying after me!? Read my mind? Damn kid!?"

"What, how? Ara-ara! Reading your mind? I respect privacy more than that. You said you do odd jobs, or not? Combining it with the magical aura spewing around you means you most likely do such stuff. As for mirrors, I only guessed, you confirmed it. I read a few stories where exorcist used similar methods. Trapping demons in the mirror world then destroying the gateway and trapping them there. Or, if they were weak enough, destroying their soul. Primitive, but effective."

"You are very knowledgeable about my area of expertise. Or are you just bluffing?"

"Well, hunting demons day after day makes you knowledgeable enough. No?"

"Hmmm… I suppose," grumbled Constantine, lifting his cigarette. "I suppose." Remaining silent afterwards.

"So… umm… Raidyn-san? Why are you here? Where is Momon-san?" Itami asked a little bit nervous, gulping slightly.

"Ummm… Well, Momon-kun is on a mission. Don't ask where. He never shares anything. Selfish muscle man." After an offended, quiet mumble, she continued. "The last thing he told me was that he would be escorting Ainz-san somewhere near the borders. That's all."

"Oh, then, my dear Sorcerer King is on the move. So interesting! I wonder what he is planning now. I hope I can meet him again. Since days, Emroy-sama is always asking me to get near him to sample his powers."

A mild curiosity sneaked in Rory's crimson orbs, waiting for Raidyn to explain.

"Don't ask, that "cheater" is always up to something."

"Oh, a king, and a sorcerer in one person? My, my, my. So the news was true," the elderly lady quipped, in the meantime, the steaming soup arrived at the table.

"Bon appetite!"

"As for us…" Raidyn grabbed bread and started to eat. "We were kinda escorting Fluder-san, the principal of the grand magic academy of Carne. And the leader of the Mages Association in the continent."

"Oh, my…"

Mimoza had heard the news but was not sure if it's even true. Many news circulated around in the city. Many people passed day by day — many researchers had left in recent times returning with miraculous news, news sounding too good to be true.

From the gathered mass of information, one couldn't effectively filter what was true, and what's not. But with the coming evaluating event — where the returning mages would present their theories and things brought back from their trips. And the invitation she had received — but did not attend as she found such meetings just plain boring, one might suspect an important figure from the Sorcerous Kingdom's part would attend the evaluating of the returning and the new generation. If it's true, it would be an interesting year to pass.

Moreover, from the little demonstration — clash — that occurred between the sides this morning, one was sure the coming evaluation would bring the much needed refreshment.

"My, I suppose, I will attend then."

"Sensei!" Arpeggio stood up immediately, hitting the table hard and making her steaming soup wobble on the table. "Those meetings are important. How many times I have to say it to you? You are a council member. It is mandatory to attend!"

"My, what's the matter Alfie?" Mimoza was careless as ever, leaning back in her seat lazily. "Your monthly visitor came? You are extra grouchy today."

"That's not…!" the messy girl was on to blow up again. Meanwhile…

"The soup is good…" Raidyn interrupted slurping her food.

"Indeed…" Lelei continued, making everyone fall on their back in astonishment.

"Hahaha… that's master for you."

"Jokes aside, Fluder-san will attend that event… what's that word…?" she snapped her fingers a few times, trying to find the good utterance.

"Evaluation…" Ardyn helped her out.

"That… Shush! Don't interrupt me." She waved him away, and Ardyn just sighed, tasting his soup. "This is… tolerable."

"Well, as I said. He is attending it. Investigating what the mages of the city are capable of. You didn't hear it from me, but he will invite over the few most promising people to visit the Kingdom in a few days, even promising a year of paid scholarship in the Magic Academy of Carne to the ones that pique his interest. You need to know, the magic academy above the capital is the most prosperous magic Academy of the Kingdom, only the elites of the elites can enter the "Ley Castle." Raidyn made them know, slurping her drink.

Lelei's eyes lit up, her tone slightly raised. "Really?" She had seen what the man was capable of, beating Meguminoi with little to no effort.

Earning a favor from him, reaching the possibility to be able to learn abroad in the Sorcerous Kingdom. She needed this opportunity! She couldn't waste it!

"…"

True, Meguminoi had promised her she would invite her over and introduce her to her master. But… what if it would not come over and she would not meet her anymore? She needed an emergency plan. Only fools stood with one leg and hoped for the best. And the girl was not a fool. Not at all!

Arpeggio was in the same boat; she also wanted to earn this opportunity.

 _"To visit the other site… and earn a year of paid scholarship?"_ Her eyes lit up with glee. _"…but…"_ the sour reality surfaced in her mind in the next moment. _"I don't have anything prepared to present. What now? I don't even have a sponsor. Dammit!"_

"…"

Raidyn just smiled, resting her chin on her hands. "As I said… you did not hear it from me. Ainz-san will scold me if he learns I spouted this information."

Lelei was aware, Itami would visit the kingdom. The place she most likely did not have the authorization to enter — as she was not invited. But with this… she had the chance. She had to grab it!

Arpeggio in the other hand turned gloomier and gloomier with each moment. She was sure, with her area of expertise she would never make it. Not speaking she had no completed thesis to present before the people. Not speaking she lacked the money to pack and travel around.

 _"Officially, I've lost… sniff. I've lost again… against my little sister no less."_

Yet, there was still a chance. She had her minerals. With her knowledge, she could write a thesis fast and effective.

Then! It was up to a sponsor to take her in. Yes, a sponsor, she just needed a sponsor! Though, what Lelei had said previously about printing, also worried her greatly. Without copying text how she woukd earn her living? How she would pay her expenses? This fact really weighted her down.

"This is bad…"

"Hmm…"

"With printing on my horizon… how will I pay my expenses? This is… this is just too much! I have no chance."

"What are you talking about?" With a blank expression, Raidyn had no idea what was the girl's problem, maybe because she haf either slept or paid too much attention to others to keep in her mind Alfie's problem.

Lelei looked like she was going to comfort her big sister. She patted her shoulder and said:

"Don't worry. What I said about printing won't happen in a couple of days. It'll be in the future."

"The future?" she looked back to her younger sister, worry still visible on her face.

"Mm. In the future. Eventually. It will come to pass one day." Arpeggio's entire body seemed to go limp, sinking down into a pile on the floor.

Perhaps her antics from just now had fatigued her, but Alfie sighed deeply.

"Do we tell her the fact even a kid is capable of copying or conjuring simple books with a simple tier 0 magic under a moment?"

"We should, after all, lying is not nice."

"…" It seemed Arpeggio had overheard what Raidyn and Ardyn whispered, making her cry in desperation, melt in the floor like a puddle of pudding. It was evident; she had reached the bottom of her spirit. "No…"

Lelei took all this in and sensing that her big sister had calmed down, she went to take a glass of water for her.

After a while, when she returned to the dining table with her glass, she found that her place had already been taken by someone else.

"Ah…"

And that someone else was Alfie.

On the right was Mimoza, and to the left was Itami — that was how well-positioned that place was.

Though Lelei's expression remained the same, she stared at Alfie's back, sitting still as she did. If she could exert force just by looking at someone, perhaps Mimoza might have been forced away by the pressure of Lelei's glare.

"Ugh… Lelei-san is scary…" Raidyn whispered to Mimoza, who just sweat dropped and gently nodded.

"…"

Lelei silently pulled up a chair, slotted it into the only remaining space between Alfie and Mimoza, and then sat down.

Alfie, who had deftly seized the opportunity earlier, did not seem to understand her little sister's feelings. She merely grabbed the cup in Lelei's hand with a "thanks' and downed it in a gulp, which also quelled the heaving of her breath.

"Don't scare me. Really now~."

As though drunk, Alfie suddenly plopped herself on the table and started griping. Everyone's eyes went to her once more.

"Alfie, you've always been so willful. You've never been patient enough to finish listening to what people say."

"Please, don't torture your old sister further, I overheard what Lord Ardyn and that adventurer…" she stopped for a moment, turning towards Raidyn who seemed to have been completely sober up just now.

"Raidyn…" Raidyn told her name with a blank face.

"Yes, Raidyn whispered amidst each other. I know it is in the doorstep."

"What they said?" Lelei watched Raidyn for a moment, waiting for an explanation.

"Huh! We just spoke about the tier 0 magic the magical researchers developed early. It is capable of copying whole books instantly. It is so easy even a child with a little magical potential can learn and cast it."

For a moment, Lelei's eyes widened. If that's true, filling whole libraries with books would be so easy. One woukd only need to provide the parchment and the original text, then use the magic.

"Naturally, it can't copy magic tomes which contain words of power or are imbued with a protective enchantment. That's out of its league. But doing simple copy work, the spell fulfills its duty diligently."

Ardyn took out a sturdy, simple book under his coat, placing it on the table.

"…"

Don't ask the people around how it fit under his coat; it was too sturdy for it. Neither what was on its label, it was written in the Sorcerous Kingdom's language, thus, basically only Lelei could read it who had studied the written language of the kingdom earlier.

Paging through it, it was full of pictures and small text.

"Wow…"

Placing his armored hand over it, in the next moment, Ardyn cast his magic.

"[Copy Item]." The book glowed for a moment under Ardyn holding his palm over it, and a second one appeared right next to it. The exact copy of the book materialized under a moment.

Ulbert just chuckled as his spell came to life, adoring his own handiwork. With his genius as a devil and specialization as a magic caster, it was too easy to use and learn such low tier magic.

 _"Splendid! Just like the training manual described it. It works! You two really worked hard, setting up a whole research department just to develop such basic spells. These spells were seemingly good only for house chores or menial tasks, otherwise were too boring or robotic for anyone to take them, but were neccesary for everyday life. Truly genius!"_

Naturally, he did not sit idle since coming back from his long hibernation. He had learned many things since he awoke. About the kingdom his friends' had built. About the world they resided. Their history. Important events. Even a few spells he had found useful.

Many more tomes laid in his room even at this moment, waiting to be read. " _If one can learn, one should learn. Not waste the opportunity."_

Removing his hand, the glow of the now two books dissipated.

"Naturally, it is just a basic spell. Even a kid can learn it. Of course, one without the necessary magical aptitude can't create stable matter from their magic, thus, they need materials under the exchange process. A simple, empty book will do in that case. But for the ones having the necessary control, the original item will do. The magical formula does the rest."

Lelei and Alfie immediately grabbed after the books, ogling both copies with hungry eyes. Then!

"Ohhhh! I heard that in Valletta, people have been using something called typesetting to print things. So that's why I said it'll come eventually. However, I thought there's really no future in this sort of thing? What should I do from now on? It is already here!"

"Don't worry, books don't write themselves. And there are cases nobles order custom-made volumes for their taste. If you ask me, hand-copied books are still a thing."

At least, Ulbert had heard so. He had no idea if it was true or not. But… it was definitely interesting.

"Oh! How fortunate! This girl not only has good calligraphy, but she's good at prettying the volumes up, so her works are quite popular among the wealthy," Mimoza praised her apprentice, who blushed slightly.

"Sensei!~"

"Ehh~, so that's what it's like."

After Mimoza finished, the man softly murmured in understanding.

In Londel, illuminated manuscripts looked good on the shelf and also hinted at their owners' generosity, because said owners would have paid a premium to decorate their rooms with such items. Therefore, nobles or wealthy merchants who wanted to pretend that they were cultured were often very happy to buy such exquisitely made volumes.

"Copying an entire book by hand is really difficult, no? My ex-wife also worked in publishing, and she had to face her desk every day. I'm quite surprised that she has actually managed to stay sane after all that."

Itami added suddenly, remembering Risa's soul-killing occupation.

"Would that lady be a Sage as well?"

"Hell no," the first Lieutenant snorted immediately.

Risa? Sage? She was a clever girl for her own good. At least, was good at begging for money when she was out of it. But Sage? Hell no! She was far from it! "She's a doujin artist… er, how shall I put this? In any case, she draws pictures to tell a story," he explained awkwardly.

"Yes, a bunch of Yaoi… disgusting. I should have never peeked on that pile. I still have nightmares."

"No one asked you to burrow through Risa's books. She has a few weird things in her room." With a flat expression, Itami said so, earning a strange gaze from the others.

"Now I know…" under Itami and Raidyn exchanging a few words, copying each other's flat face, a light lit in Alfie's eyes.

"Oh… so she's an author of picture books…"

Alfie nervously looked Itami up and down and then asked:

"Then~ though this might be a little intrusive… why did you part ways? Women who stare at desks all day aren't very attractive, are they?"

"Of course not. She was the one who brought up the subject of divorce. The truth is, I don't mind women doing that sort of work, so I guess the reason why she wanted to break up was that she wanted to return to the starting point. I guess we just drifted apart somewhere in our lives."

Itami went "Ah, hahaha" as he sheepishly scratched his head.

"Itami-san. You are really 'Itan no otto.' (Henpecked husband)." Raidyn said so, directly using the Japanese translation, so everyone understood her aside of Mimoza, Yao, and Alfie.

"Ah… you think so."

"Yes, you are like Zeno-kun when he was a kid. 'Master! Teach me more! Train me! I'll do anything!'"

"Ahahaha…" and Zeno just laughed embarrassed, covering his master's mouth with his sizable clause-covered hand. "Let's not speak about it, Ok? I was just a kid back then." This was an act he shouldn't have done. Because in the next moment.

'Crunch!'

Zeno's smiling mouth started to tremble, pulling back his throbbing hand covered with deep teeth marks, blood pouring heavily from it. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go in the toilet."

"That way…" Lelei pointed the direction, and after leaving, everyone heard a manly scream. "My finger! She almost bit it down!"

"That's for you trying to cover my mouth. The power of Colgate is with me! Ahahahaha!"

Sweat gathered on Itami's and Seras's forehead as they watched Raidyn laugh like a maniac, rattling her white teeth like a killer shark. "Yes, she watched TV while we were in Japan," Itami explained.

"I see…"

After that, Alfie put an arm around her little sister's neck and gathered her close.

"Who is this man?"

"Itami Youjy."

"What does he do?"

"He's a soldier from the other side of the Gate."

"So why is a soldier from the other side of the Gate not in the Imperial Capital, but all the way over here?"

Londel had long known of the war between the Empire and the two countries on the other side of the Gate. However, when one took the location of the Gate at Arnus and Dalnus into consideration, the city of Londel was in the completely opposite direction of the Imperial Capital. There was even a mountain range between the two cities, complete with a mountain stream that flowed from the icy peaks. Because of that, nobody thought that the fighting would come here.

"He's on a resource-prospecting mission, by order of his country."

As this conversation reached Mimoza's ears, the old lady seemed to remember something and clapped her hands together.

"That's right! Speaking of which, Itamy-san wants to know something about ores. That's Alfie's specialty. Alfie, if you don't mind, go help him out."

"Ah, yes. If you don't mind, I'd be glad to accompany you."

As she said this, Alfie straightened up in her chair.

Just then, as though waiting for this moment, the restaurant's owner came in with the second course, taking advantage of the brief lull in the conversation. Soon the narrow table was heaped high with plates filled with juicy meats, vegetables, and a potato-like side dish, all of this served in a grand manner.

"As always, everything looks delicious."

"Mm. I was pretty motivated today," the owner looked around for a moment, watching the soups slowly turning cold. Barely anyone had spooned in it. "What's wrong? Was the soup not for your taste?

"Oh, no, no. It wqs delicious. We just immersed ourselves in our little chat. That's all."

"I see…" the red-skinned owner hummed understanding. "Shall I take it away, or warm it for you all?"

"That's not necessary; we'll spoon it as soon as we can, then proceed with the second course. Thank you."

"I see… in that case, Bon appetite."

As the owner said this, the ladies in the restaurant smiled, and the owner retreated back in his kitchen.

And so, it was time to eat. In order to fill the time, Mimoza decided to bring up the "homework."

"Rory. Before I forget, let me answer the question you had given me last time. You asked me — 'Why are there so many species in this world?' And the answer I can give you is — the Gate. The sheer number of demihumans in this world could only have been brought here when the Gate opened and allowed them to pass through. With that in mind, we humans should have been the last immigrants. Historically speaking, humanity would be the youngest residents of this world."

Mimoza leaned forward, and Rory asked if that was her final answer.

"Mm, I'm pretty sure. It's for the same reason that Arnus is viewed as a sacred place in the Empire — not for religious reasons, but because it was the place where humanity first flourished."

"As expected of you, Mimoza."

Mimoza seemed to have gotten a little excited after winning Rory's approval — she curled her arms and clenched her fists.

"Aah, it looks like the question's been settled. I feel so relieved! To think, I would discover what it means to be liberated at this age."

"Why did you ask her that question?"

In response to Itami's question, Rory gave a serious, earnest reply, a reply everyone listened earnestly as it was an interesting topic.

"If you compare this world to a tree, then we as Demigods would be the gardeners who tend to that tree. If we see a branch that has grown too long or grown the wrong way, then we will cut it off, if need be. Of course, the tree called 'The World' won't grow if all we do is trim, am I right? So what we do is pick out some Sages with promise, and pose them a seemingly unreasonable question."

Even Itami knew that Rory meant knowledge and technology when she talked about branches.

"It sounds like raising a bonsai."

"Pretty much. You trim the branches you don't like and get rid of pests that fly in. We have always guarded the peace of this world through those means — well, we should, but…"

"You should? Why do you say that?"

But just as Itami was about to ask, he saw Rory sigh, and then quietly hiss "Hardy, you idiot."

"Hmm… It sounds like you just do the dirty work for the gods and they reap the benefits in your stead, meanwhile making the world being stuck in a stagnant state," Ardyn proposed his idea, earning a surprised gaze from everyone and an amused smile from Rory.

"Oh, and why is that? Ardyn-san, right?"

"Right… you see. Let me explain. You referred the world with the simile "garden," and you, apostles as gardeners. No?"

"I said that, what of it?"

"You see. What your gods do is simply farming, shaping their garden according to their taste. Cultivating the necessary ingredients to eat. Just in the end to harvest what they had sown, to feed on it."

"I start to lose what you want to say…" Rory tilted her head, but deep inside, she started to understand, and her expression started to harden.

"Think of it as a petri dish experiment. Or more like civilization in a snow globe."

"Those are pretty," Raidyn added, leaning forward and resting her chin on her forearm smiling, remembering the one she had gotten from Ainz for her birthday. "I like those."

"Yes, indeed. They are pretty. And what you use to see in those pretty globes? A landscape, with happy people, frozen in time, until the globe shatters."

Gently, Ardyn pushed his ale filled mug… 'Shatter' The ceramic thing shattered immediately in the ground, splashing its content around.

"Your gods pretty much dragged other people here, in this land, against their will, just to experiment with them. To close them in a snow globe frozen in time, a petri dish. Like some kind of virus. To cultivate them, to use them. To… what is it called..." Tapping his chin, his expression turned hard as ice.

"Ah, yes. It is pretty much an economy, where the gods harvest people like farmers do with their crops. Not their bodies. Oh noo…! That would not give them enough energy, nearly not enough to upkeep their godly state. What is more delicious, their very soul, the mental energies they feed towards them. Or as you know it, faith usually offered willingly through worship. After all, if you close a person in the shadow, it will seek light and nutriment, no? You only need to open a little window, throw some scraps to them, and they swear fealty to you. Willingly offering their everything for scraps. In the end, you end up with more than what you invested. And if one element rises against your rule, it is not a problem, you simply send the enforcers to take care of it. Namely, you, apostles. You are the cleaning brigade of the taskmasters."

"Pretty much describes deities…" Constantine chuckled, just to earn a sharp hit to his side from Seras.

"Ugh! That hurts!"

"Are you saying my god is some kind of thief?" Rory started to get angry. She barely knew this man for a few minutes, but he had already insulted her god. No, every deity in the pantheon!

She was ready, with a move, she could call for her divine weapon. She would show him the might of Rory the Reaper!

"Sorry. You must be misunderstanding me."

For a moment, her stance eased, thinking Ardyn wanted to apologize.

"What I want to say is that the beings you call gods, are nothing more than parasites. Addicts, junkies absorbed by the pursuit of their stolen power. The power they siphoned and stole away from others. Without their worshippers, their source of power, they will pretty much dissipate in the vast cosmos after a while. And oh! What dissipates worship the best way? Ah, of course, it is known. Science and knowledge! The little vegetables would be perfectly fine without the parasites infecting them, and can pretty much advance better without the regulator variable holding them back. Without the gardeners…" he shot a snarky smile to Rory.

"What!?" Yao jumped up suddenly, watching Rory distressed. "I-Is this true, your holiness? The things Lord Ardyn is saying?"

"Honestly, I don't know. Emroy-sama never speaks about it," she admitted honestly before continuing. Or, she simply lied to Yao, and everyone's face. Only the apostle of Emroy, and the god she worshipped knew for sure.

With an unpleasant expression, Rory continued.

"What you say have a faint truth. But let me ask you, Lord Ardyn. What happens with the garden where weed has proliferated too much? So much it suffocates the balance of things? What happens with the garden? You wouldn't let it uncared for, no? Balance requires payment, as you know, no person is willing to work free. And if this requires this small amount to be paid, then so be it, isn't this equivalent of exchange?"

Ardyn leaned against his fist, smiling calmly. Now, Rory felt she had the upper hand. Yet, the man was not nervous, not in the slightest; his level-headed expression remained.

"I suppose you are partly right."

Yes. Ulbert was aware, Rory was part right. Without order, without control, chaos would go rampant. Besides that… Who said he had not used the same method to gain more power and break away his shackles?

Yes, he had utilized the same method too to break his limiter back then, he remembered now.

…

Impersonating a new, surfacing deity, then harvesting his followers' mental energies they gave willingly to break away from his own limitations; truly, this was the method he had learned and used after reading about it in an ancient text which described the technique.

Now UIbert remembered, he had used their sacrifices. Traded their souls for minor favors to feed and expand his flames, break away his shackles.

One to be able to ascend to godhood, first needed to ignite the "Godfire" in their "Truesoul."

And after Ulbert found a way to ignite this — in his case — infernal Godflame, he was able to ascend his level limitation the game had cursed him with. Transcending his limits and gathering energy properly, crushing the bottleneck limiting him.

The body of a person was like a bowl, a crucible. The Truesoul of the person was like fire. Ignite it properly, and it became Godfire to be precise.

You needed to feed, tend this Godfire properly in the bowl to gain power. Then expand the bowl, give the fire more place to grow. Fill the crucible that is your body. Only then, you would not fall back, only then, you would not stagnate to be a simple mortal once more!

Now, he remembered. Now he knew. The gods of this world were fools for throwing away their physical forms! Without it, they were nothing more than fire. Without a case to hold that power for long, the fire would go dim and get extinguished, trampled over under a short amount of time.

Feed it not, and you would disappear, evaporating away like the morning fog!

In Ulbert's eyes, the gods of this world, and a few of Earth's dimension were nothing more than leeches, addicted to the constant sacrifice, and offering their own followers provided, desperately clamping into this faint hope not to disappear and fall back into the nothingness.

Meanwhile he, and if he felt it right — his friends — were real divine beings with the infinite potential to grow and expand. Even if they were not worshipped, they would not stagnate or disappear, just slightly weaken. Because… the bowl still held and preserved their eternal Godfire. Until it broke, they could always grow more, and never fall back too much.

 _"Leaving behind your physical body under the ascension process… fufufuf! How foolish! A cheap trick to hasten the process in gaining godhood. It will only weaken you in the long term, making you addicted to a drug called faith and people. Like a leech! Like a cripple! You will starve to death if others do not feed you willingly. Fools!"_

Yes! He felt it even now! Back then, only a few selected could challenge his power. After his defeat, waking up he was weakened. Most likely because his worshippers and followers had either died or been killed, almost all. Without the plus energy they fed towards him, and the long hibernation, his fire had dimmed as well. Still, it remained strong enough to sustain itself forever and ever.

Having a body befit to the infernal god of destruction and a terrifying vitality preserved and tended this fire. The thing had its own benefits — body and soul. One needed both to truly advance. The balance of things, others might say.

"…"

At the moment he regained his consciousness on "Planet Bob" — as his friend so creatively called their planet — he was connected once more. His Godfire blazed violently once again! Awake and unstoppable! Tended by the excess energies of the millions and millions of worshippers that prayed for him, weaving his name in their prayers, sending their energy to him through an invisible line of psychic connection.

Without any doubt, Ulbert Alain Odle haf returned! And he was on the way to regain his full power, even, possibly surpass it!

…

"That's what I thought," Rory nodded satisfied, calming down, spooning her soup.

"In that case…" Ulbert continued with a mocking smile.

"In that case?"

"Your gods represent stagnation. When in truth, the proper system is the survival of the fittest. After all, tend the garden too much, and you will bring weakness. Let the weed overgrow it, and it'll either turn to dust after a while or, a stronger, more fit specimen will emerge. A specimen surpassing all others before its time. To create something new, you need to destroy the old. Then build on its bones. In the process, you need to gamble of course. All or nothing. Transcendence or oblivion. Without this, you are stuck in an infinite, never-ending, and unnatural cycle of stagnation. Stagnation, which is the enemy of all balance. Stagnation, and oblivion, which, your gods represents."

The fire between the two blazed ever intense, and it was like visible voltage fought to dominance between the two pairs of eyes. Both sides released a blood red aura of bloodlust, it was almost visible.

"Is this…" Itami looked around, waiting for someone to dissolve the disagreement.

"Ardyn-san…" Raidyn pulled the robes of the dark wizard.

"What? Don't you see I'm trying to prove my truth? You should support me. Isn't that what friends are for?"

"Hmm… Can I eat your soup?" Raidyn simply ignored what he said, proceeding with what she really wanted, pointing at Ardyn's barely steaming soup.

'Thud!' the band fallen on their backs. Constantine and Alfie watched her with an expression which said: "Are you serious?"

Itami, Zeno, and Seras just smiled awkwardly. Yao twisted her face annoyed.

"Hahahaha! That was a good save, Raidyn-san! Very clever," Mimoza exclaimed happily, nodding to her appreciative.

"Mimoza-dono. Can I have your soup too?"

And this question earned an even bigger facepalm from her apprentice.

"Please… master. You once again act like a child. Please, just stop." With a mumble so quiet no one heard it, the muscled blonde elf watched her distressed, sweating.

"But I am a child, Zeno-kun," she smiled brightly, then looked back at the bowl she had snatched from Ardyn. "My time stopped since I was a kid. No forward, no backward, just stagnating. Staying in one place. Forever, and ever."

Hearing this, everyone turned silent, Zeno turned stiff, apologizing deeply inside.

 _"A temporal curse? Yes, most likely."_ Constantine watched Raidyn subtly, drafting his cigarette. _"I wonder. Space-time curses are out of the ordinary. Only higher beings that understand the very law are able to use it."_

Only then, Mimoza broke the silence with her voice.

"Oh, you are a hungry one, aren't you? My, my, my! You are a grower. Have it. Quickly before it goes cold!" Mimoza patted Raidyn's head in a good old grandma style, offering a warm smile.

"Thank you!"

Even if Raidyn was a lot older than her look implied, from time to time it felt good to be treated as a child. Esdeath never had a grandparent figure after all, even before becoming like this, she never knew her grandparents. Thus, it was natural to appreciate some petting from a grandma figure.

"Thank you, sensei!" she bowed like a good child.

"Eat it all up! Chop! Chop! Bon appetite my dear. You still need to grow! Be bouncy like Alfie dear!"

"Se-Sensei!" the mentioned girl's face turned lobster, looking away pouting.

Elsewhere, Lelei remained silent, contemplating on all of which Ardyn and Rory had spoken about.

 _"Is this… true? The gods only use us?"_ Doubts started to rose in her gullet, doubt in the god she worshipped.

"Mimoza-sensei."

"Yes, dear?" Mimoza turned her attention to the little silver head.

"I've never learned anything like that before. About the Gate."

Mimoza, on her part, simply shrugged and said, "Well, it's only to be expected."

And with that, she started her explanation.

"You see, that's the direction in which I took my research. Kato focused on physics, so his knowledge of history was only average. It would have been strange if he actually shifted his focus to studying history."

Right after that, Alfie elbowed her sister in the sides, and the look on her face seemed to say, "As I thought."

"Didn't I say it before as well? — Mm, yes, Master Kato is a specialist in combat magic. But learning solely from one old master leads to your knowledge being lopsided. Still, it's not too late for you. Why don't you stay here and benefit from a structured education?" Alfie advised, a slightly smug smile appearing on the corners of her mouth.

However, Lelei remained unmoved. She simply said, "If I did not seek Master Kato's tutelage, I would not have had the chance to contend to be a Sage."

"That may be so, but that doesn't matter, right? Here's some advice for you, that white robe of yours might end up turning all the colors of the rainbow, like a tropical bird — they say that recently, the Elders have been bringing liquid dyes into the conference hall, and you can imagine how that turned out."

"What? Dyes? What for? They want to paint something nice?"

Lelei looked at Raidyn, explaining how the Sage evaluation worked in Rondel. The evaluation of how one could get the title; Sage.

As she explained it.

One to be able to rise to the rank of Sage needed to defend their thesis before the council and the open crowd. The white robe served to symbolize this fact, symbolize the pureness of the gathered knowledge of the Sage candidate.

If one could protect its spotless state under the council making the final judgment, they gifted the "student" with the rank. Then, the Sage candidate would receive the rank. If not, if even one person threw the dye, staining the white robe, and with it doubt the knowledge and the contribution of the applicant, then the candidate lost the opportunity and had to try next time, with better results, and more experience.

"There was even cases when a candidate was drenched by different colored dyes from tip to toe. Walking away as the crowd booed all along the way."

"Oh, scary. Bunch of dicks."

Well, it was vulgar to be said out loud. But Raidyn never was a person who withheld her tongue just because others liked not her words. She was vulgar, but at least honest.

"Hmm… true. But it is the custom of these people. We can't judge them," added Rory wisely, and the people around could only hum in agreement.

"It's fine. I have confidence in my research. If possible, I would like you all to see this."

With that, Lelei withdrew several scrolls from a bag which her robe had covered up.

As she did this, several funnels which she had kept inside the bag spilled out. Lelei hurriedly moved to pick them up.

She had bought these copper funnels from a Japanese grocery store. One could use them to fill a container about the size of a wine bottle with liquid from a large beaker (about one liter's worth of wine, sauce, and so on). Now that bottles were commonplace, funnels like these were quite hard to find.

"Why... why do you have things like these?"

Lelei gave Itami's question a deadpan answer:

"The shape and materials of these objects are well-suited for producing the Neumann effect. In addition, they are cheap to make, so losing them is not a great loss. The most important thing is that nobody would think of them as weapons."

Just as the two of them began discussing this, Mimoza and Alfie opened Lelei's scroll and began reading.

"This packaging looks terribly plain…"

"Oh! But this is interesting. Combining this so-called; tier based magic system with the one we use to reach a new effect? Where did you get such a thing?" Mimoza asked in the end interested. At the same time, Alfie passed her time by finding fault with the scrolls' exterior, though after she finished reading its contents, suddenly, she fell silent.

"Now, this is interesting…" Ulbert and Raidyn also read the scrolls, smiling at each other satisfied.

 **[Message]:** "Truly it is. Ulbert-kun, be aware; this girl might push you down from your throne one day."

 **[Message]:** "Hush! I've seen many geniuses like her back then, and all fell before my might. No matter how vast their potential is, if a genius can't reach the peak of their ability, or compare to the force they go against, it isn't worth it. For now, let's watch her growth. It is quite intriguing to crush the ego of geniuses and heroes in the moment of their triumph."

 **[Message]:** "Hush! Just don't regret it later. Don't let the prey become the hunter in the last moment."

 **[Message]:** "Fufufu… Don't worry about me. Worry about yourself."

 **[Message]:** "Me? Oh! I don't treat her as an enemy, but rather a possible ally. A good chat partner from whom I can learn much. And she can learn from me. Share, and grow, Ulbert-kun. Share, and grow."

The two chatted under the disguise of their mental link, seeing a vast potential in the short girl.

"Well, this is quite surprising. If you directly presented the knowledge from another world as-is, you would definitely be accused of plagiarism. Instead, you used it as a base, fused it with our magical system, and then put an even more alien system in the mix. If you do this, those picky Elders will have nothing to say."

Mimoza smiled to Lelei, as though giving a guarantee.

"The soon coming conference will be quite interesting…"

Alfie said that, but her body had long since frozen up, her brows knotted. Shortly after that, she muttered:

"She, she surpassed me. She completely…"

Arpeggio brought her index fingers together, and she rubbed their tips against each other as she kept sighing.

"...Lelei surpassed me." Now, she had finally reached the breaking point. And realization finally dawned on the busty girl.

"That's just too bad, Alfie. But you have lots of time, so don't give up."

Mimoza's words were intended to comfort and encourage her. But to Alfie, who had sacrificed so much and devoted her life to research in order to gain results, the shock of being so easily eclipsed by her younger sister was not something that simple encouragement could help with.

"Haa… I might as well not bother with this research business. I don't have any talent. When will I get a chance to shine? I might as well retire and go back to the village to teach children."

Alfie was completely depressed.

And now, it was Lelei's turn to give her encouragement.

"It's not like that. Obtaining solid results from mineral magic research takes great time and effort — that's just how research in that field is."

"R-Really?"

"It was only by the slimmest of chances that I managed to witness the knowledge from the other side of the Gate, and by standing on the shoulders of giants I arrived here. But everyone knows that mineral magic research requires a great sum of money to carry out. Nobody can deny that."

"That's what I mean. Without money, I can't even afford experimental samples… Say, Lelei, you've come into a lot of money recently, right? Lend me some!"

Before Alfie could finish, Lelei turned toward the dining table and began spooning up her already cold, remaining soup.

"This is really delicious."

She had completely ignored Alfie's request.

"Oi! Don't tell me that you don't have any money now!?"

"Mineral magic — even if it's alchemy — is like a witch's cauldron that melts down every single coin thrown into it. People have literally seen their money go up in smoke. As you can see, this field of research is truly frightening. Anyone who gets involved with that business is asking for it. Because of that, nobody is going to help you."

"Uwaaaaaaaaaah!"

As though bemoaning her misfortune, Alfie grabbed her head and wept pitifully. As they watched this, Tuka and Rory whispered to each other:

"Lelei's sister is quite an interesting character."

"Mm. This is the first time I've seen such a passionate human woman."

From the side, Mimoza merely sighed in exasperation, before joining their conversation:

"That girl threw herself into research ever since she was first able to do so. She's all wound up, physically and mentally. I guess she's just been pushed to her limits."

"Speaking of which — when you were her age, all you did was mess around and have fun, Mimoza."

Rory began counting on her fingers, for some unknown purpose. Her right hand was not enough, so she carried on to her left hand.

"Rory, could you please not bring up the past?"

It would seem Rory's actions had managed to turn an old woman's ears red in embarrassment.

After a while, when she realized that nobody would pay attention to her crying, Alfie suddenly dropped the act and said:

"I've had it! I might as well find someone and marry him!"

"Eh? It feels like she changed all of a sudden," Tuka said, watching Itami who just shrugged.

"What interesting things will she say next?" Rory replied, a look of eagerness on her face.

"Let's just listen and find out." Raidyn leaned forward, resting her chin on the top of her fingers. "Say, Rory. Wanna bet what she will say?"

"Ok, fine by me." Rory put the coin on the table.

"Master. Please don't bet; I don't want to lend you money once more because you went bankrupt."

"Hush! Just give me the coin."

Aflie, in desperation, looked around, spotting first Constantine, smiling slightly awkwardly.

"Constantine-san. I know you are a magician, just like myself, and from our talk, devoted to your life to research the supernatural and alchemy."

Constantine just rolled his eyes, knowing what was coming after this.

"Would you be fancy to lend me some money?"

"Out of the question," he answered without hesitation, not even stating why.

"Wha… why!?"

"Look kid. You are sympathetic. But I have barely any money as it is. That old hag is paying me basically cents compared to my field of expertise, or, compared to what the army pays to her for lending us for this job."

Alfie looked at Seras who nodded with a bitter smile. "Tha-That's actually true. Nowadays, Sir Integra has really tightened her belt. She even cut our paygrade at half. You know, there is an economic crisis in our country."

"Oh…" Arpeggio nodded, gulping. If the situation was that bad even a noble couldn't pay her subordinates normally, then, it could not be helped. She couldn't expect help from a subordinate who wasn't paid normally.

Leaning closer to Lelei, she whispered.

"What can you tell me about that Zeno figure?"

"He is an adamantine rank adventurer — one of the best of his country, leading his group called Sunbreakers. He is the Knight of Gown back in the Sorcerous Kingdom. As well, have lordship and lands."

"Ah! That's impressive. "

Measuring him, she came to the next conclusion. _"Good looking. Strong. Wearing clothes made from top notch material. Ah! Perfect! It does not matter he is an elf, I can bear with that. And as I've heard he is an adventurer… is it an occupation now?"_

Next, it was Yao's turn to speak.

"He has been named as the Honorably Elder of my Tribe. Gained Lordship in the Kingdom of Elbe by making a contribution of defeating the dragons threatening our lands. And of course, I am his servant now."

"Now, now… Yao-san. We spoke about this. You are my companion. Slavery in the kingdom is prohibited."

"Please forgive me."

It was her chance! A lord, no less! With the power to defeat a terrible dragon? He must be a legendary figure! Alfie still had no idea what the heck was the knight of Gown? But it must have meant high standard, it was a knight title after all. Alfie already imagined their lives together.

 _"It is my chance! It does not matter if he will be away most of the time. I'll just stay home, bid farewell when he leaves. If there will be kids, the maids will take care of them."_ In her imagination, her rich, careless life which was filled with experiments and advancement filled out the gaps.

Standing up, she was under a moment behind the hero's back, massaging his broad shoulders.

"Waha…!"

"Lord Zeno. Care to…" but before she could continue her sentence, Yao grabbed Zeno's muscled arm, daggering Alfie with her gaze. If looks could kill, Arpeggio most likely would be dead, incinerated into dust.

"Don't even think about it. As Lord Zeno's protector, it is my duty to protect him from gold diggers like yourself. Go away, you viper! Hiss!"

"…"

Hearing the protective words of the hissing Yao, seeing Zeno's blushing face, Raidyn could only smile amused, yet, at the same time feeling proud.

 _"Oh! Little Zeno finally settled. I am so proud! Fufufufu… Then I can finally speak with him about the bees and flowers! I can't wait! I always wanted to speak with someone about them. How does it work exactly? Do I have to put in, or others put it in? It is so confusing! By the way?" she watched Yao for a moment. "I also need to make the girl understand. Don't mess with my little pupil. The boy is too good-hearted to be hurt. I will not forgive anyone who hurts my first real success. I WILL DISMANTLE THE PERSON THAT ROBS MY LITTLE ONE'S INNOCENCE!"_

Backing, Alfie looked a little bit frightened, looking around for a potential next victim, stopping her eyes on Ardyn.

 _"Yes, he surely will be enough… he will surely accept me!"_

Hearing how Ardyn had introduced himself, he must have been pretty rich. As well, a mage like herself. Such a handsome, enlightened man able to corner Rory the Reaper in a debate surely understood her struggle.

"Lord Ardyn? What about you?" she sneaked closer, massaging his shoulders.

 _"It is like his muscles are made from metal fibers. I can't even nudge them."_ she watched him, imagining his worked out body under the robes. Even imagining it made her mouth moisten.

 _"Not many mages could boast with a worked out body. Most of them are scrawny, there are even many fat creeps amongst them."_ Just now, Alfie remembered one of the creeps calling her to a date.

 _"Creeps… Sitting and reading all day. I do it as well of course. But I at least do some field research and exercise from time to time. And my body is well rounded in the right places."_

Such thoughts crossed Arpeggio's mind, feeling pride knowing her own beautiful, well-curved appearance _. "With my assets, I can't lose!"_

With a charming smile, she leaned near Ardyn's ear, whispering gently.

"Care to help out a fellow magician? You will see, my research will be beneficial to you. Please, give me a chance!" Fortunately, today she had put up the perfume she bought for a good price, making her smell nice, more alluring.

"…"

Ardyn just raised his brow, caressing his goat beard. With a closed, confident smile he asked. "Go ahead, what can you offer?"

"Of course." Alfie was aware, without providing something for a mighty magic caster like Ardyn was — possessing numerous titles and most likely Lordship — she would never have the chance to actually to earn his favor and sponsorship.

"Amongst my many talents, I am a talented mineralogist, acknowledged in all Rondel. Scholar of history and decent by using magic for fighting. If you sponsor my research, you will not regret it. I am even willing to assist your research wherever you wish. Be your assistant just for your sponsorship. Or, if you wish…" she unbuttoned a button on her robe, revealing a small cleavage. "I will be even willing to marry you, Ardyn-sama. Sponsor me, and you will not regret it," her tone became coquettish, earning a smile from the man.

"Hmm… I will consider it."

This one sentence, made Alfie feel relieved, until…

"I would not offer myself so easily if I were you. Not to him."

"What are you talking about?"

Suddenly, she turned in the direction of the voice, towards Raidyn who elegantly cut her juicy steak.

"Hmm! This is good!" gulping down the chewed piece, she continued. "The man you want to assist and marry casually murders hundreds of people, if not thousands on daily base, sacrificing them to fuel his dark experiments. Executing and enslaving whole countries that rebel against his rule, keeping them like dogs. I don't know what you want to earn, but the last three assistants I saw on his side were once pretty girls like you, but turned into pig-like abominations after him making them taste one of his concoctions."

"Well…" Ardyn smiled confidently, dismissing all the horrified gazes he got from the others. "It was not that bad actually, one of them showed impressive results. The alchemical formula unusually increased my assistant's magic resistance and physical abilities. Hmmm, I miss Zenda, poor princess… Fufufufu."

Zeno slowly moved, reaching towards his sword, and was on to behead Ardyn.

He couldn't take it anymore! He needef to destroy the vile presence before it would affect anyone, infect his master. The vile, demonic energies the man radiated made him act. His patron, Touch Me couldn't tolerate an evil being around. He needed to act! Just then…

"My body…" He couldn't move, he couldn't breathe, and a dark hand started to squeeze his heart. He would die if this went on. Ardyn did not even move, just leisurely sipped his drink.

"Ardyn-kun…" Raidyn glanced at her friend, exerting some pressure. Under a moment, Zeno also felt the weight lifting from his shoulders slightly. Something was working against the suffocating effect or Ulbert's aura.

"Please, you don't want to hurt my pupil, do you? I worked hard to train him."

"Him, hmmm?" Ulbert just frowned, watching Zeno under his fedora displeased. "You can find better under a short time, I guarantee it. Such a weak fly is not fit for a sophisticated individual like you."

"Still, please refrain from hurting him. He has grown to me under the years. If he dies, I will turn upset. And I don't have to remind you what happens then. What happened last time?"

Her eyes flashed for a moment, and the wall cracked from the exerted pressure, the whole building shaking for a few moments.

"Do you want to fight? Fufufuf! So be it! I'll oblige your wish!" A dark red, chaotic aura emerged from Ardyn, filling the room with madness.

With the exception of Rory who licked her lips in excitement, everyone gasped for air panting, a hard pressure descending on them.

"Maybe later. Not here…" Raidyn dismissed the idea, both of them lowering their pressures. "I like this city, you wouldn't want to ruin it, would you?"

"Of course not. It is not my intention," Ulbert pulled his hat in his eyes smiling confidently.

Suddenly, her eyes turned to Alfie. "Girl. There is a reason why he is called a Dark Lord. Don't forget that."

Arpeggio could only gulp, and nod, her blood frozen. _"What the hell happened!?"_

"Raidyn-san, I am in if you start a brawl," Rory supported her, prepared to call for her "Unholy" artifact.

Yet, Ardyn just smiled, waving in the air. "Fine then. I'll release him." With a wave of his hand, Zeno collapsed on the ground.

"Thank you!" the exerted pressure Raidyn released also disappeared. "Miss, please check if Zeno-kun is all right, tell me if there is any injury."

"Ye-Yes…" At first, Yao thought of Raidyn as a child, couldn't possibly imagine how she could train a mighty, honorable hero like Zeno was. But now, feeling the bloodlust, the radiated, almost crystalized power she had released. She understood, she had found the reason behind Zeno's strength.

'Gulp…'

What Yao felt was comparable, even slightly surpassed what she felt when Rory gave way to her bloodlust. When the dragons intercepted them when the creatures killed her people. Only then, she felt such dread.

"Raidyn-san is scary…" Tuka whispered to Itami subtly.

"Ye-yeah…" Itami answered forcing a smile.

Constantine loosened his tie, lighting another Silk Cut. "Crazy bitch…" and Seras… well, she watched the happenings with silence, patting Constantine's back understanding and sighing relieved. "Hah…"

Looking around, Raidyn smiled. "Ardyn-san, I think we got them."

"Definetly, it was a nice act."

"What are you talking about?" Rory asked confused.

"This was just a joke."

"Ahhh!" everyone exhaled hard, watching Raidyn with widened eyes. Disbelief froze on their face after the anouncement.

"Yo-you don't speak seriously, do you?"

"Well…" she looked at Ardyn, smiling jokingly. "The two of us often exaggerate facts or make things up to make things more interesting. Aren't I right, Ardyn-kun?"

"Ah! That's for sure! I can't live without our little situation play. Though, I really miss poor Princess Zenda… she was a good assistant. Too bad she turned to a deformed freak under that lab accident, then suffered a long, agonizing death long after it. Her boyfriend coming to take revenge did not help either. Poor foolish hero," Ulbert shook his head dismissing, and added. "But he deserved it. Destorying all my pots was not nice. Also, the foolish boy drank every unlabeled red potion he found. It is not surprising he blew up in the end."

Itami could only imagine what the 'hero's' name was, remembering a certain game. "Poor Link…" he mumbled sweating.

"Hmmm…." dangling her legs, Raidyn was bored. "I hope they have ice cream; I love ice cream. Mimoza-sensei, is there ice cream around?" and with that, the adventurer returned to her usual, childish self, watching the old lady happily.

"Oh, my! This was scary! What is ic-e cream by the way?" Mimoza asked, cleaning her perspiration with a handkerchief. "I've never heard it. Is it some food?"

"Whaaa!?" Raidyn roared panicking. "Yo-you don't have ice cream!?"

Arpeggio retreated, walking near her sister.

"…"

She was scared, but… _"There is no other way… I can't let my sister beat me! There is no way!"_ Determination lit once more in her eyes. _"It can't be she is before me, even in love!"_

She put her arm around Lelei and said:

"Tell me about Itami-san, hm?"

"Itami Youjy. A military officer of the country of Nihon. Granted the title of' Lord' by the King of the Elbe Kingdom. In addition, he is an honorary patriarch of the Schwarz Forest Dark Elf tribe, et cetera."

"A 'Lord'... well, he's not a very highly-placed one, but he's still a noble! How, how about his financial situation? His assets?"

You don't have to tell Lelei twice, she changed seats right away, sitting back where she originally sat, near Itami.

"Hey, wait a minute. Lelei, that's my seat."

"It was mine before you stole it."

"There's no point saying that now. Give it to me."

"No."

"Why not? Why are you being so difficult?"

After that, Lelei gripped Itami's sleeve tightly and said:

"We already have a three-night kind of relationship."

The three nights in question (one could call it a ritual, but it was more of a tradition) referred to the fact that a couple which spent three nights sleeping together in the same bed were now joined together. In other words, this was a declaration that "From this day forward, we are married."

"Who… who and who?" Alfie asked in a trembling voice.

"Itamy and I."

"Aieeeee!"

She had been surpassed in academia, beaten in financial power, and now Lelei had even taken the lead in the field of love! No one was willing to help her out! No friends, no strangers, no sponsors! Nothing!

"Suuu…!"

At this moment, the tense string knotted around Alfie's heart strained even further — and like that, it snapped. By the time she returned to her senses, she had already beaned Lelei on the head with the bowl of her untouched soup.

Part of her had considered that it would be bad if Lelei got burned, but once she picked up the bowl, all that went out the window — the soup had grown cold after being left there for so long. That being the case, there was no need to hesitate — Alfie hurled the soup bowl at Lelei's head.

'Splash!'

'Splash!'

'Splash!'

The dripping sound echoed amidst the walls of the restaurant many times, and every member of the little group went silent immediately.

"…"

Her silver hair was now stained reddish-brown by the sweet soup. In addition, the dripping soup had reached her shoulders and stained her white clothes.

Everyone was staring in shock at Alfie, while she herself realized what she had done.

"Crap, I went too far."

Even so, she did not regret what she had done. Right now, Alfie was feeling more relaxed than she had ever been — indeed, all this was necessary.

At this moment, Lelei rose, somewhat unsteadily. She glared at this big sister of hers, and a fire burned in her eyes.

And this brings us to the events at the beginning of this chapter.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Somewhere in Rondel:**

Londel had long known of the war between the Empire and the two countries on the other side of the Gate. However, when one took the location of the Gate at Arnus and Dalnus into consideration, the city of Londel was in the completely opposite direction of the Imperial Capital. There was even a mountain range between the two cities, complete with a mountain stream that flowed from the icy peaks. Because of that, nobody thought that the fighting would come here.

But just now, in a lavish room, directly prepared for its current inhabitant, a man sat before his table, several books stocked on it.

"Hmm… interesting."

His nose buried deep in one of the books, it seemed he had found something very interesting. At least interesting enough to bury his nose in it.

"The three eyes of Ral/Elange…"

The slight wrinkles around and the lively light in his eyes made him look like a wise person. His scholarly white robe adorning him from tip to toe actually enforced this very idea.

"Fufufuf… a very interesting legend. I wonder if it's true. Indeed, we need a full expedition team here as soon as possible. Be it whatever the reason is, the air around and, moreover, in the city is filled to the brim with magical particles, anyone who trains in the city with magic gains great benefits."

The man caressed his neatly trimmed beard, his face — that was of a handsome man around the middle of his thirties — beamed a confident, knowledgeable smile.

"Indeed, something is around that is the cause of this phenomenon. And whatever it is, I will find it. Just as his majesty decreeded."

Just like a madman, he laughed, his gaze filled with mad glee for a moment, before turning silent once more, watching the scattered parchments on his table, papers engraved with magical diagrams and the layout of the city.

"The analyzing formations soon will be ready around the city. Once they have been completed, we can make a full scan. The Supreme Beings will be satisfied, I am sure of it.

'Ping-ping!'

The crystal ball on his table pinged, releasing a chirping sound. And with a wave of his hand, a voice was released from it.

"Report…"

"Fluder-sama," the hooded figure bowed deeply before continuing. "A few more days and the layout will be set for a full scan."

"Good…"

Fluder, the tri-magic caster of the kingdom was confident. He had plenty of time, after all, completing the task his master had decreeded and entrusted him with was of great importance. The presence of the two Supreme Beings was only to make sure everything would go smoothly. A present from his glorious Lord, yes, he considered it just like that.

But, deep inside was well aware of the truth. Ulbert and Esdeath were only around to inspect the city, gain a first impression.

Why would Ainz send Supreme Beings personally to make sure his task was completed as he intended?

Ainz proved to Fluder many times, he did not need to send anyone, just give the orders to the intended people and it would be done. Whatever happened, it would go according to the whim of his palm.

 _"Unless of course…"_ Fluder remained silent for a moment, thinking, knotting his brows hard.

 _"Unless something grand will happen here in the next few days: something worthy of not one, but two Supreme Beings' presence. In that case…"_ his smile was evident as he turned back to the crystal ball and the figure in it.

"Take your time. Make sure everything is set properly. Call me over once you have finished with the arrangement. I will personally check it out."

"As you wish, Fluder-sama." The ball went blank once more, a strange gas swirling in its inside.

Leaning back in his comfortable seat, the man shot a wild smirk. _"Those foolish politics of the Earth and the Empire… pushing their visits over and over again. If this proceeds like this… They will never see the glorious kingdom of my master."_

Indeed, the JSDF and the Empire started to negotiate which moment would be best to visit the kingdom, doing this through their diplomats. Endeavoring to visit the Sorcerous Kingdom at the same time.

"Oh my! I may need to push them a little bit, or they will never see the glory of the Supreme Beings."

With a hum, Fluder sent a fast mental message, urging his subordinates to act.

"Well, let's see then what is in the city."

Right after he activated his divination magic, a really interesting sight welcomed him. "Now, this is interesting."

Two girls faced each other in a somewhat crowded street; one was familiar; he had seen her back then. The second, she was completely unfamiliar for the old master.

"Fufufuf… this may interest my little pupil. Let's see what she will say seeing this."

Meguminoi had spoken to him about this… Lelei girl. Describing her as a true scholar, a person who learned and acclimatized with record speed. Learning tier 0 magic under only a few days of training.

"Let's see what you are made of…" With a wave of his hand, Fluder added a layer of options to his divination magic, but right at the moment one function came to effect, it signed something went wrong.

"Hmm, clever. The blessing she carries actually repels my attempt to analyze the full scale of her potential. I wonder…" he mumbled, rolling his eyes thinking. "I wonder, is it because it is a passive effect, or are the deities protecting her actively to not spat away valuable information. Interesting…"

'Knock-Knock-knock…'

"Come in."

The door opened, revealing a short girl in a crimson witch attire. "Master Fluder."

"Ah! My little apprentice! I hope you are well. I see you recovered nicely after our little practice match. How was the globe of candy I left in your room? I hope I remember what your favorite brand is. Or, I suppose, my aging mind did not forget it. He, hehe…"

The girl was silent, only nodding solemnly. "Yes, master Fluder."

Looking in the direction of the glowing globe, she needed to ask. "What happened?"

"Come! Come! Your little friend will duel with a woman, I assume, you as well want to check it out what's she is really capable of.

Nodding silently, Meguminoi pulled a chair near her master, blankly watching the starting match. "Lelei…" she mumbled before the match started.

"…"

"Then, I, Rory Mercury, Apostle of Emroy, the God of War, grant my sanction to the 13th Lelena Family Sisters Battle!"

Rory's declaration was like a starter's pistol.

Alfie made the first move. There was a flash of light from her right hand, and a small ball of light flew out at Lelei.

In response, Lelei summoned a ring of wind around her white robe, easily evading the ball of light.

'Clash!'

Right after that, Alfie whipped out a weapon known as a bolas.

Originally, bolas were throwing weapons used for hunting prey. However, in the hands of a skilled user, it could be used for all sorts of highly variable attacks, showing great power in short to medium range. In addition, it was not a heavy weapon, so it was easy to carry on one's person. Usually, bolas were made by joining several weights with a rope, but the bolas Alfie was holding was made of three weights linked by fine chains. In addition, since Alfie was an exponent of mineral magic, she had managed to alter the physical properties of the weapon in her hand — the spiraling weights were made of different materials and heavily enchanted with magic, which released brilliant light in accordance with their user's will.

"Now, that's an interesting way to use minerals. Don't you think?"

"Umu…" the silent girl just leaned forward, eating some sweets recovered under her robes.

"Now then." Fluder's eyes opened wide, watching the girl sitting near him. "There is a little task for you. Just to sharpen your mind and analytics skills. Are you up to it? Or you still need time to recover."

"I am ready," she answered without hesitation.

"Then, please, analyze their skills and technique according to your best knowledge. Tell me their flaws and how would you fix them. You have time until the battle ends. You can't use magic to do so. Now then… Start!"

And thus, the little witch started to watch the ball ever intense, analyzing their movements and techniques confidently.

What does the future bring? No one knows. One thing is true; big things will play out in Rondel in the coming days.

What you ask… let's find out in the next chapter.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Well, that's it, for now, folks and girls! (And other people…) :P**

 **Sry for not posting so long but I had an assignment I had to finish in time, and it took a whole week.**

 **A more tragic event. A few days earlier my whole Operating System kinda crashed (windows… eh), and I lost everything, even the whole typed chapter went into the grinder (can't even recover it.:S.) More than 10k word lost, and I had to type the whole thing from scratch over again after finishing the installation.**

 **But as you know. I like pain and suffering XD! I did it under a whim!**

 **Why do you think I write so painfully long chapters? :P**

 **So, this is it. I hope you like it. Or not (I completely understand, flame me if you want).**

 **In the next chapter:**

 **Doubt of a princess. The artifact reveals itself under the grand evaluation. What will it bring? Chaos? Order? Or something else? You will know next time.**

 **Until the next chapter is released…**

 **Stay safe, play safe, sail safe, die safe, live safe! Good night, good day, good health… good for you!**

 **And don't forget!**

 **RnR**

 **ATTENTION!**

 **The author needs his daily dose of reviews, or he will starve to death!**

 **"I need my precious! I can't live without it!"**

 **Have fun! Until next time!**

 **Bye!**

 **oblivon2991 out!**


	29. The Rondel Roulette (part 1)

**Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There**

 **by oblivon2991**

 **Proofreader: aGuestfromGreece45**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.**

 **I don't own the Overlord(** **オーバーロード** **Ōbārōdo?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **Please review it. I know I will make mistakes that I intend to correct and will try to learn from them and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

* * *

"Isn't this, I don't know, a little bit dangerous?" Itami looked around worried. "I mean, both can get seriously hurt."

"It is a duel, isn't it pretty obvious?"

Everyone around watched the man with slight irritation.

"Raidyn-san, aren't you even a little bit concerned about them?"

'Boom!'

The streets turned into a mess under the fight of the two sisters. And now, many craters decorated the ground around the two.

"Not really, why do you ask?"

"It's just…" Itami bit his lip watching the sisters fighting. Obviously, both of them had their fair share of beating. It was only a matter of time before one of them injured the other, seriously this time.

True, Mimoza had explained it was always this way how the mages of Rondel solved their problems. Even so, he hoped more from the people who lived in the so-called "City of Wisdom."

A logic play or something similar? But this? This was just too simple for his taste. He hoped for more.

"How long will this go on?" Itami wondered quietly, and right away received the answer.

"Usually until their shields collapse."

Looking around, it was a dull looking elf who stood not far from them that had answered. His hair was blonde, but compared to an elf, he looked quite, how should we say…? Plain? At least compared to a normal elfling.

"Oh, thanks…" with that, Itami continued to watch the battle, biting his thumbs worried.

'Boom!' A new crater appeared on the square, and from the dust, the running elder sister burst forward. Her clothes were peerless, a thin layer of a translucent field surrounding her.

"Dammit! Stay put, will you?"

While Arpeggio used her bolas and mineralogy based magic to gain the upper hand, Lelei used her staff and all the things she had learned under her stay with Kato. Naturally, the girl had also found use in all the things she had learned under her journey with these strange people — all of this she utilized to defeat her sister and get revenge after her humiliation.

"I will get you this time, Alfie…"

Her previously pristine, white clothes were still stained with the reddish soup. But strangely, no dirt one might expect with such a heated battle was visible on it. Around her body, the same translucent shield blinked up from time to time.

"Doesn't it seem like the two of them could blow each other up any minute now? And all the people around, isn't it a little bit dangerous standing this close?"

Indeed, all around the crowd started to grow and grow. More and more people gathered to witness the clash of the sisters. More and more gathered to make their bets and drool on the two fighting girls. Mostly on Alfie's perfect curves that swayed wildly under the heat of the battle.

"My! My! My! This reminds me of my younger years. Youngsters are always so fiery." Placing her hand on her cheek, the old Sage's expression softened, remembering her youth, the adventures she and Rory had shared, and her many duels under which she wrought great destruction upon anyone who annoyed her.

"Indeed, I was so fiery! Oh, poor Kato and the rest, I wonder how they are doing now…"

Itami and the people who heard her mumbling could only sweat, backing away slightly.

From the old lady's stature and easy going attitude, it was hard to imagine her with the attribute: "fiery."

"…"

Rory, like a good judge, and her god's appointed "gardener" watched the match in the front row ever vigilant, making sure neither side could cheat in any way.

Her god might have been the master of death, madness, violence, war, and darkness, but was also a lawful god who hated trickery and derogative acts. It was against his nature to let such things happen, and as his envoy in this world, it was his task to make sure such a thing couldn't happen in her presence.

"Let's hope this will bring results…"

You don't have to ask, after the momentary struggle at the beginning of the battle, the small mage with the silvery blue hair started to gain the upper hand, more and more pushing back her sister with her excellent use of the environment, and her newly learned skills.

"Dammit!" Arpeggio swore, running away from another compressed air blast.

'Boom!'

"If this goes on like this, I will surely lose! Dammit! That damn brat!"

"[Wind Blades]."

Lelei moved her wrist elegantly, casting her tier 1 magic, and several compressed air waves ruined the ground in the next moment, her sister barely able to evade them.

Indeed, under such a short amount of time, she had been able to learn even a tier 1 spell. For anyone else, reaching this point may have taken months, for some even years. This accomplishment showed how talented she was. Of course, her worshipped deity's blessing also helped to pick up things at an accelerated rate.

Naturally, in the tier based magic system, with each tier, the learning took a longer time, and more effort was needed to cast a spell. For most people, tier 2 was the pinnacle they could attain, usually only truly talented or blessed people were able to surpass that point and reach tier 3. Tier 4-5 counted the realm of heroes, which very few could reach. Tier 6 was for legends. Above that was a mystical playground. Even Fluder under his almost five hundred years could only cast up to tier 7 without serious rituals. And this after his master gave him the necessary books and his blessing to reach that point.

Others, no matter how hard they learned or trained, were never able to cast even a tier 3 spell.

"…"

Although her face was utterly apathetic, deep inside she was angry, and once, disappointed, or was it frustration? Or all of the above? Honestly, she didn't know for sure. At this moment, too many emotions burst forward to decide which one Lelei felt right now.

How could her own sister do this to her? How dare she?! She most likely ruined her chance to participate in the Sage evaluation! With her white clothes stained with reddish soup, no one would take her seriously, neither the judges would allow her to participate. If not having several more days before the examination, she would have most likely killed her sister right away out of a sudden burst of rage.

"Damn Alfie…"

Yet, she knew! Maybe she had gone too far. Perhaps it was her fault.

Her sister was in bad shape before, with her choice of path, her strained lifestyle, she was burdened enough as it was, and then Lelei came with all her success, all she had earned so young…

Yes, she had pushed her hard, too hard. She had pushed her over the line.

Was her success the cause of all of this? Maybe, she was not sure. Alfie was always a little bit unstable emotionally, in contrast, Lelei was usually apathetic towards most things that didn't really pique her interest. Or just, was too good to restrain herself? Even she was not sure which.

Yet, just now Lelei couldn't forget what her sister had done with her. It was her dream to become a Sage, and with this, Alfie had most likely robbed her chance to become one of the youngest, if not the youngest, Sage in Rondel's history.

If she did not win now, if she did not regain her honor as a Sage candidate, if she failed before the people of Rondel and her new friends, her chance to show her results would be postponed for the next few years.

Although she could wait it out, as many Sages only reached this point in the late stages of their life, it was not her intention to do so. Not if the chance to gain paid tutelage in the Sorcerous Kingdom was at stake, not if her honor was at stake!

'Clang!'

The sound of the air shattering resounded through the street as blades of compressed air streaked continuously through the air, and debris rained down from the sky like a monsoon. With waves of their staves to defend against an attack, evade, and then slash out horizontally, the attacks of both sides crashed against each other in the middle.

"It's only been a few years, but you've grown quite a bit."

"This white robe isn't for show, you know."

"Bold words. See if I don't rip the stitches out of your clothes."

After that, both sides upped their ante — and their firepower. Deflected bolts of light went astray and scorched the eaves of nearby houses. Several chunks of stone debris scattered into the crowd, which drew howls from them. The fact that nobody had been hurt was a miracle, which seemed to be proof that the people watching were actually mages.

"It, it looks like they're going out of control…"

Pieces of shattered stone fell from the sky like bullets, making Itami cringe back into his uniform. Strangely, the other parties around him did not even flinch. Most likely because they were accustomed to the crash of battle.

"Huh… so many memories," Raidyn smiled, shaking her head, and Ulbert on her side only patted her shoulder.

"Going sentimental?"

"Just a little bit…" her attention turned to a strangely familiar hooded figure in the crowd for a moment.

A man with stoic features and neatly cut black hair watched the battle amidst the people with wide eyes, although his logical features remained all along.

Ordinary people were unable to see, but with Raidyn's divine sight she right away recognized, the man was not only out of his place, but his planet, and more importantly, his time.

"Is that… Mr. Spock?" Yes, the man's face definitely resembled the famous Vulcan from a specific Sci-Fi series.

"Hmm, did you say something?"

"Nothing, just watch the match… I have a bad feeling."

In the crowd, the man mumbled in a strange device. "Captain, this is starting to turn dangerous…"

The moisture in the air crystallized into icicles, whose sharp tips glittered in the light as they flew back and forth. Some of them stabbed into the nearby walls, and their plaster crumbled and fell.

"The first thing mages of the Lindon School learn is defensive magic. Therefore, in most spell battles, both sides rush to see who can break the other's defenses first. However… the two of them have very high attack and defensive power. Lelei's grown so much I can barely recognize her."

Mimoza explained, remembering her prime.

The truth was, both of them had exerted the whole of their abilities, and the pressure was building by the second.

That said, all people had their limits; and at a certain point, both of them stopped moving. They panted, and with every breath, they cast an attack spell, before raising their weighty staves and using all their strength to throw up a defensive barrier.

And then, a sound like a massive lump of metal striking something else echoed all around, raising a cloud of dust.

"Uuu, is this what they mean by a genius? Dammit…"

Alfie clenched her teeth and took a step forward. It was evident she was at a disadvantage from the beginning; when it came to casting a spell, she was obviously inferior compared to her sister. And blocking the wind blades, her cast just took much more effort than usual. She was on the verge of collapse, only out of her iron will she still stood and was able to fight.

Although now, thanks to her stronger build, she started to gain the upper hand in the close quarters combat. This advantage began slowly to even things with Lelei despite her technique.

The first half of this battle was like a duel between two knights swinging at each other with all their might. The fact that they had come this far was a testament to a clash of strength versus strength and will versus will.

However, if they continued dragging the fight out like this, the difference in their respective strength and tiredness would soon become clear — Alfie was attacking less and less, while she was defending more and more.

In this intense situation, Itami felt it was about time to try and stop them. With that, he turned to Rory, the referee, and ventured:

"Rory, what should we do now? I think their determination is going to push this fight to a dangerous stage…"

"Hmm, maybe you are right. But let's wait a little bit more, or the sister's dispute will remain forever. Look, the match has still not be decided. Alfie is still looking for a chance to deliver a decisive counterattack, while Lelei — who's confident in her victory — is waiting for a chance to finish the fight in a single move."

Yes, watching them closely, Itami started to understand what Rory meant. The battle was not over; either side could still win.

"But is this still all right?" Itami questioned himself, but before he could add his own piece of mind and ask Rory, Raidyn approached the girl, whispering something in her ear. The thing Rory only nodded with a stern expression.

"What's wrong?"

"We may have a problem…" Raidyn whispered, making subtle military hand signs and pointing on several shady places.

Itami had no idea how Raidyn knew those hand signs uniformed everywhere on Earth — might have been in her own world it was the same thing — but it came handy just now.

Looking towards the pointed directions, he right away recognized the strangely moving shadows, and a few cloaked people moving suspiciously towards the competitors.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Notify the others, subtly. Once the time comes, Ardyn and I will make sure things go smoothly. Or as smooth as possible."

Nodding, Itami went on his own way, but it was too late. In the next moment, the hooded figures hastened their steps, almost reaching the front lines of the crowd, slowly pulling their knives bathed in a strange light and drenched in poison.

It was evident, they had recognized things would not go as smooth as planned, and it was time to initiate plan B.

"This is not nice…" Ardyn stepped behind one of them, but strangely, the figure said nothing. Instead…

'Flush!'

Cutting towards him rapidly, the dark sorcerer jumped back. "[Push]."

A burst of power left his hand, shooting away from the hooded figure immediately, making a whole building crash down on the attacker.

"What is this!?"

Being the crowd watched the competitors intensely, only after several seconds later they recognized the attack of the hooded people.

"The Sorcerer King sends its regards!"

Like many zealots, the hooded figures burst forward, appearing from the crowd, appearing on the roofs holding simple looking bows that held glowing arrows.

"Everyone! Disperse!" Itami roared, and chaos ensued. The people started to flee left and right, each and every one of them seeking to save themselves, only a few able mages willing to fight and defend the others.

Indeed, Rondel was the city of mages and wisdom. Not the city of brave or the warriors.

Many mages only concentrated on their studies, rarely fighting in real battle. Only from time to time they dueled with each other. On such occasions, just like now, the crowd gathered to drool on the coming destruction. But even then, if it came to their life, mages as sophisticated individuals preferred to listen to their instinct of survival rather than doing what a hero would do.

Most of them were not cowards of course, but they preferred to preserve their life, as every rational being would do.

Usually, guards patrolled around. But now, in some way they were missing. Maybe, just maybe something had distracted their attention and were unable to reach this place in time.

"Lelei!? What happened?"

Hearing her sister's terrified scream, seeing the chaos all around, the small Sage candidate right away recognized, something was not right. They were under attack!

"Alfie… we need to get out there."

"Watch out Lelei!" In the last moment, Arpeggio pushed her sister out of the way, and a wicked-looking arrow pierced her back, stopping only millimeters away from her chest.

"Alfie…"

"Ugh!"

"Alfie!" Thanks to the long fight and her exhausted state, Arpeggio's shield had been breached by an enchanted arrow right away, completely piercing her chest. Immediately, the girl collapsed, rich red substance leaving her body. Trembling, she had never felt such a pain before. It was like someone was burning her alive.

On the roof, a cloaked person snarled "Dammit!" out of the several fire blasts coming his way. With his position having been compromised, the assassin was forced to retreat. Yet, he was satisfied, assassinating the small mage and several key people was a secondary objective. "It cannot be helped; the main objective is complete. I will get out of here!"

With that, the assassin jumped down, disappearing in the crowd.

"Alfie! Alfie!" Lelei shouted desperately, shaking her sister's slowly dying body.

In the crowd, right and left the hooded ones started to kill people without care, arrows raining down from the sky. Piercing, murdering and killing those who were not protected by some barrier or were unluckily hit. Their chants resounded louder and louder with each moment.

"Kill all! Kill them all! Kill all! Kill them all! For they are unworthy for the coming world!"

Indeed, anyone who was not a mage, or was too slow to cast a barrier, most likely had fallen from the first wave of arrows.

"[Infernal Barrier]!"

With a snap of Ardyn's finger, an infernal force field emerged above the people, stopping and burning the arrows to ash, burning any enemy who attempted to pass it forcefully.

"So many…" Seras mumbled, knocking out and neutralizing one more.

"Shit!" Constantine swore, recognizing something strange. The attackers' movements were shaky, not as fluid one might expect from an organized attack force. And he felt, some kind of mind control magic emitted from them.

'Whisper! Whisper! Whisper!' After a fast incantation, his vision expanded and gained further insight on what's the matter. "They are mind controlled!" he shouted.

He knew too well the nasty nature of mind control, Constantine and Seras had encountered this type of magic too many times under their line of work.

The only things you could do was either to kill the controlled individuals, knock them out, find the source and end it, or dispel the mind control in some way.

Unfortunately, in the heat of battle, the latter two versions were out of the question. The controller was most likely not in the crowd, and messing with people's heads without identifying the proper method was too risky to try, moreover, killing them would lead nowhere. The only remained option was to knock them out.

"Try not to kill them!" But it was evident; the others had also realized what he and Seras already did. Raidyn shouted on the side, informing everyone.

"Dammit!" gritting her teeth, she knocked out another robed cultist. "Ardyn! Are you ready?"

"One more moment!" shouted back the dark lord. Many cultists assaulted him, but an invisible barrier around him nullified every attack.

"Oh my! What is this?" Mimoza cast a sleep spell, and a group of archers collapsed on the roofs.

"Lelei! You need to move!" Itami shouted, yanking Lelei hard. The girl's face was completely blank, staring at her sister slowly bleeding out.

"Alfie…" Lelei muttered, completely blank and frozen. Even against the dragon, she had felt no such fear. Now, as her sister was on the verge of dying, she just… she just couldn't move. Staring the arrow shaft coming out from her sister's chest, watching Arpeggio's blood covering her hands, she could only tremble, watching her sister's haphazardly moving chest.

"Huff! Huff!" Alfie watched Lelei pleading, dread-filled orbs staring back at her, her breathing going from calm to haphazard and hyperventilating, thirsting for air so horrifically cut from her holey lungs.

"Itami! Get her out of here! You are in the line of fire!" Zeno jumped before the frozen girl and Itami, casting his defensive magic, with Tuka and Yao not far from them fending off the attackers.

"[Divine Barrier]!"

He was just in time, because in the next moment several cultists cast their magic, and a line of spells exploded on the holy barrier.

'Bang! Bang! Bang!'

"Their minds are clouded…" Rory jumped away from a slash elegantly, knocking her opponent out with great elegance. "Emroy-sama would be disappointed if I kill them in this state. He would most likely even scold me for sending so many confused souls in his way…"

"Your holiness!? This is really your greatest concern?!" Yao started to get annoyed, knocking out a masked one with the dull side of her sword.

Her opposition was not that strong, but their suddenly appeared numbers started to get dangerous. More of it, several magic casters were amidst their ranks, and the surrounding roofs were filled with masked archers. This was a cleverly organized ambush; there was no question about it.

"In the Sorcerous King's name! In the Sorcerous King's name! In the name of the Empire, we will purge the unworthy!"

Such and similar chants reverberated from their mouths as more and more appeared from the alleys, systematically trying to cut down the group, making them slowly back up. Although, killing them would be no problem, most of them were simple people with a blank expression under their hoods and masks.

Ending the incursion fast would mean they'd need to kill innocent people. Even if they were willing to do so, the chaos was massive in the square; many confused civilians also run amok in the mess. There was a high chance they'd just confuse them with the attackers or unwillingly hit them.

"This is not good…" In the protective dome — Zeno had formed with his paladin magic — a steady supply of people started to gather. Thus, he was forced to expand it to be able to shelter more civilians. Out of this reason, the walls of the bubble started to thin more and more. And the paladin needed more power to sustain it and keep up the integrity, straining his reserves significantly.

He was sure he could keep it up for a while and would be able to get away if he wanted, even fight off everyone in the street if it came to that. The only problem was all the innocents around; if he lowered the defenses, the enemy would breach it right away, and if that happened, they would surely jump at the civilians behind him. He couldn't be in many places at once after all; he was not an omnipotent being or a god.

"How pathetic…" Making a few strange hand motions — just to be stylish — Ardyn finally prepared his magic. "[Magic Calculation]! [Magic Seeker: Paralyze]!"

'Flash!' In an instant, a wave washed through the whole square, freezing every assaulting robed person in a several-blocks radius. At that moment, the attackers froze completely, falling forward like a brick.

"I-Is it over?" Tuka asked shuttering, looking around frightened like a hare, seeing the people falling forward like frozen bricks.

"Hmm…"

"Constantine? Are you alright?" Seras walked closer to the supernatural detective, and the man just stood up, finishing the investigation of the frozen man.

"Paralyzing magic, nothing special, but aiming and hitting only the targets in a crowd like this… that's something very few are able to do…"

For a moment, he gazed at Ardyn, who seemingly recognized his stare, staring him smugly under his mask. The vibe he received from the man's direction sent shivers through his spine.

"It is nothing; we better get out of here before more appear."

"He is right… Mimoza-dono, do you know any good place?" inquired Zeno, on his face a concerned expression settled. Several beads of sweat poured down from his temples. It was visible how concerned he was.

"Hmm, maybe…" answered the elder. "There is a place…"

"...To think they would dare stain the soil of a battleground sanctified by me, Rory. Blasphemous…"

"Raidyn-san… they shouted…"

"I know…" Biting her lip, she had heard well enough what the people shouted.

First, they chanted the Sorcerer King sent them. Then some of them shouted they were sent by the Empire, adding several other parties. Honestly, all of this was confusing. Someone moved the strings behind the scenes.

Looking at her side, removing the hood from one of the cultists, a familiar face was revealed.

"The old guy, from back then?" An elderly face appeared and frozen in a blank state. His previous wise eyes were filled with blankness.

"Grey Co Aldo? What's the Princess' assigned knight doing here?"

For Itami's question, a different voice answered.

"Not just him…" Rory removed another hood, then another. A few of them they knew too well. A few of them were female, more precisely, the members of Piña's Rose Knights. The members of the praetorian guards of the Emperor. The others were not familiar at all.

"What are the Princess' knights doing here? Aren't they…"

"No, it was most likely a rout, a distraction…"

"Halt, you there!" several guard units hurried towards the little band, and the still alive people hid behind Zeno. They were indeed lucky to have been able to survive such chaos. All of them trembled, unable to decide what to do.

"Alfie…!" Lelei wept, hugging her sister's almost cold body. The girl seemed to be dead, in that state, it was not likely anyone could help her. Her breath had slowed at an abnormal level, staring blankly forward. "Can you help her?! Help her!"

Everyone looked away, and Rory placed her hand on her shoulder. The best she could do was to pray for her soul.

"Emroy-sama will take her soul; she died a good death."

"Don't touch her!" Lelei swept away Rory's hand immediately.

"What the hell happened here!?" shrieked the commander of the guard forces. He was a grizzled old veteran with the armor of the city guards. Evidently, he had enough after all the shit that had happened today. Said shit had hindered his way here after all.

"We were attacked," answered Mimoza immediately.

"By whom?"

"By cultists, or more like, mind controlled people," explained Mimoza with all seriousness in her tone. No one in the current parties had seen her like that ever. "All of those with masks and hoods lying on the ground paralyzed were our attackers. You can find plenty of them on the roofs and alleys around."

Looking around, many people had died, even more lying on the ground with a frozen expression.

"Mind control? With so many people? With all due of respect, Sage Mimoza, don't be ridiculous! No one except gods can control the minds of so many people!"

Being a mage himself, the guard captain was well aware of what was possible and what's not, he was not easy to fool.

"But it's all true…" stepped forward Rory. "Or you say I, the apostle of the Great Emroy, am lying? Do you wish to be smitten for your sacrilege? "

"Yo-Your holiness…!" the commander was taken aback immediately, gulping deeply then kneeling. He right away recognized Rory. "Of course not! I would never dare!"

"Then if you're not believing your Sage, believe what I said. This was the work of a vile sect. A coordinated attack of a hidden enemy maybe backed by an unknown god. Do your work — rope the unconscious people. Then take them to custody so they can't harm others. My underlings and I will personally investigate the situation."

"Underlings…" Itami muttered uneasily; he never liked when Rory referred to him like that.

"Of course, if it's that what your holiness wishes. Thank you! I will oblige of course, if you need our help just call for us. We will gladly support your investigation with our expertise."

Before Rory, the dignified guard captain became a humble lamb. The current situation showed how much influence the apostles had over even the highest ranked individuals. How much most people feared them.

"Hmm, that's more like it!"

Meanwhile, Raidyn kneeled on Alfie's side, investigating her state and the arrow that had pierced her.

"Poisoned spellslayer arrow. Very rare, very powerful." She tasted the poison near the tip, and right away recognized, spitting it out on the spot. "King Basilisk poison. She is not likely to survive…"

It had already started. The bodies of the dead people around had already begun to turn into stone. The potent poison of the King Basilisk was not only a deadly toxin which was able to render helpless even the strongest of men, but a moment after death it started to petrify the body, making it almost impossible to resurrect people.

Only thanks to Raidyn removing the arrow and Zeno's constant effort to keep the girl alive kept in line the poison's deadly features. Being the bolt was a spellslayer one, it was extra harmful to mages and magic casters.

"Alfie…" Lelei was crushed, holding her sister's cold hand, she would surely die if it continued like this.

No! She couldn't accept it! She wouldn't! There must have been a way to save her!

"Help her! I know you can! Help her!"

"Zeno…? You are more proficient in healing than me. Can you do something?" The man sweated, trying his best to keep the poison at bay, warm light enveloping Arpeggio's body consistently, originating from his hand.

"Unfortunately, I can't… The soul is on to leave the body. Maybe if Medhirt were to be here, together we could undo the petrification effect."

Watching Arpeggio, some of her parts had already started to petrify, pushing her towards total organ failure.

"But alone, my paladin magic is not strong enough! I am specialized for defense, not healing. " His fist clenched. "I am sorry, I can't do anything more. Maybe I can buy her a few more hours, but that's all…"

The light on Alfie's eyes slowly started to dim, and the last rays of hope began to disappear.

Constantine looked away somewhat sad. The girl was too young to die.

But he was no god, and after inspecting one of the half petrified bodies around and analyzed the poison with a spell, he came to a conclusion.

Without proper items, he couldn't do anything. Deities may have been able to do something, or turning her into a vampire could save her. But damning the kid's soul with eternal damnation, imprisoned within her own flesh? Even the vilest thing did not deserve that fate.

"…" Lelei looked away, still holding her sister's barely warm hands, hands that slowly turned cold and rigid. Tears poured from her eyes endlessly.

She damned the gods. She damned this world. She damned her weak self for letting her sister die in such a way. She would do anything; she would sell her soul to save her. And the devil only needed that much to act.

"How intriguing…"

"Ardyn, can you do something for her?"

Ardyn stepped near the body, inspecting it curiously.

"Hmm, maybe placing her in stasis and finding a way to remove the petrification, then neutralize the poison?" he offered thinking. "Unfortunately, the necessary methods need expensive alchemical ingredients. Nothing I could spare, or willing to sacrifice at the moment for a simple girl."

"Then get away from her!"

Lelei shouted at that moment, and when she wanted to push him away, time stopped for her; a new voice invaded her mind suddenly.

 _"What would you be willing to give up? What would you be willing to give to save your sister? To embrace her once again as a whole?"_

This was no question. She would be willing to give everything for her sister to be saved. Even her own soul! Even willing to make a deal with the devil!

 _"Are you sure of this? If you agree, nothing will undo the deal…"_

Now, hearing this she was unsure. She had heard Zeno speaking about demons under their travel. Demons who tempted people with unfair deals. But if this went on like this, her sister would die. No. She'd surely die if she did not do something.

"I am willing to pay her medication." Zeno glared at the man with all the dislike he could muster.

This Ardyn figure was evil, he felt it in his very bones.

Usually, Zeno never judged people from first sight, but he couldn't help but make his conclusion after such a short period of time.

"Very well. I will do what I can in the frame of a certain cost. I hope my benefits will not be cut. Alternatively…" Ardyn glanced at Yao, sending shivers through her spine and then watching Raidyn with hungry eyes. "I accept alternative payments. That dark elf looks quite good. And I lack a certain specimen from my collection."

"You bastard!"

"Ardyn…"

"Hmm, yes, my precious friend?"

"Don't be a dick. Do what you must."

"Why should I? Without payment? Don't be ridiculous!" the man just waved away the request of his friend. "As a businessman, it is only natural I want something in return."

Lelei started to get agitated. Moreover, distressed by the sheer coldness of the man. Her sister was on the verge of dying, almost completely petrified, they needed to do something fast, or all would be lost. Only Zeno's constant effort on her side was slowing the process.

"Can't you do something?" Itami asked the paladin kneeling on Arpeggio's side, but the man just shrugged.

"Doing the best I can. Petrification effects are really hard to deal with. Harder, if the creature's poison is out of your knowledge range. I've dealt with basilisk-like creatures before, but this toxin is something else, it is almost like it was a mutated creature they gathered the toxin from. Also, the arrow that pierced her is basically the bane of magic casters like her. If not casting continuously [Mid Nullify Toxin] and [Healing Hands] she would have died long ago."

Looking around, indeed, anyone who had been pierced by the arrows, or cut by the weapons the attackers carried, had long ago died and turned to stone statues. Even now, the guards were trying to figure out what to do with them.

"Rory?" asked Itami with great concern. But the girl just shook her head. "I am not a healer, unfortunately. My god is the god of darkness, not life. If you wish, I can help her pass to the other side though. Emroy's warm embrace will accept her."

Lelei stared blankly, shaking her head.

No! She couldn't give up! There must have been a way!

"Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do."

It was not true of course. Both Raidyn and Ardyn were aware of this. But undoing this poisonous affliction with just divine powers would be too much. And unfair to all the people around.

 _"Yeah, showing off won't do. And may raise too much attention to us — more than we currently have. Though, we could deal with it by modifying people's memories. But why would we intervene? Not only it would be boring, but it would unnecessarily complicate the situation. I hate playing god; I am not one, no matter my power level."_

Although Raidyn might have thought like that, her colleague did not very much. Ulbert was more motivated towards collecting souls and garnering more power, regaining his former might, and taking revenge to those who forced him to slumber so long.

Also, he was astonished how much power his friends had gained under their new existences, even after they tried to hide it from him. Now, he felt inferior standing near them. Be it was out of his demonic blood, or simply because of his "evolved Chuunibyou" syndrome that accompanied him since his high school years — and was enhanced by his game avatar — he now felt frail compared to them.

Demons were always territorial, backstabbing and scheming. Only willing to serve the firm, most scheming of their kind.

It was a hierarchical system. If you were weak, stupid or even showed any weakness, other parties simply kicked you around, bullied, devoured or killed you right away, or even simply enslaved you, binding you to their will maybe forever. Ulbert learned this in his long life. There was a time when he was beaten around, forced to serve. Never again he wanted to experience it. Never again he would allow it!

 _"Never again…"_

Only after gaining power he could ascend. Just after that, he could rule as the sole ruler of his own piece of "infernal heaven."

Seeing both of his friends now were stronger than him made him feel miserable. Made him feel inferior.

Even now, using his divine, demonic senses and sensing the sheer volume of dark, and light divine forces emitting from Raidyn made his spine shiver in dread. And although he knew her from the game and was best of pals with both Momonga and her under the entirety of their time in YGGDRASIL, who knew how they had changed? Too much time had passed since the game turned into reality to say for sure if the two had remained the same or not.

Most likely a long time had passed since they had met, he needed to be on his guard, or he would be enslaved once more.

Under this situation, showing weakness was the worst decision. It separated defeat and triumph.

 _"I will not be defeated! I, Ulbert Alain Odle will not be defeated once again! No matter the opponent! I will overcome it! I will be the one who decides my fate! I will be the one who breaks the chains of weakness!"_

"Ardyn!"

Raidyn shouted him back to reality, and Ulbert could only watch her confused.

"Huh?"

"Put her at least in stasis."

"And if not?"

"Then you can walk away with a third boot in your ass. You bad cosplayer!"

Raidyn's shout intimidated not only Ardyn but most people around. Everyone took at least a step back from her.

"You are the one speaking?" Ardyn even muttered as such.

"Lord Zeno. Your master is really intimidating. Are you sure she is not a dragon secretly?" Yao hid behind the paladin, who just scratched his nob slightly embarrassed.

"Yeah, that's master for you. Although, the latter I thought often. But…"

Watching his master scolding Ardyn who started to back away, and remembering the dragons, demons, and other horrific creatures he fought in the past. He doubted his master was a demon or a dragon. No, under raising and training him, he experienced it firsthand. "From time to time I ask the same, but then I realize, she is worse…"

Yao's caramel skin started to pale seeing the woman intimidating the dark magic caster so easily. Ardyn in return started to hang his head like a child who had been just scolded by his mother.

"Scary…"

On the sidelines, Constantine had a strange idea.

"Hmm, I wonder if I can ask her to meet Lucifer. The old bastard would surely get a piece from her…"

Constantine chuckled quietly, then turned back to investigate the scene.

"Do what I fucking said, or I will tear you apart and jerk your intestines full of cum. Then glue you together with the same cum, resurrect you and beat you to crap once more!"

"Ok! Ok! Geez!" Ulbert looked away slightly embarrassed. He was somewhat perverted being a demon, and he as well had done many crazy things with his slaves and wives — as he remembered.

But jerking full his parts, then gluing him together? Even he was not that sick. His friend had picked up some really perverted stuff under her stay.

 _"It is slightly wrong I am slightly excited about it? Most likely. But it's just as cool as terrifying!"_

Ulbert's heart started to beat faster when he came up with the right response.

"You have no cum to spare. You lack the necessary part." He grinned, and his smart-ass comment earned him a fist on his face, a hit which plastered his face in the ground creating a great depression, and destroyed his mask in the process.

Typically, he was immune to such attacks. But one, Raidyn, or more like Esdeath was always a beast even back then, only Touch Me could really contend with her. Two, he was weakened from his long sleep. Also if he wanted to fight seriously in his prime, it would be the same, she who would be the one who most likely win the match.

"Agh… this, was not nice…" Slowly, he raised himself, dusting off his coat, then massaging his handsome illusionary face.

"Do your work, stasis!" she pointed at the girl.

"Ok! Ok! Geez! Why are you biting? The red army attacked today or what?"

"…"

Hers, Yao's and a few girl's eyes just twitched, recognizing the apparent snarky comment. It was indeed inappropriate saying such thing for ladies. But the others either ignored him or were too busy to acknowledge what he had said.

"Ok! Ok! You don't have to give me that evil eye! Geez! Leaving for a short time and you become like my granny! Can't take jokes."

Ulbert shrugged, cracking his neck and preparing his spell.

'Flick!'

Snapping his fingers, several sparks were created by his metallic gloves and two waves of light rushed through Arpeggio's rigid body.

The first forced the petrification to recede slightly but steadily before stopping near a particular area, while the second engulfed her with a bluish force field.

"For now, that's the most I can do for her. Curing her is dangerous. It may easily kill her physical body and corrupt her soul. Of course, I can always extract her soul and place it in a new body, if that's what you wish for…"

Hearing this, most of the people were filled with disgust and dread. Messing with souls? Extracting them? What exactly sounded like this was…

"You mean necromancy. Am I right?" spat Constantine. He had met his fair share of necromancers under his lifetime. None of them lived long enough to enjoy their so-called immortality and the fruits of their labor. Of course, he hadn't met Ainz yet.

"What's wrong with it? Necromancy is a practiced branch of magic in the kingdom," added Zeno with an innocent look. He had nothing against necromancers as long as they did not use their powers against innocents.

"Yeah, Ainz-san is a necromancer too. As well, several schools and a whole development branch are entirely dedicated to necromancy. In the kingdom, we use it on a daily basis to make the people's lives better."

Raidyn added, and everyone around just blinked.

In this world, necromancy was a forbidden art. Despised and persecuted by every church, gods and their followers as an unnatural branch of magic. For Rory, who was the gardener of the god of death, it was unimaginable to tolerate it. It was against her god's very nature to accept it. Robbing souls from Emroy? Unimaginable!

"So you say…" she started to get angry. "Ainz-sama is a filthy necromancer!?"

"Basically, yes. Haven't you seen his created undead? His aura of negative energy? It was obvious if you ask me. After all, he is an overlord. The highest ranked lich."

Well, basically, Ainz had long ago surpassed that point and since then took up stronger racial levels. But others didn't need to know about that.

"I thought those were his servants that inhabited his divine Kingdom, and he brought them with himself." Rory fumed, she really thought like that.

According to the information Emroy had shared with Rory, every god had their own divine kingdom where the cream of their power centered. There, their powers and authority — in theory — spread without bounds. There they ruled as real almighty beings, overseeing their domain. Also, that was the place where the worshipper's souls ascended or descended — depending if it's the abyss or the heavens — after their deaths.

Naturally, these kingdoms were not located in the material realm. The world just didn't have enough places for so many divine kingdoms. Or in another way, the world just couldn't bear them, the sheer radiation of power would damage the structure of the material plane staying down there.

"Who said this to you?" Both Raidyn and Ardyn watched her blankly.

"Those are simple undead. True, nicely made ones, but still undead. Truly, Rory, I thought you were able to recognize them."

"Hmph!"

The girl turned her head away with a slightly flushed cheek, puffing her face offended.

She felt divine power emitting from those undead; indeed, she'd never met a necromancer before who was able to create undead like these. And she had massacred her fair share of cultists under her time, just like every other Apostle and paladin under the gods' control.

"This is really concerning. I need to reevaluate my thinking of him. Still, that divine power permeating from them and those strange winged creatures? Have I lost my touch? Oh, Great Emroy! What to do?"

"We need to go into a closed off space. It is dangerous remaining out here. Even with Ardyn-san's [Infernal Barrier] blocking attacks from above, assassins could still be around."

"Indeed, we need to find the source. Someone mind-controlled these people." Ardyn looked on the side, watching Grey and one of the female Rose Knights roped, still unconscious. "I just have the right method to know the truth."

"No mind probe this time. We want them alive. Not fry their brains…"

"F-Fry their brains!?" Itami backed, looking somewhat horrified. Indeed, he had read his fair share of novels, fanfictions and the like to know how those people ended who underwent the so-called "mind probing."

"Spoilsport…"

"Pervert…"

The two friends snarled at each other jokingly, and the people around couldn't help but feel they were in the presence of a bickering couple.

"What about the people around?"

"What about her/my sister!" Seras and little Lelei asked immediately. Though, Lelei's voice was unnaturally concerned, almost weeping. Apparently, she feared for her sister's life more than anything.

"Her life is stabilized, for now. I managed to stop the spread of the petrification curse and cage it in a specific location, then place her in a stasis field. As long as that holds, nothing will happen to her."

"You said it is a poison," Constantine pointed it out. "Now which one. I must admit, it was strange. Examining one of the people it gave me a weird feeling."

"It is both. Or more like, a poison, a virus, and a curse rolled into one," Raidyn started her explanation. "High ranking basilisk creatures not only kill and petrify their opponent with their gaze, but are able to do so with their poisonous bodily fluids, such as saliva and the sickly substance covering their body."

Itami gulped, this all sounded too familiar. Almost like a basilisk from a DnD game.

"This is a poison which contains many microorganisms, which can mutate into a virus easily — the poison and the microorganisms are magical in origin, and are able to curse the opponent of the carrier if it wished. This cursive poison can be found in every part of the basilisk's body, and part of their essence. Obviously, in a normal case, this "essence corruption" curse the microorganisms cause can be healed quite easily. We have several methods to deal with this."

"Then, what's the problem?"

"The problem is…" Raidyn looked towards the already petrified people, an agonizing expression frozen on their faces. "The problem comes in play when a mutation occurs. If you are familiar with genetics, you know what I am speaking about."

"What mutation?"

"Genetics?"

Tuka and Rory asked confused, and Itami quickly explained the basics of genetics, and the meaning of mutation. Of course, in his own "simple" way.

"Oh!" most of them understood his explanation, some not, which greatly confused him.

"Well then, the mutation we speak about not only changes the physical aspects of the beast, but being it's engineered with magic, its very essence and soul. We are speaking about an entirely new sub-race. That means the nature of the microorganism and the carrier poison also changes significantly. The methods we used previously to deal with this will most likely not be effective anymore. Being we don't have any idea what the cause of this change is, or where it happened in the beast, our options are limited. The best method would be to find the creature and take a direct sample, then check it. Coming up with an antidote or modify a spell formula accordingly. But being our time is short, and it's likely we won't find it, we need to take the harder route."

"Then, what can we do for my sister? Is there a way to save her?"

"In fact there is…" Raidyn's expression turned dark. "One. We can transfer her soul into a new body. In the process purifying her contaminated soul from the essence corruption continuously affecting her."

Lelei nodded accepting. This was indeed a risky method. Souls were the domain of gods, not to be trifled with.

"Two, we ask a god, divine being, Supreme Being, a Dragon Lord, a Godkin or someone with similar power to remove the essence poisoning."

"Can you do it?" Lelei looked at her pleading, folding her hands into prayer.

"Unfortunately, I am not specialized for curses, neither healing. And Ardyn-san…"

"I could do something, but rather not anything rash. Messing with unknown contamination? I'd rather not do that. Under lab conditions, maybe. But my lab currently is in pieces thanks to one of my experiments. And I doubt you can find any being who can help you with her. Like myself, those beings Raidyn mentioned ask a price for their help. Sorry, little one…"

Playing his part, Ulbert patted Lelei's lowered head. The girl started to turn desperate.

"There is a third way of course. Finding the antidote."

"Antidote? They made one?" asked Itami clueless.

"Hmm, don't your governments make an antidote or some preventive measurement when they come up with a new poison, artificial virus or biological weapon? It is always the first step to make the antidote to make sure you can sweep the area clean after the thing has fulfilled its purpose. Or rather, this is how things worked in our world in the past. I don't know if it's the same for you."

It was actually true. Although the Geneva protocol prohibited and restricted the stockpiling, use and development of biological warfare and weapons of mass destruction, Itami was sure; secretly every government most likely conducted experiments with newer and newer strains, poisons and the like. The most reasonable step was to make a neutralizing agent before releasing something dangerous in the wild. Or program the poison/virus to die off after a certain period, neutralize itself.

"Yes, after the First World War the governments of our world made a deal with each other to never use them in open war or any battlefield. Biological and chemical weapons did…" Itami remembered the history lessons from the First World War, and even thinking back those pictures made him feel sick. "Biological and chemical weapons did nasty things in our history. We no longer use them…"

"I see…" sighing, Raidyn summed up things. "These are the three methods I know. Our best chance is to find the source and take the antidote. Hopefully, it will be still effective. But thugs like them are not likely to carry one. So we need to find the trail first. Alternatively, once you visit the Sorcerous Kingdom, you can seek out a Supreme Being, or a being with high power to help you. But as said, the chances of them helping are slim."

Looking around, slowly the guards finished with the cleaning, and Mimoza walked back to the group.

"Oh my, such destruction," the old granny sighed disappointedly. "Let's regroup in a safer place. It's too open here…"

"Umu. Agree."

"Sage Mimoza…" the commander stepped forward. "We finished roping them together. Anything else you need?"

"Huh, oh my… place them into a safe place. Possibly isolated from each other."

"We would also like to interrogate these two," Raidyn pointed at Grey and the girl from the Order of the Rose.

"Sage Mimoza?"

"Let them…" fortunately, being the member of the Sage Council, she had the authority to ask such thing, else there was no way the commander would allow it.

"What about the girl? We've already isolated the victims. They are completely petrified, but…"

"But…"

"A strange throbbing can be heard faintly under the stone's surface like they are still alive. And strangely, the injured people around have started to show pale complexions, like they are sick."

"That's…" Everyone watched Raidyn who offered an ugly expression. "Phoenix's Curse hid by a different property? Or something else? Dammit…!" biting her lip, everyone awaited her explanation.

"Dear, what happened?"

"Mimoza-dono!" Her expression turned rigid. "We need to separate the injured, and the ones that have turned into stone, ASAP!"

"What happened?"

"I don't know… but…" she muttered, trying to find the right answer. "If it would mutate that way to spread airborne, most of us would have already turned to stone, or weakened by the effects. So the most likely scenario is…" Raidyn thought through the situation, trying to find the perfect explanation. "Injured people are turning sick, dead turn to stone almost right away. Yes, it most likely spreads through the liquid and bodily fluids. The question is…" she turned to the guard captain.

"All injured are sick?"

"Hmm, now that you ask... No, some of them are fine, only a few bruises and cuts. Why?"

"Targeting specific genetic vectors found on individuals with the right properties according to the programming!?" she muttered once more. Obviously, only a few people understood what she muttered. "Or simply, delayed activation? It is hard to judge."

"What did you say?" Itami asked slightly frightened, Raidyn started to speak like a scientist from a zombie movie. A zombie movie where an infection started just as she said. He had watched too many zombie movies to remain calm.

"Don't say you let those people away!?"

"Well…" the guard scratched his neck. "They were fine, and we had already questioned them. We simply have no cells to keep everyone under detention, so we let them go."

"Idiot!" Raidyn snarled, making the commander furrow his brow angry.

How dare this kid call him an idiot? The guard commander of the district who served more than thirty years, and still serves with all his heart! How dare she!?

"You little!"

"Shut up! And drag those people back! They may cause an epidemic!"

The commander and the nearby guards paled, looking at each other in fear.

An epidemic in the city? It was unheard of! Since a few hundred years not a singke epidemic had managed to gain a foothold in Londel. If this was true then… it was worse than he first feared.

Ardyn caressed his dense goatee beard thinking, looking quite apathetic, like a scientist who calmly analyzed the situation. "Hmmm, in that case, we also need to check the water sources of the city and around. It might get poisoned with this toxin. It would be quite concerning once this epidemic starts to spread, no?"

Everyone paled, and Itami reached for his radio.

"I need to call the JSDF… if it's contagious…" he reached for his radio, knowing very well the containment protocol — Isolation at all cost! — Itami requested a biohazard team to be dispatched immediately.

"Command, we may have a problem…"

"If it's true… Mimoza-sensei, can you notify the Sage council?"

"Of course, what should I say to them?"

"Tell them; there might be an epidemic on the loose. But do not impose a curfew, the last thing we need is panicking people. I've already notified Fluder-san about the happenings. He has already sent the order. With your permission the Sorcerous Kingdom will send a specialists unit that will help handle this contamination. The most important thing is, do not let anyone out of the city without security and health check. Fluder-san just notified me he has already sent a few people to monitor the main and side gates and will put up several checkpoints in the city. Hopefully, it will be enough until our specialists arrive."

"Umu… that's good. Thank you."

Raidyn turned around, starting to walk towards the alley. "Ardyn put everyone who turned to stone into stasis, then come, we will investigate things. We need to find the source, and the one responsible for all of this."

"Hmm, and what about my reward?"

"Your reward will be a boot in your ass if you don't do so immediately. If it is the same thing I know, once gets lose... there will be no city left to mingle around."

Mimoza started to sweat. If things were as bad as Raidyn said, there was no time to hesitate; they needed to resolve the situation immediately.

"Check yourself. If any of you are injured, that person needs to be isolated from the others."

"What about me?" Rory asked slightly light headed. Like she was not even fazed if she was infected or not. "I was cut by a few of them, is that a problem?"

Raidyn walked closer, and by raising her hand a light scanned the demigoddess and the group behind them.

"It seems none of you are sick or cursed, although, it can be the thing is still dormant. Either way, Rory's demigod status, and immunity prove effective against this contamination. But do not risk it, be careful not to be injured or get infected that many times. This sickness not only aims at the body but the soul too. It might come to that you will die, permanently, Rory. Or worse, turn into something horrible."

Of course, Rory just smiled on this. In the known history, there was no example of a demigod or god dying out of natural causes, not speaking about poisons, simple illnesses, or even curses. They just beared with it until it disappeared, overwhelmed by their regenerative abilities and immortal, blessed soul.

"What about the two of you," Zeno asked worriedly.

"We have methods to deal with it…" added Ardyn, waving his hand which sparkled with magic. "Different from other people, I would spare no expense to protect my friend and myself of course. I propose to cast some barrier magic around you to avoid physical contact."

"Ardyn-kun…"

"Right…" with that, Ardyn walked around, placing in stasis the petrified people. He really didn't want to challenge Raidyn's ire, that woman was just crazy.

"Zeno-kun, I entrust their safety on you. The girl should be fine for a while. Monitor them closely, even if it's a mutated strain, healing, anti-curse, and similar methods might prove to be effective slowing it down for a while."

"Umu, as you wish. I'll do what I can…"

"Interrogate Grey and that Rose Knight. We will find out who's behind all of this."

With that, after Ardyn finished his task and placed every petrified person in stasis, the two left, leaving through a teleportation formation.

"Rory, please lead them to a safe place. I need to notify the council…"

"Ok, take care, Mimoza. I would hate to lose an old friend."

"I too, old friend. I too…" playfully sticking her tongue, the old lady hadn't change. Even old, she hadn't change.

"Come police girl. We need to investigate things…"

"Constantine?! Just where are you going? It is dangerous to remain alone!" yelped Seras angrily, and was on to stop the man.

"Isn't it obvious? I am an expert; my job is to find out what happened. I will do just that…"

"No! You can't go alone! I forbid it!"

"As you could stop me, eh, kid…"

The way the girl stared at him gave away some mean of pressure. Making many people feel around the duo uneasily.

"Hmm, kid, of course, I will not go alone. I said, come, we have work to do. Don't forget why the command sent us there…"

With that, the man turned his back to everyone, cutting his way amongst the confused people.

"Is he just…?"

"Dammit! Hey! Wait for me!"

Seeing them leave, Itami was well aware, nothing else remained to do. The only thing they can do now was to stay put, for the time being, wait for their friends to find a lead. Or be prepared for the next attack.

"Come, we need to know what happened."

Grabbing the clothes of Grey and a female knight of rose, Rory dragged them after herself, the others following her. This would be a long day, that's for sure.

None of them were aware, but not far from them a shadowy figure walked down on the alley. Her shady expression boiled with rage, her once charming face twisted with anger and paleness.

"What the heck was this? This was not in the agreement! They just attacked me…"

Her job was easy. Cause chaos, turn the people paranoid, untrustworthy towards the newcomers.

Secondary, kill the Lelei girl and assassinate as much from her friends as she could if possible, making it look like it was the people from the Sorcerous Kingdom and Empire who acted just as her contractor deemed it neccesary.

As a legendary shapeshifter and manipulator from the Haryo Tribe — the assassin who always finished her job with peerless success — it was expected to go smooth. Yet, those mindless things who were supposed not to harm her turned against her at the moment her task seemed to be finished, attacking in the worst possible moment, treating her like every other lamb around.

She almost lost her head. Following her contractor's lead, stealing the necessary equipment from that shady organization that had popped up not long ago, and getting rid of her pursuer was hard enough. She expected everything would go smooth after this. Her contractor assured her everything would go smoothly, and that it would be an easy job. They even gave her a lead on how to do it and a magical flute that strengthened her mind control ability.

Yet, under the final stage of her plan, she lost control over the intended people.

Her newly acquired flute worked perfectly until now, and she managed to gather a respectful bunch of cultists and disguise them, equip them, then lead them here to attack.

And at the moment she failed to hit the target, she still had hope. After all, the primary objective had been completed — cause chaos and unrest, that was her main objective. She could complete the rest later in a more controlled environment.

And after all, everything seemed to be under her control as she had other methods to finish the job, the clusterfuck only hit the fan afterwards when she tried to sneak away to reevaluate her position.

"Dammit!" Heavy perspiration poured from her forehead and cold ran through her body. Her head throbbed, and she was barely conscious. "I was too careless! Damn those things! To think I, Pied Piper, would fall so easily."

First, she had lost control over the intended people with her flute magic. Secondly, when she tried to get away, she was cut by one of those crazed idiots. Apparently, she right away recognized the petrification effect that started to spread through her hand. She investigated the poison, and it was the nastiest thing she had ever encountered.

By her race, she was immune to most the poisons and toxins, but now, all her immunity was useless. If she hadn't cut down her own hand, she would have either died or turned to stone long ago. It was a response coming from her feline instinct, but seeing all those people turning into stone and dying horribly, she knew it was the right decision.

"But there is still a chance! I know! If I can finish the mission..."

"Onee-chan! Where are you going? Come! Play with me!~" reverberated a voice all around her.

"Dammit! She found me! How did she managed to? I got rid of her in Italica! How come she is still alive after a building collapsed on her?"

That thing! That damned thing!

Since a few cities, that damned being followed her all around! Never letting her go! Playing with her in every moment. Like a cat with a mouse, sadistically enjoying her suffering. All of it because she stole a few quivers of those strange arrows and some poison. Murdered and manipulated a few people to get what she wanted.

"Dammit! Why now? I thought I managed to get rid of her! Why now? How the hell did she find me? Does she have a God's Eye or something?"

"Onee-chan!~"

Running! Running! Running! She started to run frequently. Yet, the steps reached ever closer. Closer and closer she felt a foul breath in her neck with every waking moment.

"There you are! Onee-chan! You made me run far!" The voice unexpectedly came before her, bumping right into it.

"Yo-You!? Why!?"

Eyes wide, trembling, the legendary assassin Pied Piper could only back, holding her curved blade with her only remained hand.

"Are you afraid, Onee-chan?~"

Seeing that sadistic glee, that unnaturally wide smirk under the hood made her hesitate to move.

"Stealing is not nice! Stealing from us is un-for-gi-vab-le…~"

Such delicate and full face her pursuer wore shouldn't have bore that smirk; it was entirely unnatural to look like that! It was altogether strange it was that wide.

"I want to play!~ Clementine-chan wants to play! Do you want to leave Clementine-sama without her toys? Do you want to get away without a lesson? Bad! Bad!~" pulling out a stiletto from the hiding of her robe, red orbs with slit pupils flashed with the excitement of the hunt. Her tongue was playing around the dull looking blade.

"Nya!~ You are a tricky one. But no one can escape from Clementine-sama and the organization. You were a bad girl, making me run so far. Leader-sama would have been disappointed with me if I let you go…~ After all, you killed a precious toy, even taking the key…~"

"What do you want from me?! Leave me alone! You monster! Just leave me alone! It was just a job! As an assassin yourself, you understand right?" she asked fervently, a forced smile forming on her face.

"…"

Seeing it had no effect, and Clementine's smile only widening hearing her desperate claim, Piper started to panic.

"Please! Let me go! I will pay for what I stole! I swear! Say the job, and it will be done! I am sure we can make a deal! Please…"

Usually, she would merely bribe, or control the opponent with her magic. But she had already tried that back then, and they had no effect at all! Even now, it was only out of survival instinct she pleaded. Yes, she was too aware it would not help.

"More! More! Plead more!"

This monster was immune to her mind control melody, as well couldn't be bribed. This thing was a hunter that only lived for the hunt. You could hardly negotiate with a beast and her opponent was from the worst kind!

Sadistic, ever pursuing her prey!

"Please…" Pieper mumbled amongst her tears.

"Oh!~ So sweet! Plead! More, please! Scream for me! Please! Clementine-sama needs some stimulation!~"

"Damn you!"

Piper panicked and wanted to slice the "monster," seeing no other way. But either because of her weakened state, or because of her pursuer's unnatural strength, or both… her hit did not even budge Clementine. It was like she hit a concrete wall, her blade simply stopped by a thin membrane of energy above the "monster's" skin.

"Heheh~! That tickles! Tasha-chan said to bring you back alive. But…~" she looked around, a maniacal light playing in her blood red eyes. "I think, a small game will not hurt. Don't worry; I will be gentle. Bon, appetite!~ Flee my little bird! Let's see how far you can go!"

"Ah! Ahhhhh!"

Thus Pied Piper, the legendary assassin of Falmart started to dash desperately.

"Please! If gods really exist, please save me!"

In the same night, a blood churning scream reverberated in Rondel, waking even the dead from their graves. What happened the legendary assassin Pied Piper? No one knows. She disappeared that day…

* * *

 **Scene Change: Imperial Palace :**

Zorzal El Caesar, initially he was the crown prince of the Empire. But now, as his father was out of the picture, unable to make any decision and hanging only on a thin thread of life fallen in a coma, it was him who came next in the line of succession. Which meant now he had complete control over "his" Empire.

True, there were still these annoying people around from the Sorcerous Kingdom, trying to control his hand. Saying: "as the appointed supervisors, we have the right to order you around as we like" — being Zorzal and "his" Empire were the vassal of the Sorcerous King — Mentioning their right to strip him from his power and throne if he tried to act against the Kingdom's interests or stain their king's good reputation with something nasty.

Oh! How deluded they were! Thinking, HE! The wisest, most scheming of all Emperors in the history of Falmart could be contained by a measly power like the Sorcerous Kingdom? Assuming they could control him with fear, and sheer superior power? Don't joke with him!

 _"They know nothing…"_ sitting on his throne, Zorzal snickered.

Currently, they might have had a superior military might. Beings under their hand that could destroy cities — possibly countries. Still, with a bright scheme, Zorzal was sure, he would be the one to come up on the top eventually. He would be the one to win this "Game of Thrones"! He had both the talent and the wits to do so.

 _"In the end, the conquered will take over the conquerors!"_

He would kick that Ainz fellow from his throne and take away everything that was his! His family! His power! He wanted it all!

And with the help of his dear, he was confident he could do so with great ease. Pull his grand scheme through.

 _"They are nothing…"_

"Prince Zorzal."

"It is "Emperor" Zorzal. Or your majesty. Know your place, demon!" Zorzal snarled, and the man on his side just smiled smugly. He was a demon, with short pointy hair and red slit eyes. If you remember him, he was present under the garden party the third princess of the kingdom organized.

"Hm, is that so? According to my best knowledge, Ainz-sama has not yet named you as the supervisor ruler of this realm. You are still the prince, nothing more."

Zorzal boiled in rage but held himself back knowing his position.

"I am the next in the line of succession. It is no question I will be chosen. Who else could be more worthy than me?"

"Hmm, don't forget. Your father is still alive, even if he is in a coma, but alive. It may come to that he will heal and can continue his tasks."

Naturally, the appointed demon said nothing about the many ways they could resurrect people, bring them back from death. Trump cards were best to be preserved, hidden from others. Besides that, Zorzal would most likely just dismiss their claim and ability to do so. The man was stupid or was too broken to believe things even if they showed him.

"The old man?" Zorzal scoffed dismissively. "He is as good as dead meat. It is the best you and your king place their bets on me. I am the future, not him."

"Don't forget. You still have relatives to take your place. As well, it might come to that the future evaluation deems your family unworthy to rule this province any longer, and Ainz-sama gives it to a more "worthy" ruler under his command. Nothing has yet been decided. It is up to you if he chooses you, or someone else.

Zorzal daggered the demon with all his hatred, then calmness and pride overcame his thoughts.

Who could be more worthy than him? No one could be more worthy than him!

"You speak nonsense. Who can be more worthy than me? Outside of that, the people would never accept a monster in charge — less likely an outsider. The Senators would surely refuse to acknowledge anyone else than me. They are too loyal. You would face riots if you chose anyone else than me."

How deluded. Mortals like Zorzal were the perfect scapegoats for a demon like him.

 _"Just as Demiurge-sama divined. How amusing…"_

"If you say so…" Demons were the masters of manipulation. And as a high ranked demon, Drakon Beleth was no exception. High ranked, stupid individuals like Zorzal were delicacies for his kind.

He always loved to tell the truth to others. Obvious truths others might deem mere taunts. Obvious truths that lead to their downfalls eventually.

Unlike most angels who loved to use lies — big or small — to lead their victims in their service with a delusional idea, and after that used them for a so-called "higher purpose," — most of the times sacrificing their "protected" ones in the process — demons usually told the truth.

They were bound to tell the truth most of the times by either their contract or their deceiving nature which incited them to twist words.

Most demons were terrifying opponents not out of their infernal powers, but because of their underworldly intelligence and sly character. If possible, and you encountered a rational one, it'd more likely chat with you and cheat on you, offering an unfair deal which at first sounded entirely fair and square. Just to realize later you were stripped from everything, even from your soul and in return received nothing.

Even if a demon was weak physically, it could outwit stronger opponents, making deals only the creature benefited later, rarely the other side.

Just now, Beleth told the cold truth to Zorzal. Yet, the man refused to hear his words just as he expected from a fool like him.

 _"Not even recognizing his failure, the inescapable trap his family and nation are after the truth has been told… truly, how miserable. They are truly unworthy. Handing them over to a higher demon to deal with would be a disgrace. Maybe a lesser demon will do…"_

"Leave now. Your presence disgusts me. I have many subjects to listen today to."

Seeing the throne door opening and through enter the first senator to discuss the daily happenings, Beleth just smiled.

"I also need to notify and remind you, "Emperor," as the appointed supervisor, it is my task to oversee every major decision and the daily council."

"That means you will follow me around all day?" Zorzal shrugged unpleasantly, offering a very sour expression.

"I fear, that's the case…"

"How troublesome," Zorzal scoffed nonchalantly.

But he couldn't do anything with the situation. After what he witnessed in "that" night, he was sure if he attacked this demon his country would be doomed. That Ainz fellow would surely massacre everyone in the city seeking revenge.

This was bad, he had to endure, for the time being at least. Until he came up with a good enough tactic to take back everything and conquer both the JSDF and the Sorcerous Kingdom, he had to endure this humiliation.

"I prefer the presence of Princess Eleanor. Scram, and call her."

"I fear, Eleanor-sama is occupied at the moment."

"With what?"

"National problems calling her attention. She is not in the city currently."

"Fine then! How useless you are…" Zorzal grumbled, waving away the creature. "I suppose, I have to deal with you for a while. If just Piña and Diabo were not so useless, I would have an easier time to control "my" Empire!"

 _"The two of them are constantly trying to fix all the mess you've been creating since you sat on that throne. But don't bother with them, it is more fun this way…"_

Beleth thought so smugly, receiving continuously the reports about the two trying to balance Zorzal's wrongdoings since he arbitrarily announced himself as the new emperor. Without that two and a few reasonable Senators, the leadership of the whole Saderan Empire — or what remained from it — would have collapsed, and the leadership would have been replaced at the moment Molt had fallen into a coma.

 _"I wonder why his majesty tolerates this slug… Oh, if nothing else. He is at least amusing."_

Though Beleth had a faint idea why precisely the higher-ups ordered him to tolerate this slug, he still couldn't see the bigger picture Demiurge spoke about. _"Whatever Demiurge and Ainz-sama are up to, I am sure it will be a wonderful display of wits and strength…"_

* * *

 **In the same day, close to nighttime, in Piña's office.**

Since her father had fallen into a coma, the Princess was more occupied than ever before.

Day after day, she was forced to endure. Day after day she was humiliated before the Senate. Since her brother had named himself the new emperor, her family had started to fall drastically.

"That stupid idiot!" Piña hit her table hard, sweat pouring from her spotless forehead.

Usually, she would never use such vulgar words, but today her brother had made a proposal usually only the most idiotic leader would propose, doing all of this before the Senate in secret.

"How can he ask the people to throw their lives away so easily? How can he say everyone who is not with him is considered a traitor?"

It was not only idiotic but was an invitation for an open rebellion against the Sorcerous Kingdom. Their new overlords…

Piña was aware, if it came to war, another war… they would be on the losing end! Most likely flat out destroyed in the first battle.

No matter how many lives they would throw away, one of these black armored horrors was able to stand against a whole cohort, if not more. And each fallen soldier would just fuel the enemy's lines, raising them as undead abominations. And the enemy had thousands of them! THOUSANDS! If not more!

Not speaking that was just a footsoldier according to Beelzebub! What kind of ungodly horrors they had under their hands, the princess had no idea but was sure they would be their end.

She had heard the tales of the survivors. In the first battle, each man the empire lost from those bulky undead soldiers rose as an undead himself. Against such odds maybe even the gods couldn't help but cower in desperation and puke blood.

And that idiot started to scheme before the Senate? Openly? How deep her brother could fall? In such an unstable time when the Empire is on to collapse he dared to pull that?!

If it was not confirmed before, now every senator was aware. Zorzal was a delusional idiot who was completely unfit to rule.

His faulty decisions had led to the drastic weakening of the royal family's authority since he crowned himself. And without her father's influence and headship to keep things in balance, without Molt to keep a leash over Zorzal, day after day more and more Senators started to turn against her family, showing their back on the Empire they once served.

Proposing to their new overlords to change leadership, someone more stable. Offering themselves to choose from them.

In a time of peace, when her father was in charge, and the Empire still had its vast army, prestigious territory, pride, and the support of its vassal nations, this was unimaginable — equaled with treason treated with execution, or a life-long sentence.

But now, after things turned so unstable, many Senators could freely state their standings. Backed by a country like the Sorcerous Kingdom, there was little reason to fear the revenge of Zorzal, the royal family, and the very few who were still loyal: the royalists and the conservatives. And even they started to realize Zorzal's stupidity.

"Piña…" raising her head from her desk, the princess spotted her brother, Diabo. "You look quite rugged."

Her usually perfect look had turned haphazard, like a person who hadn't slept for a long time. Her make up had melted away under her tears, her burgundy hair standing messy.

"Ah, nii-sama. You shouldn't see me like this. Please forgive me." Instantly, Piña looked into the mirror and tidied her looks a little bit. For an Imperial princess like her, it was really unacceptable looking like this.

"Don't worry about it. It has nothing to do with you. Under all that has happened since our first defeat, it is understandable. We all know what we had to endure since Zorzal named himself the new Emperor."

Since their father had been in a coma, Zorzal had managed to single-handedly ruin and undermine almost all the authority and prestige the royal family previously possessed. And with it, almost pushing them into the position where the different sides could demand the appointment of a new ruler.

With the Sorcerous Kingdom around and its appointed supervisor available, it was only a hand's reach away. Closer than ever, the first time since the history of the Empire, the ruling authority of the royal family was truly in danger.

The Senators just needed to convince Beleth to send a negative report about the royal family or incite Zorzal to attack him directly — which was easier than anyone might imagine — and he would be executed, replaced by someone else as the ruling authority.

But it seemed, that idiot even now was unable to recognize this possibility. Day after day Zorzal taunted the man who oversaw how he ruled and the ordination he made. Day after day he openly incited rebellion, thinking he was a scheming genius.

"That stupid nii-sama…" The burgundy princess bit her thumb concerned. "If he continues like this, all the royal family will be banished. Worse, he will anger the Sorcerer King who will scorch the whole capital. No, the whole Empire, killing everyone."

At first, Diabo thought of this as an excellent tactic to claim the throne for himself. But after realizing the possibility which implied the fall of the whole family of his — including himself, he'd rather not risk this. Leaving Zorzal in his place became too risky to gamble.

With the JSDF on their doorstep, with the Sorcerous Kingdom holding them in their grasp, it was an unacceptable risk even he would not dare to take.

Their vassals had left them, scheming to chew parts from the weakened Empire.

Asking the men in green was most likely not possible. Even they were not foolish enough to risk an open war just to save their butts. No matter how "righteous" they said to be, even they had priorities and prioritized their own safety instead of unknown people not from their land. For people who had sought to conquer and enslave them previously.

The choice was obvious. Wait things out…

Gods? Don't joke with him! When was the last time those bastards cared or moved even a single stone for mortals? Never! Diabo knew it too well. Else, they wouldn't be stuck in this situation.

The only people they could rely now upon were themselves because no one else would help them. They had reached the point where the only savior was their own person. No matter how pitiful this sounded, this was the truth…

"What can we do? If Zorzal continues like this…" No! Piña didn't even want to think about it.

"It is hard to say. But if we don't do something, our whole family will fall. I fear, our only chance is…" Diabo bit his lip concerned, watching his sister with a hard expression.

"Don't say it!" The princess refused the possibility and immediately paled. Zorzal — no matter what kind of person he was — was still her older brother. She couldn't do this to him!

"I fear, this is the only way to preserve what remains from the Empire. Else, all will be lost. Piña, we need to bet for the winners or we'll be pulled down by the losers. Father always said so, no?"

"Ye-yes, you are right. Still, it is just not right. And even if we do so. What do we do after that? What guarantees our people will be preserved?"

A diabolic smile mixed with a cold, sly expression, yes, that's the best Piña could describe her brother's face.

"Don't forget who is responsible for our father's current state. Who poisoned him? Who is responsible for Zorzal's rise in power? We can use this to demand compensation."

Piña just leaned back on her seat, scoffing.

"Tch! Don't say you believe that fabrication. Everyone with a little brain or rationality know Prince Beelzebub had no reason to poison father. At least, I think so…" she looked away uneasily.

The Beelzebub she knew would never do that. And what for? He had no reason to poison Molt. What would he gain from it? It made no sense.

Why would anyone from the Sorcerous Kingdom even do that? Her father may have been a stubborn old man, but even he had seen enough to realize there was no meaning in struggling anymore.

According to Piña, the most her father did in the current situation was to try to keep the Empire afloat, preserving the small amount of dignity and independence they had after so many humiliating defeats.

"If you ask me, there is an explanation behind it…"

"And that is…?"

"Simply, they wanted a puppet for the throne. As you know, father was too clever and stubborn to be directly or indirectly manipulated." Diabo hummed as he said this, thinking through the reasons.

"Think about it, Piña, Zorzal is a fool. Unpredictable? Less likely, don't forget, he is still a fool. He is easier to control than father was."

Oh! If Diabo just knew what Demiurge thought about fools — "Reading the movements of a slightly-above-average intellect that imagines himself a genius is easier than trying to predict the actions of a complete moron." — he would think twice plotting against a fool.

"In the worst case scenario, he drives the Empire into total destruction, and who will be blamed for it? Who will be put into the stakes once civil war arises and many more people die? Who will be blamed after the dust settles? Think a little bit, sister."

Thinking of it, Piña paled even more, staring blankly before herself as she mumbled the words. "Us, our whole family and everyone who supported us…"

"Naturally. Just as you said. Our family, everyone who supported us. After our family falls after the people permanently lose faith in our capabilities. Who will they choose to rule over them? The family who destroyed everything in their attempt to keep power? Who let the tyrant rule and made the people's life miserable? Or…"

Diabo let a small pause, letting Piña enough time to think.

"Or the righteous king who freed them from the tyrant warmonger, a king…" Pina muttered horrified.

A king who according to many people was a living god walking amongst them— a person who had personally appeared, fought, risked his own life and saved them from a terrible demonic entity which sought to kill and enslave them, that saved the people of the Empire single-handedly.

Piña still remembered Jaldabaoth's invasion, and a shiver ran through her spine. The puzzle started to be pieced together in her head, and it was horrifically perfect.

"Remember it, that skeleton even put his son, his own son, a royal heir into a prison to prove everyone is equal under his rule. What shows this to the common people? Hope, of course. Who will they choose? A tyrant, a family who abuses power? Or a king who righteously rules over them, putting even his own family before the judges if it comes to justice. Intervene personally if the need calls for it — a person who's armies are like an unstoppable meat grinder before the masses. I think the answer is obvious. The reactions of the common people are predictable. And if you've heard the news spreading about the innovations the Sorcerous King brought here, received the intel of what the common people think about him and his family. Then you know, the choice is obvious."

Piña just lowered her head for a moment, then started to shake it.

"No! Prince Beelzebub is not like that; he would never willingly participate in such ploy!"

"Think what you want, Piña, but it is too obvious for me. The total takeover has already started. Offering vassalage was a mere courtesy. A courtesy that only served to deceive the stupid, and offer a steady foundation for their future operations. After things settle down, Prince Beelzebub will be released unconditionally and will be remembered as a hero who ended the reign of a fallen family. Even his imprisonment was an act that served nothing more than win more time and solidify their power in this region. The preparation of total takeover from inside has already started. It is only a matter of time. The final battle is on the horizon…"

"Against whom? They have already captured the heart of the people. If what you say is true, the Empire is already theirs."

"Are you blind, girl?" Diabo's face darkened, standing up and sticking his dagger into the map hunging from the wall.

"That's…!?"

"Right…" Diabo nodded, both watching the place where the blade embedded.

"Holy Hill Arnus…" Piña muttered completely pale. "Without them in the picture."

"Their authority will be complete in the continent. No one can oppose them. Not us, most likely not the gods. According to my spies, even the surrounding countries are hard pressed to join them as vassals. The whole continent will come under their rule eventually."

"Then we need to make sure to help the men in green keep their position."

"Good thinking. A little bit risky, but good thinking. Although, I would be slyer if I were you…" offered Diabo with a foxy expression, facing the map once more.

"What do you mean?"

"What if I say, our family could gain a permanent place in the throne? What if I say, after Zorzal's "accidental" death, parties will aid us to reach the point where we will be appointed to oversee the Empire? Unconditionally? Where the Sorcerous Kingdom will be hard pressed to keep us around."

"Us?"

"Us…" Diabo smiled sly.

"What are you proposing?"

"I have a plan. A plan so solid, nothing can go wrong. A plan which will provide power to our family, and the independence of the Empire for the future generations. If we are lucky, even more…"

Piña was unsure if listening Diabo was worth her time or not. But, if she remembered it right, aside from her father and mother, her brother was always the most reasonable person in the family. A son who resembled her father the most when it came to political craftiness and slyness. She did not like this "plan" of course. But the least she could do was to listen to him.

"What do you propose?"

"Easy, the first step is..." A devilish smile formed on Diabo's face, painting his expression much more sinister.

"Emperor Zorzal will die in a mysterious way…" thus, Diabo started to state his "crazy" plan, a plan that could tip the scales and make their family an essential factor for future operations, or push them even deeper than it was previously possible.

Unknown to him, a shadow watched them through the doorframe, listening to all that he said.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Hey all! Long time no see!**

 **Sorry for the delay!**

 **This was the first part of a double chapter. In a few days, I will release the second part. (It is already typed, I just need to skim it.)**

 **Sorry for the long delay. I hope the double release will make up for the lack of content in the past weeks.**

 **Unfortunately, I entered the last semester of university.**

 **You know, I have to finish my absolutorium, final exams, and the thesis… a lot of crap to get my degree finally!**

 **Because of this, the chapters might be delayed in the coming period. I ask your patience until then.**

 **But to make you feel good, I have good news!**

 **The story finally reached the 1k+ followers and favorite count! :) All thanks to you faithful readers and addicts! Thank you for all the support!**

 **You readers are the best!**

 **The next part will finally close the Rondel arc, and we get a peek of how the Sorcerous Kingdom really works!**

 **The guys finally visit it!**

 **Do you believe it! We finally reached that part!**

 **Brace yourselves!**

 **Until next time! :)**

 **Have a good day!**

 **Good night! Good sleep! Good day! Sail safe!**

 **(By the way, the Mr. Spock thing at the beginning of the chapter was an Easter egg from the manga. You don't have to take it seriously.)**


	30. The Rondel Roulette (part 2)

**Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There**

 **by oblivon2991**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.**

 **I don't own the _Overlord_ (** **オーバーロード** ** _Ōbārōdo_** **?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **Please review it. I know I will make mistakes that I intend to correct and will try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

* * *

Chapter **30: The Rondel Roulette (part 2)**

"Ugh!"

"Where…"

The man and the woman felt groggy. Their heads ached like hell, and it was not the only negative surprise they will encounter today.

"What the…"

Trying to move, they were completely bound. Tightly roped to a fixed chair which seemed to be made from wood, but was strangely rigid. Like it was wicked to attach to the same place.

"What is this?"

"Grey? What happened? I am bound!"

"Lady Shandy? Where are we?"

"I have no idea! How should I know? I am just as clueless as you!"

The rose knight tried to remember, but her memories were strangely groggy. Since her world turned black, she remembered little to nothing. All of it was like a strange, vivid dream.

"Ah! So you are awake. Good! Good morning! Grey Co Aldo, and Shandy Gaff Marea. I hope you can explain yourself."

A voice of a young girl called not far from them, and when their eyes dropped on the person, the blood in their veins froze instantly.

"Yo-Your Holiness!"

"Rory the Reaper?!"

Both the elderly knight and the young noble girl uttered in fright. They were confused, knowing not where the hell they are, or what happened at all. Their mind was still fuzzy, having no idea what Rory the Reaper planned with them, their fear based on a steady foundation.

The girl before them was famous/infamous about her merciless nature — depending on who you asked. And just now she gave them a dubious smile, just like an innocent child planning to murder you and trying to take your soul with herself in the depth of abyss.

"Your holiness! What's going on? Where are we?"

"I thought you already know it…" Rory stood up from her seat, walking around the two nonchalantly. You don't have to ask, Rory holding her hands behind her back made them feel uneasy a "little bit," making the innocent looking goth priestess seems like the incarnation of a fair devil dancing around them, tasting them like a good meal before consumption.

"Please forgive us. But we have no idea. It is, an inn?"

Grey looked around, trying to put together the situation, Shandy just lowered her head in shame. Whatever happened, they looked perplexed, like a fool. For a noble like herself, this was a disgraceful situation.

"Is that so…"

In the next moment, the apostle of Emroy pulled a chair before the two, turning the object's back to them and sat down. You don't have to figure it out, her blood red orbs staring the two made them shiver. Her eyes were both mesmerizing and dimmed with a terrifying light.

Her reputation well known, and well-earned all around the world. Even the bravest warrior who recognized her and forced to face her stained itself before the battle really started.

"Tell me what you remember. What is your last memory? But be aware, I know when you are lying."

Her smile may seem to belong to an innocent girl to everyone not know her. But everyone who recognized and heard about her, and her god's reputation backed.

The fear, respect, and dread lived in every Falmartian who was familiar with Emroy — knowing too well what kind of rumors and legends spread about the dark god and his gardener.

Her very halberd put neatly near the wall, symbolized all that every mortal feared: death and destruction.

'Gulp!'

Grey and Shandy gulped sweating, trying to recall their last memory before darkness descended in their vision.

"Let's start in the beginning…"

And thus, the two started to speak like little birds.

…

It took only around an hour, and Rory finished with the interrogation.

After all, who's a better interrogator than a walking lie detector who can literally tear off your head if you lie? I say, no one else than Rory the Reaper.

Indeed, this handy ability almost every demigod possessed in this world came in handy this time. If nothing else, it was perfect for the purpose mentioned above. Otherwise, it was merely annoying to others who tried to haggle with her.

"Ah…" Rory walked through the room, her disappointment clearly visible on her face.

"So, you managed to get out of them something?"

"Nothing, they know nothing. Even my divine perception was unable to get anything from them. It is either they tell the truth, or a divine being protecting them. Although, I doubt the latter. I felt no such presence in their soul undulations. But being we speak about gods; they may could hide their presence in some way even from me."

"The latter is possible. Although, what kind of god want that?"

"Don't you know a few one?"

Sitting down, then like melted butter, slumping in her comfortable seat, Rory asked the adventurer nonchalantly. Zeno in return just caressed his chin, thinking about the possible explanations.

"Well, personally I meet Ainz-sama and Esdeath-sama, as Ainz-sama was the one who knighted me, and Esdeath-sama is usually around to make sure everything goes as planned, but they are not interested in such things as I heard. Aside from that, I don't think any of the Supreme Beings want to interfere with their own operations. It makes no sense after all. And why would beings above gods bother with it? If they want, they just simply come and take over the city, or destroy it, that I admit, I witnessed once."

Everyone just blinked, staring Zeno with wide eyes, somewhat horrified.

"You actually knighted by Ainz-sama!?" Rory jumped up in excitement. The man might be a necromancer — according to them — but his godly aura was still undeniable. Giving him respect was only natural.

"They destroyed a city!?" with a raised hand, Itami's expression was quite concerned. Why would they do that? The citizens most likely really pissed them off or something? More importantly? How not was Rory more concerned about someone destroying a city? No! Stupid question! The better question is. Why would immortal demigod care?

"Well, Esdeath-sama was moody that time, and the citizens really angered her in some way. Most likely because they executed an important person and the whole city openly rebelled against the Supreme Beings without any normal, sensible reason given. But, I don't really remember, it happened long ago when I was still a kid. Maybe it happened this way, maybe not. Only one thing is sure… Until this day, the place still carries the scar of the attack, not a single plant present. Not even undead able to live in that place due to the excess supernatural radiation degrade even them. The sky ever intensely churning, and extra-dimensional storms are present all the times, tearing apart, or mutating every mortal dare to get too close."

 _"She destroyed the city because she was moody and the citizens rebelled? What kind of reasoning this? And more importantly? How can he accept it with such calm? Is this normal to destroy a city just because of that?"_

Understandably, Itami was disturbed, in his world, things worked entirely differently. But in the Sorcerous Kingdom where looking at a Supreme Being in the wrong way, or saying openly wicked things about them earned you a thousand years of damnation in the past by their servants, and today, excommunication from the society not by law, but by your own people. Destroying a city was quite mild punishment compared to that.

In fact, time to time excommunication from the community by your own people was worse than dying. It was the death of the soul after some time. People required some connection with their fellows in race. If denied, most healthy, conscious being started to degrade, even going insane after a while.

Naturally, Ainz tried to do against such customs and promoted the idea of free speech, encouraged everyone to express their opinion. But bad habits die hard; even he can't do anything against it. Zealots were present in every community, even the one he built. In the beginning, there were even cases when people mugged each other because of the different opinions about Ainz's rule.

"…"

Most people watched the man horrified, and a long silence descended, only after Yao's raised her voice the flow of the chat continued.

"Zeno-sama! Why don't you said it before?"

"What?"

"The fact the king himself knighted you!"

For Yao's question, the man only answered deadpanned.

"Well, duh… One. You did not ask. Two. It was not important anyway. But back to the topic. I don't think any Supreme Being want to mess with their own operation. Don't forget, Fluder Paradyne still around, inspecting the coming Sage evaluation. If he is here, it is not likely they will pull anything nasty."

 _"At least, nothing that may come with collateral damage."_

"What about other gods?"

Everyone looked at Itami who shrunk under the hard gazes of the present people. Everyone is waiting for his explanation.

"I mean. It is only sensible, if not them. Someone else, right?"

For this statement, with the exception of one, every present person nodded, as it was entirely sensible.

If not one, then another. Or a simple mortal with great intelligence plotting behind the scenes. Yes, that was sensible. Who else would want to cause chaos and assassinate Lelei? Only people with a plan or a complete madman would do that.

"Even if that's true, this is the city of Ral and Elange. The two would never allow other gods to trespass their city and cause a ruckus."

"Ah, Yao-san. You truly not know the heart of the gods…"

Rory chuckled, making Yao lower her head ashamed. True, she was only a mortal with limited understanding of the world of gods. She cannot possibly fathom what would be the plan of the twins with this.

"Please forgive me, your Holiness. I am but a simple mortal after all."

"Don't worry about it." With a sight, Rory looked in the direction of the window. "Many think gods are flawless. All knowing beings. Now, that is only partially true. Many forget, once many of them were mortals like you or me. It is only natural to time to time they act a little bit senile and unreasonable, just to entertain themselves. Ah, Emroy-sama, I remember when you sent me against the faithless. Your laugh is still with me…"

Immersed with her memories, Rory shook her head.

Not far from her Lelei watched her, sitting near her sister's body in stasis.

 _"That may be true to most of the gods, but I think Ral and Elange work differently. Else, they would not let my sister in such a sorry state. Else, Elange would not let her fall. I wonder what is in their head."_

Although Lelei said not in loud, her faith started to a weaver in Ral. She heard about the attack of the capital, about the terrible Demon Emperor, Jaldabaoth. This also confirmed the picture in her; the god's had been abandoned the mortals.

Their domain was invaded, yet, the gods did nothing to save the people, their worshippers. Only silently watched from the shadows. And now this! Her sister is on the verge of death, or dead, even she can't tell for sure. And Elange did nothing to save her? Why would they offer faith for such entities? What's worth it after all of this? Just now, faith seemed to be useless in contracts of deeds and practice.

 _"How can we have faith for such gods?"_

"So, what happens now? I guess, under the circumstances like this, the Sage evaluation will be delayed at least for a year, or until things settle."

"I don't think so…" Lelei said so finally. "According to the records. The Sage council always uphold this tradition, even in time of war, they always held this event of high regard. More so, the denizens of the city can live out their frustration by mocking their peers under the event. This is important, even for simple scholars who actually practice no magic."

This was true; people were always like that. More so, the council of Rondel will most likely withhold the information about the conspiracy conspired and saying this was an isolated attempt of rogue parties. Completely under their control and under investigation.

No one wanted to panic, solving the issue in quiet was the most rational decision. It offered the unique opportunity to capture the original schemer when it tried to strike. And who will be praised after that? The leaders of course. As always, even Rondel was filled with opportunists.

Naturally, this was a risky move. Also, it offered the chance of total catastrophe, but people like the Sages most of the times considered themselves above the norm, thinking everything under their control. With the head wizard of the Sorcerous King around, they were most likely confident in their chances.

"Lelei, don't say you still want to participate!"

"Umu! That's my decision" the girl gripped her staff with a solid move, a resolute expression materializing on her face.

"I will earn the title of Sage, win the price, and heal Alfie! No matter what it cost!"

"That's more like it!" Rory licked her lips, and although the people around were worried about their friends, all assured Lelei about their support.

"Then we need to prepare. I am sure master and that Ardyn figure is up to something." Zeno scoffed confidently, crossing his muscled arms with a smirk. "We only have a few days, after all; we need to prepare."

"Indeed, and I am sure Mimoza and the Sage council will cook something nice for that schemer. My friend always came up the best pranks in the past." Rory added absently, remembering their past adventurers.

"Don't worry Lelei; we will protect you." Tuka beamed like an angel, hitting her "father" with her elbow.

"Hey! What's that for? I mean, yeah, sure, you can count on us. What's friend's for after all?"

Lelei bit her lip. She was a person who had always relied on herself, and she was not used to letting other people do things for her and fretting about the outcome. However, after everyone persuaded her, she finally came over to their point of view. She really managed to acquire a few precious friends.

"Thank you…" no one saw it, because the girl cleverly turned her head away, but a few drops of tear rolled down on her cheek.

…

And thus, four days passed in a blink, spent well, with preparations and investigation. Rory even interrogated a few from the captured people. Unfortunately, with little to no success.

The most she managed to find out was the fact; the suspects heard a flute melody before falling asleep, only waking up here later.

This, of course, pointed towards a few assassins who worked with similar methods. And the most likely suspect was the legendary assassin Pied Piper who was famous making others do the dirty work for her.

Also, pulling a few strings to reach out for an old acquaintance, and being familiar with the weapons used for the raid, it comes to light, all of them made in the sorcerous kingdom's central forge, enchanted by the magical association's "War Enchantment" branch.

Although the headstamp was removed from the arrows — the same happened with the weapon's identification number — the contact was able to identify them. After checking the records, it came to light a few weeks ago the same amount of spellslayer arrows and weapons disappeared from the central warehouse of Fortress Gown.

According to the paladin's contact, only one organization works with such removal method, and it was E.A.S.Y. The kingdom's shady terrorist organization. A criminal carter even the Sorcerous King was unable to eradicate despite his best efforts. Even after 200 years it existed and was stronger than ever. It was evident, the organization found its way here and started to extend its influence like a yawning octopus ever intensely.

As for the poison. No trace found where it came from. From Fluder's investigation, it came to light; it was a heavily mutated strain of King Basilisk's poison. The experts still analyzing it under lab environment to find an antidote and realize what changed in the substance.

All of this pointed out one thing. E.A.S.Y hired Pied Piper or someone with a similar skill set to organize a raid, causing unrest and inviting more people in the town.

From the method, it was too obvious of course, all who know the shady organization knew, they rarely work this way. But being there was no other lead, the best the band could do is to prepare and wait, the truth will reveal itself in time. It always reveals…

"I wonder where they are…"

Even after four days, some part of the team still missing — doing their work most likely — Itami, Tuka, Yao, Zeno, Rory, and Lelei did their best to come up with a plan in the meantime, keeping their guard up, Lelei doing her best to prepare for her exam ever intense, asking Meguminoi a few questions about tier based magic.

Naturally, the veteran Grey and Shandy also joined them. Of course, before allowing them to participate, Rory and Zeno made sure the low, and mid class mind control effects can't take them.

Paladins, and it seems, demigods had a few hefty abilities to counter such spells. In fact, the buff the paladin class not only provided this — but being a high-class paladin himself — Zeno's mental resistance buff also provided mental fortitude effect needed to resist such techniques.

"So it begins…"

"Yes…"

The Londel Conference. That was the shortened title of this event, used in many places, but the official name was the Londel Academic Degree Board of Examination.

It had a long history, stretching back about 3000 years or so.

The Academy City had originally been founded as a place to test the worthiness of apprentices to learn from the libraries of various Sages who had gathered there to conduct research.

In the Special Region, where there were no communal libraries, rare books were almost always in the care of various famous Sages. From time to time, the powerful and the wealthy might forcibly gather books like that in one place, but these collections would invariably be destroyed or lost due to changes in the government, war, fires, and so on. In addition, there were those people who were appointed as librarians that selected and discarded books at their own judgment as well as burning books in the name of tidying up their collections. These occurrences repeated over and over, and in the end, books containing essential knowledge vanished from the public domain.

Ever since the Sages resolved never to relinquish control of their libraries again, if anyone wanted a book, they would have to write it themselves or pay someone else to write it for them at a high price.

As a result, people who wanted to further their learning had no choice but to come here and knock on the teachers' doors.

However, if they allowed just anyone to come in and read those books, their valuable libraries would be worn out in short order.

Anyone without the requisite basic knowledge would not be able to understand the contents of those books, which meant that the books would be useless to them. Therefore, the teachers had to verify that any supplicants had the required level of knowledge before permitting them access to their archives.

And then, this test of an apprentice's learning became a measuring stick for good students.

"This time, I'll finally be allowed access to the archives!"

"Ha, then you'll be able to properly begin your research life. Good luck!"

"Huh, my browsing clearance is higher than yours, Teacher."

"That's great. You must have really worked hard. How about it, want to take what you've learned and worked for a lord?"

Conversations like these had been heard in Londel for over 2000 years, until now, and they sounded too familiar for Zeno and the people from the Sorcerous Kingdom who attended the event.

Even in their country, many talented magic caster and professionals chose to serve a lord. This meant stability for them, and steady income for the future. In some cases, they can even access materials or knowledge else they could gain not.

Most lords paid well, and had a steady background, the talented only needed to pick the right one from the numerous offers they got after finishing the academy, and their problems would be solved in an instant, maybe for their whole life.

Naturally, people without talent or skills had been rarely bombed with such offers; their choices were always limited. Most of the times they remained "average joe's" all in their life. Sitting on the sidelines, struggling further until puked blood, weeping in the corner, or accepting the cruel nature of reality and giving up.

But it was always like this — no matter who, or what others may say. True equality was a nonexistent thing.

People born differently. Some born as a noble with a great background, some as a street rat who had been looked down all in their life, some were talented; some were more beautiful, some were ugly, some could never reach a high standing no matter how hard they work because they either lacked the background, talent, mindfulness or something entirely else.

 _"Equality is life biggest illusion. Forcefully implementing this kind of illusion is the death of every society."_ As one of the thinkers of the Kingdom said once.

Although public libraries were not rare in the kingdom, certain rare and valuable books can be only accessed if you have the permit or learned under the owner of the books.

Said so, certain books with magical properties and enchantments cannot, or can only be hardly copied. Tomes and scrolls made you instantly learn or use magic, or gain the knowledge the item contained usually immediately destroyed in the process, in exchange for the consumed energy, or gain. The monetary price of such rare items was hefty, even in the Sorcerous Kingdom.

The higher grade the book and scroll was, the more exotic material needed to make it — the more severe process required to embed the material with power and magic.

Usually, the hide of powerful beings — even human — or other sentient being's skin was not rare amongst the materials used to make tomes and scrolls.

In different of the Sorcerous Kingdom, where even the smallest city contained at least a small public library, in Rondel a lot fewer books produced. Naturally, copying of rare texts had produced enough books that there was less of a need for access to archives, but conversely, it had become more and more important to show the fruits of one's studies to access them. As a result, there were rigorous examinations to earn the academic titles in Rondel, namely: "Bachelor," "Master," "Doctor" and the highest-ranked position of "Sage."

The various academic degrees and the examinations needed to obtain them were as followed:

The first was the bachelor's degree. To attain it, one needed to become an apprentice.

Through various connections and searching for a scholar of above bachelor level, one could find somebody to teach them basic knowledge. After that, if the prospective student had the right attitude, was serious, and possessed good grades, they would receive a recommendation and be given the right to call themselves a pupil of a Sage. And thus the long life of an apprentice began.

After that, they needed to undergo an interview with two other Sages aside from one's own master. If they passed, they could officially use the title of "Bachelor" for their own, becoming part of the academic community.

People with that title could access the archives of the school to which their master belonged, as well as earning the right to give private tuition of basic knowledge to children.

The Master's Degree required an oral examination involving at least two other Sages from different schools before they were allowed to use the title. Anyone with that title was allowed basic access to the archives of any other Sage. In addition to reading privileges, they were also allowed to pose questions to other Sages directly. In other words, they could begin compiling knowledge from various masters.

In addition, they could release research results, and they were acknowledged as substitute teachers in place of Sages by scholars of Bachelor-level and below.

Incidentally, Lelei was currently a Master, after that was the Doctorate, which was considered a hurdle in the academic's career.

First, a prospective Doctor had to present a thesis before a board of examiners in Londel. Then, they had to obtain the unanimous approval of all the examiners.

However, once one became a Doctor, they had unrestricted access to archives of all the Sages. In addition, they could expect preferential treatment in the courts of many nations, in deference to their titles. Of course, actually being called "Excellency" was a privilege reserved for nobles, ministers, and generals, but someone, as versed in academics as the former group were in their respective fields, could expect treatment of a similar standard.

(Lelei's big sister, Alfie, was actually a "Doctor.")

And then, there was the final stage of Sage. People at that level could found their own archives. That, in turn, meant that supplicants would come before them, which effectively meant that they were a one-man university. In the Special Region, the beings known as Sages were people who commanded the power and prestige of such an institute.

Naturally, the examinations to become a Sage were exceedingly ruthless.

To some people, it was compared to a public execution, or perhaps a lynching.

This was a difficult hurdle to cross, which had caused many prospective challengers to withdraw in disgrace. Therefore many people stopped at the Doctorate stage. For instance, some of these people were landless second or third sons of nobility who could not inherit. People like that, who went into academia to make a living, often felt that reaching a Doctorate was enough. They would receive the respect due to them when they returned to their homes and be treated well. There was no need to subject themselves to repeated misery for the sake of advancement.

However, today, Lelei had come to contend for such a position. To people who had determined to make a living out of this path, academic degrees were not a goal, but merely one of many necessary steps which had to be taken in the endless quest for knowledge.

"I see…"

Itami and the others nodded after listening to the history of the examination board.

Rory, Tuka, and Yao indicated that they understood. Typically, that should not have been the case. Tuka and Yao were essentially home-schooled and refined their skills through experience and personal development. Rory had been schooled as a priestess-in-training before she became a Demigod, but she should only have had a vague idea of what organized education entailed. Still, after Lelei's explanation, they realized how amazing scholars were. They had a picture of the sort of willpower and motivation needed to tread the path of academia.

Therefore, just as Lelei was about to move on to the next topic, she was stopped by an "Eh?"

"It seems Itami gained the equivalent of a Bachelor's degree in Nihon."

Granted, Itami had obtained it from a newly-built third-rate university, but it was still a degree.

"No way!"

The person who blurted that out was Tuka, who called Itami "Father."

"When I learned this, I wondered if I should use the word 'bachelor' to translate the Japanese term. However, after some investigation, I learned that there was no problem with that translation. In conclusion, Itami is an academic with the title of Bachelor." Lelei explained with a passive face, making many people watch Itami flabbergasted.

"Is, is Nihon such a great country…"

Rory's face was frozen in shock, while Yao tightly gripped the protective necklace — Zeno gave her to protect her — hanging around her neck. Tuka, on the other hand, continued in a teasing manner.

"Well, Lelei said it, and it's not wrong… but it still feels wrong to me."

"I was as shocked as when I heard her Holiness intended to become a goddess of love…"

Lelei nodded as well.

"Ral, the Goddess of Wisdom, once said, there are those lesser people who only understand things, those in the middle who culture their ability to understand things, and the superior beings who refine their intellect."

"What does that mean?"

"It's meant to be a criticism of those people who became academics by memorizing facts."

Even Itami could not help but smile uneasily as he was described like this.

"Somehow, I feel like people are treating me as an idiot."

"Nobody's treating you as an idiot, Father. It's just… right, it's just very surprising. The fact is, you've never considered yourself an academic, have you, Father?"

"Just call me a man full of surprises."

"You are a moron." gave her blunt opinion Meguminoi who stood not far from them, earning a pinch on her cheek from Zeno.

"That was not nice."

"You are also a moron…"

Itami just smiled bitter seeing the two glaring at each other, and Tuka continued somewhat joking.

"Because of that, I've never thought of learning anything from you, Father,"

"Doesn't that sound a lot like treating me as an idiot?"

Tuka pressed her hands together (as though in prayer) and stuck her tongue out, saying: "Please don't be angry. It's just that the truth slipped out by accident!"

"Ahhhh, this is annoying!" Itami retorted with a scary look on his face. Then, he planted his hands on Tuka's cheeks and kneaded them around.

The two started to tease each other, and Zeno can only sight, seeing the two — holding her own cape over the little witch's head with great ease, muffling her. Meanwhile, Meguminoi tried her best to remove the muffling cloth.

"Mmmmm!"

Itami and Tuka made Zeno remember too much how his master and he acted in the early stages of their acquaintance. Of course, without the father nonsense Tuka playing with Itami.

He clearly remembered his now deceased mother, and no one can substitute her in his eyes, not even the one who basically raised him from the ground.

The one who gave him life always remains his most precious.

"Good times…"

"Zeno-dono?"

"Huh?"

Looking on the side, Lelei expectantly watched him. "If I may ask. What is your education?"

"Why is that important?"

"I am just curious…"

Zeno can't place the question. Most likely Lelei asked this because she was curious, or, worried about her sister, or simply excited about the evaluation. Not as it mattered, it was all the same for him.

"Hmm, if we translate it in your system, I would be a doctor…"

"Whaaat!?" the people around him almost roared, earning many strange gazes from the people around.

With his almost bodybuilder stature it was really surprising to know he reached that level. He looked more like a warrior than a scrawny scholar; usually, doctors look like.

"Is that surprising?"

Staring that him that way, Zeno felt slightly embarrassed. "Is it really that hard to believe?"

"A little bit…" Itami nodded deadpanned.

With all honestly, from a close ranged fighter like Zeno was, he would never imagine he was interested in scholarship. And at the same time, felt himself inferior with only his bachelor degree under his hand.

"Hah! Let me explain. Master and Momon-dono always pushed me to learn. In the beginning, I could not stand it and hated the whole thing. But success can be a great motivator. You know?"

Indeed, it was true. Success was a great motivator, a helper which could turn a lazy student into a successful person.

"As master and Momon-dono used to say, a person does not even willing to improve oneself destined to die a horrible, early death."

This was a harsh thing to say for a kid, but it was true, and this one sentence made Tuka and Yao shiver, yet, Itami and Lelei had to agree. Without at least knowing how to read and learn new things, one can easily lose oneself in the world. Who is unwilling to improve usually not lasted long. Even if Itami only did it when it was necessary, he was able to learn and acclimatize when the need called for it.

"What are you specialized, if I may ask."

"Well, mostly magic theory, holy and positive energy branch. But I also had a degree from architecture and history. True, those are only masters. Architecture and history is a hobby of myself, you know?"

A strong fighter and a doctor? People like him were indeed rare.

"Zeno-sama…" Yao's eyes brimmed in adoration. Her tribe usually preferred practical knowledge, but a few elders in the council learned in various places previous, and they always gave wise advice in time of need. Pieces of Advice which saved the tribe many times in the past, making life more comfortable.

"Yeah, most elves tend to think they have all the time in the world considering their long, if not endless lifespan. But I say, do what you must today, instead of doing it tomorrow. Who knows what tomorrow brings? If we have a long lifespan, why not use it for the best? Sorry, Tuka, Yao, nothing personal."

Tuka pouted somewhat reluctant, but Yao nodded understanding. Indeed, many people of her race just postponed duty when it comes to that. Their attitude was quite straightforward when it came to long term projects. Usually, they preferred saying: " _Tomorrow I do it, I promise."_ Then forget about it at the next moment. Most of the time never finishing projects with secondary relevance.

"What about the education of the Sorcerous Kingdom?" Lelei asked excitedly.

Albeit she wanted to heal Alfie at all cost, unfortunately, in the current situation, she can't do more but hope the best.

She needed to get all the tension out from her system, or she will burst. The coming Sage evaluation did not help either calming her nerves. Asking questions with rapid succession helped her to grind her gears on other things and not think about her sister and the possible lynching the people may give her.

"Hmm. Well, up to bachelor it is usually free for those who earn good grades, talents can even go further, and gain free tuition up to their entire scholarship until they reach the Grandmaster, doctorate, or Arch titles. Which usually equals, but often surpasses your sages."

The people watched the man shocked. Even in Itami's world, it was up to a certain degree the tuition was financed by the government. Even with good grades, you can only receive full support up to earn a bachelor's degree.

"Naturally, whose struggle with their scholarship, and/or without talent, those after finishing the obligatory studies can leave to do some work, or learn a profession for free. In the case you want to earn your scholarship in a private institution or want to be educated outside of the governmental sphere, you need to pay the price, but it is expected. The equivalent of your Sage training also exists in the Kingdom, although, it is more centralized, most of the time tuition organized by the government with appointed tutors, concentrating on both theoretical and practical knowledge."

"Then the system is different than here where scholarship happens with private tutors." Lelei hummed, astonished how different their worlds are.

"Don't misunderstand me, Lelei-san. Private tuition exists but is very costly. Naturally, there are rare cases when a professional or Grandmaster or even an Archwizard takes talents under their wings to leave secret techniques on them."

Zeno glanced at Meguminoi who gnawed on some sweet, and the girl just nodded, confirming what the paladin said.

"This is a privilege only a few can earn, and the students usually pay back the teaching by assisting their teachers with their experiments or paying some kind of honorarium willingly, most of the time we not speak about monetary values, but something else the teacher request."

"I see…"

"There is one more category of course. People who have a military background and served in the army previous. They could even earn scholarship no matter where they go, or can even pique the interest of a high-ranked specialist and personally trained by them. Naturally, sooner or later every citizen needs to serve their obligatory time in the military. But volunteers usually enjoyed a preferable status amidst the masses if it comes to tuition under, and after the service time. Citizens like them also received certain benefits later."

Just like in Earth, Itami understood it right away. Although he only had a bachelor degree, he started to discover more and more familiar things between Earth and the Sorcerous Kingdom. Even in Japan, the military usually supported studies under and after the service time. In this way, the military was able to keep their recruiting quota, and train the new generation they will throw to the meat grinder later. This often piqued the interest of many youngsters, keeping the number high.

 _"It is like they copied everything from us, and then added a few things later. Strange how things develop in different worlds so similarly…"_ Pondering on this, this was really eerie strange.

"In fact, Meguminoi is the private pupil of Fluder-dono. Picked up from a young age."

Hearing this, Lelei just gulped, watching her new friend astonished and with some envy in her eyes.

Although only for a few words, she heard the girl speak about that man. Words described Fluder with great light. As a great scholar and magic caster who reached, and surpassed what was humanly possible.

 _"That man…"_ Lelei looked towards the judges, amidst them Fluder sat, chatting with the Sages. " _Yes, she called him master previous."_

Fluder Paradyne… The arch-wizard of the kingdom, the seeker of truth, the triad magic caster, the man who defeated and defied time itself — as he was almost a half millennia old. Indeed, in the Sorcerous Kingdom, many aspired to be like him. To be his pupil? He accepted very few people. Only those he discovered the seed of wisdom, great talent and endless thirst of knowledge, the want to surpass even gods. Or something extraordinary piqued his interest. Basically, he only accepted people like himself…

"Hmm, so many people, so many hidden Shadowguard Knights around…"

With a whisper, and using his tracking ability actively, Zeno recognized the elite units of the Sorcerous Kingdom hidden in the shadows, albeit, even he was unable to identify the ones amidst the thick crowd of people.

The order of shadow was an elite knight assassin order inside of the bergs of the kingdom — Specialized for infiltration, assassination, and the protection of VIPs from the shadows. Usually, not even the protected know they were around most of the times.

One of their branch was the Shadowguards, who are mostly specialized for the protection of important people, and was more apt with close quarter combat and defensive skills than the rest. Yet, their offensive abilities cannot be dwarfed; even Zeno would be hard pressed defending someone from two of them.

Even with his perceptive abilities as a High Paladin and Templar, he could barely detect them.

"Fluder-dono really went great lengths getting his hand on the suspects."

It cannot be denied. Only after one day, mages specialized for scanning and detection arrived at Rondel via teleportation to monitor the situation and the exits — concealed by strong invisibility magic.

Basically, under a certain level, not even a mouse can escape the city without the knowledge of Fluder and his arcane hunters.

Not speaking several JSDF helicopters also popped up not long ago, supporting the authorities of Rondel to skim the city and seek out the source of contamination.

Naturally, all these security measures may seem exaggerated for most citizens. But most understood it right away after asking a guard.

An important person of the kingdom come to inspect the Sage evaluation this year. And it was more than enough for most to accept the heightened security. Most researchers and scholars were even glad someone famous from the mysterious another side personally came to visit them, bringing foreign knowledge, making sure everything goes alright.

Naturally, there were always elements who protested. But most of them were simple people. Worrying about their own, and their family's safety. Fewer people who worried these newcomers might try to invade Rondel.

These people were the minority, of course. The people of Londel were hardened beings, living in the city of wisdom so long was risky because all the crazy mages around doing their crazy experiments, blowing stuff up "accidentally" constantly. Thus, most of the citizens were already get accustomed to living in danger and only thought of it as a simple annoyance came residing in the city of wisdom.

"Ah, soon it starts, soon it starts…" Fluder Paradyne already sat on his chair, fondling his rich beard which gave him some kind of Sagely aura. Naturally, he received the seat of the honored guest, listening to the theories of the judge Sages around him.

It was quite amusing hearing these people who called themselves Sages, yet, some of them were even unable to grasp fundamental truths about the world, speaking blatant nonsense time to time, and in his eyes, it was just as sad as amusing.

Just now, one of the judge told him about the development of astronomy in Falmart, and about a theory how planets stay "afloat" in the vast emptiness.

The story was the next…

According to the accounts, and a few people around, all started when the rain and clouds retreated, the crops ripened, the tree branches were heavy with fruit, and it was the harvest season.

With the aid of the Earth Mother Goddess, the god of agriculture made his bid to be the lord of the heavens.

Soon, the god of agriculture achieved victory.

In the old days, when people had no homes and wandered from place to place with a tatty piece of cloth around themselves, mankind looked to the starry night sky and slept with their backs to the earth.

The constellations and galaxies in the sky evoked wonder. And in turn, they used those celestial phenomena as the background for strange and fantastic stories. Soon, the tales of the stars became linked to the seasons. Once they developed proper agriculture, the stories of mankind grew more complex and detailed.

For instance, they said that the kind god of agriculture was in the sky during planting season.

However, the god of torrential rain appeared alongside him, and they waged an intense battle in the heavens. Amidst the booming of thunder and the windstorms which blew everything away, the kind-hearted god of agriculture was vanquished and forced to flee to the west.

And then, the god of rain ruled upon the celestial throne for a time.

It just so happened that it was the rainy season. The days without the sun dragged on. However, it had to be endured, because it was only for a short time.

Seeking to understand the reason behind these strange phenomena's, humans attempted to understand the link between astronomy and the seasons by inventing myths.

However, the Sages worked ceaselessly to understand the movement of the stars and the principles by which they operated.

The fruit of many meticulous observations resulted in the creation of the calendar. And then, the burgeoning field of astronomy became a separate field of study in its own right, taking an important place in the world of science. And then, about 2500 years ago, they discovered an important fact. This fact ― that the world was round overturned all the hypotheses of the past.

The gods of this world did not talk about how the world and all the things within it were created or worked. They merely waited silently for those mysteries to be unraveled. Therefore, the simple-minded folk believed that the sun had suddenly appeared over a flat earth, and the Sages of the past used that assumption as the basis for their understanding of the world.

For instance, the equator was directly under the sun's path of travel, so it was natural that these places should be warmer, while one traveled further away from the sun the further north one went, and so the lands there were colder. In addition, the angle formed between the earth and the sun was smaller.

And so, the Sages answered the questions posed about the world in this manner.

Then, at some point, the astronomer Passol had the idea of taking the triangulation techniques used in creating maps and applying it to the problem of measuring the exact distance between the earth and the sun. He sent his disciples to seven different locations in the north and south, and at the same time of the same day, they measured the angle between the earth and the sun.

The conclusions were quite surprising.

After compiling the measurements from the seven locations, the distance from the earth to the sun still could not be calculated.

He spent several months mulling over these results. In the end, he hit on a terrifying possibility. The further he went to make his measurements, the more distorted the earth was… which meant that the surface of the earth was a gigantic curve which, when extended indefinitely, would eventually meet somewhere. And thus his round-earth theory was born.

The people were filled with shock and fear after hearing Passol cautiously present his thoughts.

If they accepted his words, then that would imply the spherical earth was floating in the heavens without any support. The simple-minded masses found it very difficult to believe this. In addition, if the planet really was round, then the people at the edges ― no, not just the people, all buildings, plants, and animals ― would slide off the sides. In fact, the earth had nothing to support it so that it would fall as well. If they were currently falling, then what lay ahead of them? In fact, what were they falling towards?!

The people envisioned everything on the horizon falling away, followed by scenes of destruction.

They imagined the land shattering, like how a fruit would squash against the ground.

Londel's halls of academia were besieged by people wielding hoes and shovels after Passol published his theory.

The people were furious at the theory of the planet is round, and they demanded that the academics state that their measurements and evidence were wrong. While Passol and his friends were not to blame, the people mistakenly believed that their findings would destroy the world.

Knowledge could change one's view of the world. If it were not handled properly, it would lead to massive public outcry. The Sages immediately discovered that this could happen at the right time and place.

The crowd shouted angrily and hammered on the doors to the conference hall, seeking to break them down.

Amidst this storm of anger, the Sages continued presenting the details of their findings without distorting them, despite their fear. This was the resolve of the Sages. Therefore, they announced to the public:

 _"Although the world is a sphere, it will not be falling anywhere. This is because the land where we live is the center of the world. Below us, there is something like a seed in the core of this spherical world. Therefore, the earth will not move, and it will never falter. Everyone can live in peace upon the surface of our Mother Earth."_

This was a lie. They had made it up out of whole cloth, without a shred of supporting evidence.

The Sages ― who were obliged to use the sword of wisdom to eradicate the darkness of ignorance ― had now pulled the wool over the peoples' eyes. However, to the people of the time, their lies were more important than the truth. There was a saying that a frog in a well did not know how wide the ocean was, but the frog could never survive in that ocean anyway. It would drown in its vast waters. It simply could not grow enough physically to survive the size of the world. Therefore, the people chose to keep themselves in the darkness of the well. In other words, the people wanted to be told lies. This was progress to them.

Knowing that the land they lived on was the center of the world made them feel like they were beings who ruled the world. This line of thinking satisfied their pride and allowed them to escape the cruelty of reality.

…

"So, it happened that way. Isn't it fun?" Sitting on Fluder's side, Mimoza laughed in somewhat wrily, always offering a cheerful expression.

"Ah, I see…" the triad magic caster chuckled hearing out this interesting story, a piece of a story from Rondel's history.

Indeed, in the times of old — before the time of the Six Great Gods descended — even in Gown Prime most common people, mortal races and scholars thought the planet was flat.

Naturally, when Fluder was born, this was already proven by the scholars, explorers, and magic casters.

Most people accepted this since a few hundred years, yet people remained who claimed the planet was still flat, and searched the end of the world constantly, refusing to accept this "blasphemous" truth.

Misled heroes, explorers, scientist, scholars put their life on to prove their right, just to die or give it up on their death bed in the end.

But in some way, Fluder still respected those people. They searched the truth. They were misguided, true. But at least not sit idly around accepting everything others said but sought to investigate it themselves.

According to the tales, before the tier based magic appeared in the New World, before the six great gods descended and started the new age, the dark age of ignorance ruled where the only ones who held the leash were demons, celestial entities and above all, Dragon Lords who stubbornly refused to share their power and knowledge. In that time, magic was the privileges of Dragon's and very few entities. Humanoid races were on the brink of extinction.

Mortal races were unable to use magic at all — or a very few practiced something similar in secret — according to a few ancient memoranda Fluder found around, only after the arrival of the Six Great gods, this changed.

They were entities which were similar to the Supreme Beings, yet different. Their memorial still stood in several towns around the world, giving respects for their sacrifice and struggle to share knowledge.

The knowledge what the first players brought with themselves was truly enlightening for the mortal races, bringing the much-needed light in the ages where the world ruled by the Dragon Lords of old who refused to share any experience with inferior species and often instead kept them in the dark on a tight leash, not to one day revolt against them.

The six shared the mortals the secret of the tier-based magic system and many more things, leading the weakening of the magic of old, giving a weapon and hope for the masses against their overlords.

Their fight was hopeless of course, and the six rather avoided the confrontation with the Dragon Lords of old. Thus, knowing each other respective strength the sides kept the distance and there were peace were humanity could grow almost unhindered.

Only after the appearance of Eryuentiu and the Eight Greed Kings this truly changed. Starting a destructive war, basically, the only the Dragon Lords who did not participate survived the fight against the eight. In that time, only one from the six lived. The other five either died out of old age or something else happened, the details were not clear.

Only one thing is sure, after marching to his death, the last of the six died, and refused to be revived.

The dark ages came again under the rule of the eight greed kings. But they were not accidentally called greed kings for nothing. One by one they had fallen, turning against each other after a great dispute and killing each other over and over again. Until one point their power weakened enough, and the remained Dragon lords could overwhelm, and seal them forever.

Naturally, sometime later their legacy, the evil deities emerged. But it was entirely another story. They were defeated by the thirteen heroes — who in truth were much more numerous than just thirteen.

In that time it was too late to do anything and regain the control over the flow of happenings; the new generations of the Dragon Lords were too weak to oppose the wrath of every mortal species combined.

Their magic weakened, their numbers cut greatly, the most they could do is to retreat, watch the happening from the shadows or, ally with others. Wait the moment of their return and monitor the appearance of the "new evils" — as they called the players who popped up in a hundred years interval. The evil beings who contained their magic and the world

Thought, this happened just like this according to the legends the scholars and historians left behind. What really happened, most likely only those who witnessed all of this knew.

"Oh! You did not even hear Mochrie's "Heliocentric" Theory, that one caused even more uproar. It is really a good story!"

Although Mimoza laughed the topic off, the Sages not far from her offered a very miserable expression. Like a man who had been suffered genital trauma from a steel toe boot. It was evident most of them don't want to speak about it.

"Ah, people…"

Fluder sighed his heart content. Usually, he preferred to remain in his mage tower and conduct his research or ask one of the Supreme Being an hourglass worth of time to immerse himself more in the secrets of the universe and the abyss of arcane.

But now, he felt somewhat uncomfortable. Unlike the gatherings in the Sorcerous Kingdom where the magical associations went that far to use a whole castle to mingle with each other and share their research results, the conference hall where the Londel examination took place was a very old building, and its pillars were started to crack how old they looked.

In Rondel, the apprentices handled the reception and other functions of the conference. It felt a little like a local school festival.

Being most of the Sages and apprentices attended these events, the place became quite rowdy in a short time, giving Fluder hard time to endure due to the slight claustrophobia he suffered after one of his experiment gone wrong.

Although one thing was quite positive in his eyes, the academic conferences in Londel were invariable quiet short.

Fluder hated nothing more than wasting time with senseless mingling, he was the man of truth, and most of the mages and scholars in the Kingdom's meetings just did that, wasted his precious time with senseless chatter. Time to time conferences like that may take a whole week — or two depends on the occasion. Most of the times he did not even attend, just sent an apprentice, or a summoned creature to note the important findings, then make a report.

In truth, if he would be not curious about the city, and his master would not send him to investigate the rumored artifact, he would be home doing his stuff.

 _"Even after days of intense, deep magical scanning. Even after setting up the spell formations, we only have an approximate location. Those twin gods hid that artifact really cleverly. If my calculations are right, we could find it early on if we go all out and like brutes mole the whole city and the surrounding area. Unfortunately, Ainz-sama ordered us to be discreet as possible. He is too well mannered to ruin these people. And although he most likely could point out the exact location, he allowed us to search ourselves. But…"_

Now, the light of realization lit in his wise eyes. Recognizing Ainz's most apparent purpose with this.

 _"How wise my lord is! Bolstering our knowledge ever awake, forcing us to do field research! As expected! Ainz-sama!"_

Such praises raced through Fluder's mind ever awake. And in the next moment.

 **[Message]:** "Fluder-sama, we found a strange teleportation formation hidden outside of the city. The leysignals points toward an underground facility well hidden somewhere way outside of the city's range."

 _"Finally!"_ Fluder grinned inside.

That teleportation formation most likely leads towards the artifact he sought.

But they found the teleportation formation outside of the city? Well, that was somewhat expected, it would be too obvious hiding it in the city, this is why they set up the scanning to affect the nearby areas as well, this is why it took days actually to finish it.

What he did not expect was the fact the coordinates pointing somewhere far away. But thinking of it, it was most likely out of security reasons. Ral and Elange were most likely no fools to hide them here.

 **[Message]:** "Send probes before going through. I want you to act on according to the highest security clearance. No mistakes allowed!"

 **[Message]:** "Acknowledged! We will handle situations with care. Several arcane knight units already prepared to make the passage."

 _"Splendid! And when I thought I need to station my soldiers around for several more days. The Supreme Beings really smiled on us today!"_

Magic casters like Fluder were meticulous beings. Many of them prefer to do research and study in their laboratory instead of wandering around and conduct research on the field where dangers ever lurked around.

Under history, this poor practice caused many scholarly minded magic casters to fall when they actually meet opposition with practical knowledge and fighting experience — or forced to go outside, searching for something in an area where danger ever awake lurked around, and they could meet dangerous beings.

No matter how much knowledge one had, without actually experiencing and practicing the said knowledge, they would most likely fall in the victim of the same philosophy others did in the past. Without practical use, theoretical knowledge worth not much.

It was sad but true.

Only since the Sorcerer King became the sole ruler and set up his academic preferences, this changed. Every mage studying in the magic academies of the kingdom obliged to undergo practical combat training and lessons — even basic military training as every citizen was compelled to serve at least two years. Be it a woman, man, or "other." Everyone must serve….

Out of this reason, in time of need, this way every magic caster can be drafted in the army if necessary, quickly creating many combat worthy magic caster units with great efficiency. Without the actual danger where several newbie magic casters blew the whole unit up out of panic.

Yes, Fluder saw this happen a few times. Mostly under his service of Baharuth Empire. Under combat situation, panicking, inexperienced mages usually were more dangerous to their own units than the enemy.

" _Finally_ …"

The show finally started, yet, no trace of the assassins showed — for Fluder's annoyance of course.

He prepared all of this for the dear assassin. It would be a shame if it did not even show up to bare its teeth. He even requested the help of the order of the shadow to come and monitor the situation.

Most assassins of high grade usually worked to show their skills and training, to enjoy the hunt, not for money. And a person who was able to organize mind control in this scale was no small shoot. Even Fluder was aware of that.

Giving the person this opportunity was a first-grade chance. They cannot possibly ignore it. Unless…

Unless the person scared away by the Shadowguards hidden in the crowd and the shadows? There was a possibility of that. Still, not likely as very few people with active skill use were able to detect them thanks to their specially developed stealth techniques and skills, and even them with great difficulty.

Fluder even requested a few shadow demons from his masters for this occasion. Using half of them to accelerate the search for the artifact, another half to guard the event and search for the attacker.

"Ladies and Gentleman! For this special occasion. We have a seat of honor. Coming from the distant lands of the other side of Hill Darnus. Welcome with all your heart, Fluder Paradyne the head of the magical association of the Sorcerous Kingdom."

Everyone watched Fluder with wide eyes.

Naturally, the Sage council organized the meeting kept everything under wrap as a surprise. Only rumors spread about a mighty magic caster who battled with a girl several days ago, then with just one move renovated several block worth of buildings like it was nothing.

Naturally, most simple people thought nothing of it — just another day in Rondel where a crazy mage blows stuff up. The only strange thing in their eyes was the fact; this mage actually fixed things after causing a great calamity.

Fluder's little trick of restoration for the ordinary people seemed nothing more just a new technique of a Sage, developed to help the city. It was welcomed change, but simple people cannot possibly understand the inner working of the spell. They were too simple to understand such a thing.

Only mages and scholars specialized for magic theory could fathom the painful process to develop, research new techniques and spells; only they could understand the struggle. Only they could comprehend the knowledge needed to materialize their will in this world.

"Is he from the other side?"

"The head of the magical association?"

"The Sorcerous Kingdom?"

"I heard about the men in green and the army of death. But to think one of their leaders are here?"

Yeah, Fluder heard about the strange title these people came up with. It was but one title from many. Arcane warriors, soldiers of the almighty and the like, all were somewhat true, yet, he preferred the official title. SKEF. Sorcerous Kingdom Expedition Force. It was an expedition force, after all, nothing else. If his lord would bring his true might here, this whole continent would be long ago conquered with just one sweep. Out of mere courtesy, it takes so long, his lord was indeed very magnanimous being letting these people time to acclimatize for the changes.

'Chatter! Chatter! Chatter!'

The crowd started to get really noisy in the room, which irritated Fluder greatly.

"Quite you! It is the way we accept a guest?"

For the harsh word of a Sage judge, the crowd quieted, and Fluder finally could start his opening speech, standing up just to give respect to the people around.

"Mages, and scholars of Rondel. I welcome you on this prosperous occasion. I am Fluder Paradyne. The head of the Sorcerous Kingdom's magical association, the director of the great Arcane University of Carne, the Leycastle, his majesty's personal consultant, the Triad Magic caster, and many more thing, listing unnecessary titles is just bothersome. As fellow magic casters and scholars who prefer to unravel the mysteries of the world instead of meaningless idle chatter, I hope you understand."

Offering an absent-minded smile, many Sages just nodded agreeing, understanding his struggle. But the newbies watched him flabbergasted, hoping something more.

Indeed, the way Fluder introduced himself made many people blink astonished.

Previous, most of them thought Fluder was a Sage from a faraway land came to inspect the evaluation. And they were not far from the truth; the "old man" indeed came from a far, far away land. Yet, neither of them thought he is from "that" far.

Lords and Sages usually have the influence and wealth to hire or keep their personal guard squad around if they wanted so. People above doctor not accidentally called "Excellency" by others.

"As magic casters and scholars, it is our duty to pursue the truth eternally, to immerse ourselves with the depths of arcane, to unravel the mysteries of the world. To find things others may say blasphemous. To open the box of Pandora, as my great king, and master, Ainz Ooal Gown used to say. To reveal the unknown, and give it meaning, harness it for our own and the community's use. That's the duty of us scholars, scientists, and magic casters. That's why we live, that's where we thrive!"

Looking around, many eyes watched Fluder, drinking his wise words.

"As the head of the magical association, you may think I know a great deal of things. That's only partly true of course. I may know many things, yet, many more remained hidden before my sight until now. The more you know, the more you feel how small you are compared to the vastness of the universe. This breaks many people, leaving them in the dust forever, unable to stand up after the defeat and climb the ladder of knowledge once more. But people like us, Scholars, Sages, magic casters and scientist thrive to defy this and dare to measure up to these giants! Conquer the unclimbable mountain many thought before unconquerable!"

"Yeah, maybe he is right." Many whispered.

"It is us, who drives the wheels of progress! It is us, bright minds who shed light in the darkness of the dark ages! No matter how painful it is, progress must be maintained! It is our duty to spoon this knowledge in digestible portions for the masses, to open their eyes for the truth! It is our duty to feed the engine of progress ever intensely!"

Several whispers heard from the crowd, most of them agreeing with Fluder.

"Fellow colleagues, scholars, scientist, mages. I am but a humble servant, and most zealous follower his Majesty, Ainz Ooal Gown's teachings. Compared to him, my knowledge lacking at many points and count but a drop in the endless ocean. This is true, yet, I am not ashamed. Because I am willing to learn, willing to admit my fault and improve, ever pursuing the truth of the world and the universe. Because of this, on this occasion, I humbly offer you the chance to visit the Sorcerous Kingdom, and my magic academy. Witness what carefully spooned knowledge, and progress can achieve if we really work for it. Prove you, the future is closer than anyone might imagine!"

Now the crowd started to get noisy once more. Visiting the other side? Exploring and noting how much others know was really the distant dream of many participants and scholars with adventurous souls. This ignited the researcher spirits many who thought about retiring previous.

"Those who manage to convince me with their thesis today will gain a year worth of paid scholarship in my academy. Witness and compare what his majesty managed to earn only under two hundred years of his rule. Learn and see what progress and knowledge can do if handled correctly. Just today, I hear everyone out. If you request it, even giving pointers to finish, or fix your thesis, answering your questions after the event ended for free. To be wrong, is not a sin, through mistakes, observation and experiments we come to realize the truth itself, being too cowardly to question things is the real sin. But I spoke too long already! Let's the Londel Academic Degree Board of Examination begin! Show me what you can do! Good luck to everyone! Have the courage to speak out what is in your heart and head."

With that, Fluder sat down on his seat, and everyone clapped.

"Those going before the Doctorate and Sage Board of Examiners, please gather here."

Sounded the harsh voice of the announcer, and so, many scholars headed in the direction of that sound. Apart from Lelei, only three other people, all men, were in white robes.

Looking over, they could see the staff explaining something to the gathered scholars. And thus, examination began.

One by one the presenters came forward, stating their thesis and observations. Some of them were utterly faulty, and Fluder himself had to point out the right direction. Some did not even make sense. But there were a few those were truly interesting for the Tri Magic Caster.

It was a shame, but in the city of wisdom, the scholars watched the examination time to time wanted to reward correct, and faulty statements with a few well-aimed throws with various disgusting byproduct, dyes and the like which left a nasty signature on the white robes of the presenters just because they were unable to understand that theory yet.

It would be more efficient to speak about it and come up with a better solution together. It would also increase the efficiency of the spread of knowledge. But the people were just like that, changing ingrained habits were hard and painful. It took some time.

"Halt your hands!" In a time of that, Fluder himself had to stop the people before they could lynch those who dared to state their opinion and was actually right.

Most of the times their ideas was just too innovative for the scholars around to understand yet, or the presenter made a tiny mistake which can be corrected by discussing the idea itself and chewing it around.

This was indeed a harmful custom these people practiced here, entertaining, but still harmful. Once his lord takes over these lands, they need to eradicate it or replace it with something else which actually benefit the development of knowledge and progress instead of hindering it.

"The next presenter is Lelei La Lalena from the Rurudo tribe. Please step forward and state your thesis."

The silent blue haired girl stepped forward bowing, and Fluder made sure to give her extra attention.

 _"This is the girl my little pupil made friends…"_ Fluder smiled bright, motioning the girl to start.

Meguminoi was not an easy case. She tends to push away people with her style, which was too honest and blunt for her own good. But this girl, this girl seemed to be similar to her. Because of that, his little pupil let her closer than other people.

"Well then, Lelei-san. Let's show us what you learned…"

The examination was almost over, and the assassins did not even show up. It is either because they wanted to wait things out, waiting until the end, or for an opening, or was actually not even showing up.

The latter seemed to be more and more of a possibility, and Fluder started to worry, what if the whole attack was just a ruse to divert their attention?

 _"Dammit! Why this didn't come to my attention sooner?"_

 **[Message]:** "Fluder-sama, it came to our attention a few suspicious persons placing suspicious items in the building and around, setting up strange formations around the building. Items most likely intended to seal the place. Their numbers started to grow in the recent minute, appearing more and more from the nearby alleys. We recommend an immediate evacuation of the area!"

 _"Dammit!"_

 **[Message]: "** Find those things and neutralize them. Code: black."

 **[Message]: "** I fear it is too late for that, the items emit unstable radiation. We have a maximum of five more minutes, most likely less. I repeat, immediate evacuation needed. Several enemies started to ambush us at the moment we approached the runes."

 **[Message]: "** Deal with them, if it's possible, capture a few…"

Fluder just sighed with great sorrow, standing up after cut the connection.

"I fear, we have to cut short this…"

'Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep…'

Not far from him such noise emitted, and just now, a strange box made from metal materialized in the room, emitting strange violet radiation, ever intense increasing the beeping! On its surface, several strange purple runes embedded. The size of the box was of a small cabinet.

"That's…" Fluder's eyes widened in horror recognizing the energy signature. And the realization dawned! "The foul energy of the void!" He uttered in horror.

Yes, Fluder recognized the energy signature. His master once showed him similar thing, as well, that kitsune and her master — the old hag — used magic fueled by similar power. It was undisguisable by anything else! Void magic time to time even nullified tier magic out of its vile, law-defying nature.

Everyone else watched the strange box flabbergasted, only Itami and Zeno recognized the similar beeping and the characteristic of the box.

"Is that, a bomb?" Itami asked somewhat confused, having a bad premonition.

" _This…! It was a damn trap to lure us all here! Then those runes?! How they even teleported it here? The dimensional lock? No! They placed it here previous, hiding it with timed phase magic! Dammit! How this not come to my mind sooner?! When did they do it!? We swept the place thoroughly!"_

Many theories raced in Fluder's mind. Each of them more absurd than the rest before coming to the most reasonable one.

 _"They expected me coming in the city! They know where the examination will be organized! They anticipated our reaction after the "fake" assassination attempt and chaos! They only needed to place the bomb before our arrival, and it was all set! Dammit! How could I be such a fool? But his majesty…?"_

Now, Fluder remembered Ainz's teachings…

Never use the same trump twice, always anticipate your opponent's move. If they expect something, act counterproductively. Gather intel…

 _"His majesty know! He even warned me!"_ Fluder paled, cursing himself not recognizing such obvious ploy. He should have asked the Sages to relocate the academic board long ago!

"We need to teleport… [Mass Teleport…]" and at that moment he recognized, his blood froze in his veins. "Dimensional lock!? Our own [Dimensional Lock] block our escape! Dammit!"

 _"If that thing goes off, we are all dead!"_

 **[Message]:** "Destroy those runes at all cost! Now! Release the [Dimensional Lock] formation! Now!"

The answer did not come, but Fluder felt moment by moment the dimensional block eased. His men jumped into action, and through the still living connection, he knew a fierce battle resounded outside. Whoever was the enemy, they tried to counter them with all their vigor.

'Boom! Boom! Boom!' several explosion shook the building, and the people either started to panic or simply looked around confused.

"What is this?"

"What's happening?"

"Who dares to attack the city of wisdom?"

He can't say anything more, because in the next moment the beeping hastened, almost became continuous.

"Dammit! To fall like this…"

Fluder was not a hero, he was the farthest thing from that, in truth, he was quite coward when it came to fighting a stronger opponent. But if he would let these people die, if he allowed the city to be erased. Then his wise king… no! His god would never forgive him. And knowing the power of that device, this city would be good as ash in the wind once it goes off.

'Sigh…' "It comes to this. To think I, Fluder Paradyne die like this. Truly pathetic…" looking around, Fluder watched the people around, all either waiting for him to say something frightened or panicking trying to leave the building, stomping on each other.

"…"

Turning his gaze at Meguminoi amidst the people one last time, he was despondent; he will not see her grow to a great servant of his majesty, a great wizard who has the potential to surpass him and most likely grow to be a beautiful lady. Yes, the latter was genuinely regretful…

"Master…" the girl mumbled confused before hearing her master's most likely final words.

"Farewell, little bird. May you find the pinnacle of magic and the truth of the universe. May Ainz-sama protect you…"

The girl watched him with a somewhat confused face, before realizing his real intention.

"No, master. Don't dare…" her mouth moved scared, but Fluder just nodded to her.

"Farewell…"

"Master!"

But it was too late! Like, a true athlete, Fluder jumped, magnetizing the bomb to his hand and cast his spell.

"[Mass Fly]! [Vertical Acceleration Rune: Maximum]! [Speed of lightning]! [Blast Off]!"

The ground under Fluder's leg burst, destroying the earth underneath him, then breaking through the roof unhindered.

'Boom!' Under a moment, his body towed the bomb accelerated, reaching sound speed and surpassing it under a moment.

"Fluder-sama!"

His men almost defeated the opposition outside, recognizing his form going up and up like shooting star.

Many Rondel mages, simple scholars and people still holding their bleeding ears confused. The sound explosion came with the sudden acceleration blasted away the nearby roofs immediately.

"More! More! More! Ainz-sama, please forgive me! Please oversee your humble servant's soul on the other side!"

Under around thirty seconds, Fluder already reached several kilometers high, and air started to turn less dense and colder with each passing moment, starting to reach closer and closer to the border of the stratosphere.

If not his robes protective enchantment and the layered barrier magic around him crackling — continuously replenished and replaced — he would most likely freeze to death in that height or even suffocated from the lack of oxygen. Although, currently, the heat coming from his sudden acceleration was a more severe problem than cold was, he was basically cooked alive inside of his barrier field.

Not speaking the sudden acceleration and G force would have killed him right away, crushing his body into meat pasta if not his gear, barrier magic, and buffs he cast on himself. Even now, despite all of this he felt a crushing pressure weighing him down, he will not endure this much longer.

'Beeeeeeeeeep!'

The counter's beep turned continuous, and Fluder closed his eyes, recalling his long life.

"Ah, how wonderful journey it was… If I would have to live again. I would live it the same way. Supreme Beings, thank you…"

Fluder was sure of his death, knowing the nasty, unnatural nature of void energy.

Even compared to magic, it was a law-defying thing, and the void bomb he towed after himself with an anchor was extra dangerous. He was aware he couldn't survive a blast this close.

Void bombs basically erased not only the body but the soul of individuals from the space-time continuum. Placing them into eternal nonexistence.

The enemy made sure whoever carries the bomb can't teleport away in the last moment.

Basically installing a dimensional interference device in the bomb solved the problem. And although Fluder can summon arcane servants to carry it away far; those creatures were not fast enough to carry the bomb outside of the blast radius in time. The only solution was to carry it himself.

"What? It cannot be! All that was, fal…" in the last moment, Fluder recognized a crucial detail. But it was too late — his last words swallowed by a blinding light and explosion.

'Boom!"

"Master Fluder!"

Everyone rushed out, but at that moment.

"Cover your eyes, now!"

The mage units already set up the protective shield around the city, using the previously set formation as a base to fuel the defensive shell around the town. This was Fluder last order: "protect his majesty's domain."

'Boom!'

The blast shook the heavens and the ground, originating from the skies. The explosion and the shockwave were so massive it equaled with several atom bombs — similar that was dropped on Hiroshima.

The immediate shockwaves probed not only the protective bubble appeared around the city but devastated the nearby regions, turning them into a barren land for a long period of time.

'Shake! Shake! Shake! Shake! Quake!'

Indeed, even with all those elite mage units around Fluder called in the city previous, even with all the level 80+ creatures around supporting the formation, even with the formation fueled basically the leylines stretched around the city, providing almost infinite energy, the previously prepared magic formation, and the city trembled continuously.

"We need to help! Come on!"

Recognizing the immediate threat, every Londelian mage joined to hand, projecting a force field underneath the bubble to strengthen it.

"Come on! We need to hold out!"

Everyone joined hands, and the trembling ceased around the city only after a few long minutes. Even the twin gods of wisdom turned their attention towards Rondel with fear, feeling the foul emptiness ruled the skies, leaving its mark on it forever.

"What is this? Who the heck drop an atom bomb on a city!?" Itami roared panicking, covering Tuka's eyes and shutting his own tight, turning away from the light.

A perfect sphere created in the skies, first blinding and expanding, then turning violet and swallowing even the clouds in its way, then after several minutes of constantly expanding and devouring, collapsed in itself immediately reaching the maximum range that was at least several miles in radius. The sphere only left nothingness in its wake; it swallowed everything. Air, material, energy, life, nothing escaped. Everything disappeared, dissolved or thrown in the realm of a void right away.

From that day onward, a dark void ruled the skies above Rondel, leaving a massive scar on the heavens for a long time, an injury even the gods only hesitantly dared to poke or get near it.

"It's over…" sighed many mages, still upholding the protective bubble around. The trembling in the area slowly stopped, yet, the damage was already done.

It will take some time until Rondel's surrounding return to normal. But no one will forget what apocalyptic events conspired here, today; they will always remember it looking at the injury on the fabric of reality — painting the heavens above Rondel with an unsightly abomination.

Fluder may manage to reach the appropriate height and save the city, so the thing did not affect the city and the surrounding "that" much, still, the area outside of the shield was completely devastated. Even in the city. Many older buildings collapsed in the first moment of the quake.

A few UN soldiers, vehicles, and SKEF soldiers' event caught up in the aftershock, and low laid buried outside.

No one knows yet, but this heavenly scar will be the organizer of great disaster in the future.

"It is over…" said so the leader of the stationed SKEF forces, sensing no further complications after using divination.

"Lower the shield and start the salvage operation. We need to notify the Supreme Beings about the happenings and investigate the situation."

"What about the radiation…?" Itami asked worried, knowing well enough what comes with such an explosion.

The lead mage watched him for a moment, waving his men to check it. And after a quick scan, nodded.

"There is no harmful radiation outside of the protective sphere. It is safe, as it should be. I need to notify the Sorcerous King, Fluder-sama will receive a funeral befitting to a hero."

The people who saw his heroic act nodded understanding. This is the least he deserves. Although, many did not agree to end this thing this way; there was no time to further disagree, a city needed to be salvaged, people stuck under the rubble, a sky waited to be patched — if it was even possible without worsening the situation.

"I need to call the command. This got out of my hand…" Itami mumbled, reaching towards the radio.

'Ssssshh!' but it's just sizzled uncomfortably.

"Dammit! Interference…"

Meanwhile, on the wild steppes, a conqueror laughed maniac, knowing his crazy plans slowly coming in fruition. What awaits this world, even the gods don't dare to guess anymore.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Earlier Deep Underground:**

Seras and Constantine walked in the darkness for a whole day. No torches or any other light source they meet under their way.

If not the Draculina's unnatural sight which penetrated darkness easily, giving her the feeling like she walked in broad daylight, and Constantine's "third eye" technique which amongst many positive qualities were able to penetrate normal, and magically conjured darkness and negate other negative effects up to a certain degree, they would have long ago broken their legs, stumbling around in this unsightly world.

"Constantine? Are you sure we are heading in the right direction? I feel we are going around for a whole day!"

"Don't you trust my instinct?"

"Not really…" the girl answered deadpanned, still questioning how she allowed herself to be dragged in this situation. But the better question was, why she even allowed Constantine to mess around with an ancient looking teleportation formation they found under a damp cellar, amongst several ancient looking ruins, in the shadiest place of the city after searching for three whole days straightforward.

By the way, it was a bigger question of how he even found it!? Some kind of demon told him or what?

"Hmm, kid, my talismans says the way is there. Trust the talismans!" Constantine waved his strange looking trinkets around, but it did not make Seras feel better, on the contrary, it gave her goosebumps.

"As if those things ever led us anything else than trouble." thinking back, those trinkets only led them to trouble before, rarely any good things came from their use, why it would be different now?

Constantine stopped, shrugging. "If you know any better, lead the way yourself. You know it is not that easy to navigate through this interference filled mess!"

All around them were ancient ruins — Ruins those were older even than Rondel itself judging from the architecture. It was a maze where the corridors usually led to open chambers. Chambers usually protected by ancient golems and crazed monsters.

Indeed, this was a dangerous place, whatever artifact the builders hid in the belly of this maze, the two hoped it is at least worth the trouble they had to go through for it.

The worst thing was, there was only one way in — at least, Constantine and Seras only found one — which immediately ceased to function after they stepped through. Teleporting out was also risky — the magical interference and radiation which filled these ruins made it that way. Naturally, who wanted to be torn apart molecule by molecule those could risk it, but for any sane people it was not recommended.

"There must be a way…" concentrating, the talisman darted towards the nearby wall.

"Did you found something?"

Checking the wall, it made the man remember several of the hidden doors he encountered previously. And several methods came to his mind how to open it.

'Mumble, mumble…'Click! Flash!'

Chanting a few phrases, and pushing a hidden handle, the wall lit up — an unknown inscription is appearing on it.

The solution was too obvious, but being having no other lead, Constantine was satisfied with the apparent one. If it is a trap, that can be always solved later.

"Hmm, a riddle?" Constantine mumbled, gazing intensely at the blazing inscriptions.

"Do you understand it?"

Casting a deciphering charm, Constantine's eyes lit up, watching the wall intensely.

"To reach the three eyes of the twins, you must prove your worth. Is Wisdom nothing without strength? I think? Will a blast lead your way? Trust your instinct, step forward? Dare, or flee with your tail between your leg? Trust yourself, and you pass. Be uncertain, and you fall… Only those who are willing can reach the core of the sun, fight your way through the masses. The last part quite foggy, the deciphering charm unable to analyze the full text properly. It is, confusing."

"What does it means?"

"Hmm, let me think…"

Constantine met riddles like this in the past. Most of them were quite tricky, but there was a few which were obvious and the creator intended to trick the unfortunate victims with its straightforwardness.

 _"Hmm, it's worth a shot. I know not enough about Rondel to try to decipher it, neither I have the patience. Either way, this is our only clue. The police girl was right; we go around and around for a whole day in this always changing maze. Encountering more and more golems and monsters. Our ammunition is finite, we can't do this forever."_

Yes, he recognized it. The maze changed by the hour, opening and hiding pathways constantly, doing it to confuse the intruders, like a living organism. The continually respawning monsters and golems were the white blood cells in this vascular system, that was obvious. The structure sought to swallow and eradicate them, throwing more and more enemies in their neck.

"Police girl, blast this thing!"

"What!?" Seras backed looking astonished; she indeed expected something else.

"I said, blast this thing! It annoys me!"

"Constantine, we can't…!"

"Trust me…"

 _"Even If I have a bad feeling about this, we can't go back; the only way is forward…"_

The girl just gulped, equipping her anti-vehicle cannon called Harkonnen — the huge anti-tank gun she carried around — and was on to load a uranium head bullet when the man stopped him.

"Explosive ones."

"Are you joking, right? If its blast here this whole thing most likely collapse on us."

"Trust me…"

Grumbling, but the girl loaded the explosive 30 mm shell, signing the man to get back. And then…

'Click! Boom!'

The inscription dimmed on the wall amidst the quakes, but it was like the explosive shell did not even scratch it. It was completely intact.

'Cough! Cough!' "I said, it will not wo…"

And then, the hidden door opened with a crash. "Just my luck…" Constantine grinned, lighting a silk cut.

"You have one hell of luck, you know?"

"I know, many hate me because of it…"

Walking forward and entering through the newly opened exit, the biggest chamber came before their eyes. It was a big chasm, in the middle of it with a big central platform. Above a huge sun like lantern floating. The platform full with statues depicting unknown figures and people, surrounding a central column surrounded by blinding golden light.

"And how we reach that?"

It was a good question. Around the central platform, a huge gaping chasm positioned. Only four openings on the walls showed the ways in.

"Trust your instinct or turn back…" Constantine mumbled, recalling the riddle. "Step forward, believe…" he made a step, without fear, without any uncertainty. Constantine trusted himself; he believed it would work.

"Wait!"

At that moment, Constantine let himself fall into the abyss, and darkness swallowed him.

"Dammit! That idiot!" Seras jumped after him.

"What the!? Ugh!" Space shifted around her at that moment, landing the girl on her face. "Dammit! What was this?!" spitting out some dust, she was quite angry.

"Hmm, I suppose, this is strange…" the man's voice called near her, it was of course Constantine. "You arrived later, almost an hour later than I am. Strange…"

"Where are we?"

"In the central platform, but this is, odd…" looking around, now the platform seemed to be devastated, the previously dimming sun lamp crushed on the ground broken. Masses of golems laid dismantled.

In the center of the platform a pedestal, surrounded by a golden force field stood, visibly three crystal balls with an eye symbol emitting mystical divine energy settling on it.

"As you say, it is strange. Mr. Constantine…" In the next moment, a strange girl walked to the light, from her back two black angelic wings sprouted, wearing a strange officer uniform which made Constantine and Seras remember the one the Nazi officers wore under the Second World War. Her looks brought unpleasant memories with itself.

"Who the hell are you?"

"I will introduce, once, everyone else? Am I right?"

Her blue eyes watched the shadows. Once left, once right. From the two directions, two groups walked forward.

"In the name of the Sorcerous King! Identify yourself!" a mage squad walked forward from the left, wearing the elite plate uniform of Fluder's arcane knights and specialists.

It was evident they had a rough way here. Their numbers seemingly diminished, their armor cracked from the constant fighting. Albeit, the Death Knights and Nephalem Guards accompanied them seemed to be just fine.

"Hey! Hey! Guys! Are you here? Are you too following the traces assassin too?" from the right Raidyn and Ardyn appeared. Raidyn's weapon still unsheathed bathed in foul blood; it was evident all parties were through much.

"Lord Ardyn! Lady Raidyn! You here!? Is Fluder-sama sent you to help us? Thanks to the Supreme Beings! We stuck here for almost a year! Your sight really is a relief in itself!"

"What do you mean almost a year?" This was confusing, how can they be stuck here for a whole year if Constantine and Seras only wandered for a day, and the forces of SKEF only arrived since around a few months, almost a half year.

Everyone found this confusing, yet they were not the only ones with this problem.

"Oh my! The legendary Raidyn, so we meet again. Fufufuf…" the uniformed girl laughed like she met an old friend, obviously glad she encountered this person, her eyes lilting up in a golden light. "And who is your friend, he looks delicious. It was some time I stuck down there, how is it going in the outside world?"

"That's…" bit his lip the expedition leader in the next moment, recognizing the girl, his hand tremblingly reached his sword. "That's Tasha the Devastator. Here?"

"Murderer."

"Traitor."

"Killer…"

"Devil…"

The knight whispered one after other, spite and fear filling their tone.

"What have you done!? Is this the work of yours, foul witch!?"

"Old titles…" the girl snickered with glee looking around. Her expression is turning completely solemn in the next moment. "And no, it was not my work. I am stuck in this always changing labyrinth just like you. Strange, you were the first ones I meet since that shithead guide left me in this mess and activated some kind of defensive mechanism, sealing all way for the outside world."

Naturally, no one knew what "shithead" she is speaking about, but it was not important just now, in the current situation, getting out was more important than that.

"So, what are you doing here? That shady old hag sent you there? Or it was his lackey, the famous Jalda-san?"

"Hmmm, maybe this. Maybe that. Who knows?" the blond lolicon just smiled, giving a devilish glee. "Such insignificant details matter no just now. We need to find a way to get out there before we all go insane."

"I see…"

"Raidyn-san? Ardyn-san? What are you doing here!?" Seras called for them. Until now she just stood astonished, watching the small conversation. "You too tracking the…?"

Constantine gave her a glare, their mission supposed to be top secret, and this girl just blurting it out!

"Oh!"

Realizing what she had done, the girl shut her mouth immediately, zipping it.

"Sorry, it is supposed to be a secret…"

Ignoring them, in the next moment, the Arcane Knight in dirty gold armor, embedded with several crystals stepped forward.

"In the Sorcerer King's name, I, Atticus, First Arcane Knight of Fluder Paradyne will take you in custody. Resist, and you will be dealt with. Comply, and you will receive a fair judgment. Tasha, the Devastator."

His men looked a little bit reluctant to bother with such a thing. After spending a whole year down there, it was not their most important problem to detain a criminal.

"As if you could…" the girl grabbed her steampunk looking rifle — safety off — with a fluid motion. Pointing it against the knights and summons accompanied them.

"They are really want to fight, here? Now?" Seras asked Constantine watching the scene, and the man just shrugged, people were foolish sometimes.

"Who knows?"

"Lady Raidyn! Lord Ardyn! In the name of the Sorcerous King, I request your assistance to detain this criminal and bring her before the judges. I will make sure your reward will be prosperous once we return to the surface!"

The around dozen of magic knights behind Atticus only waited for an opening and the decision of the adventurer, straining their muscles to jump just in the right moment. Even the possibility to return back their home filled them with hope.

"Guys! Guys! Guys! I think we all have a reason to be here. In our current condition, I think it would be best to work together to get out there."

"She is right you know…" the legendary Tasha lowered her gun for a moment. "I don't know if you recognized it or not. But this whole place had been shut down for good. No in, no out. Even the teleportation or any other emergency dimensional slip are blocked completely. We can't even send a message because of the high amount of magical interference. And from what the knight guy said, I think a small amount of temporal distortion also present in this place. It would be best to get out as soon as possible, or die trying."

That was true of a certain degree of course. Neither the arcane knights nor Constantine's group was able to send a damn message or use items to escape. They are either not appropriately worked, or went in smoke right away. The magical interference was too great to use them with safety.

"As well, the walls and the monsters replaced at the moment you turn away. I don't know if you recognized it or not, but the whole structure of the maze we had to fight our way through is constantly changing by the hour. I wonder how you nitwits got all the way there. Less, how were you able to survive a whole year."

Tasha shrugged in a snarky way, pointing out the past incompetence of these knights. At least, when it came to dismantling the criminal organization called E.A.S.Y.

"How dare…!?"

"Judging from your constant attempt and fails to dismantle our glorious organization, I thought you died in the first hour. Truly is, the skeleton would be ashamed knowing how incompetent his "elites" are. The best would be to replace you with simple automatons, and those most likely would do a better job than you."

Naturally, the criminal organization Tasha spoke about was the E.A.S.Y., a mafia-like organization which started to take roots not far before Ainz began his rule and created his kingdom and ever since defied every attempt to catch its leaders and eradicate them.

Naturally, one of the mysterious leaders of this organization was Jaldabaoth himself, but even he was just a pawn compared it's "true" leader who moved the strings behind the scenes. The leader, the name of the organization, referred to.

It was like this mysterious organization received the information from the inside to elude every raid attempt — which was actually true, the group actually received the Intel from the highest level of the Sorcerous Kingdom high command.

"You!?"

Her constant gleeful taunts made the knights tick, dangerously brandishing their weapon.

"Ahhh, not again…"

"Is this happened before?"

"Every time when we actually meet…" Raidyn mumbled, hearing Ardyn's question.

"You know fighting actually is pointless. Do you?"

"Raidyn-dono, this criminal…!"

"Just shut up and tell us why you are here? I wonder Fluder don't just send his best men and women to just to dilly-dally around in a shady labyrinth. Chasing after a little girl who stole a few pebbles."

If one know Tasha's criminal record and the charges against her, then he/she was aware, it was actually a great underestimation. In truth, Tasha was one of the most wanted criminals in the kingdom with a huge bounty the Sorcerer King put on her head personally.

"That's classified…" Atticus blurted out suddenly, his gaze turning icy.

"Well, ok. I don't ask Constantine because it is most likely classified for his case too." looking at the man, he just shrugged, refusing to answer. "Then I just ask Tasha-chan, she usually answers honestly. After all, she has nothing to lose. And in our current situation, it is all the same."

"Hmm, in that case, I answer. Our organization seeks to find a mystical artifact in Rondel. The artifact said to be owned by Ral and Elagne in their mortal life and said to gained divine properties after their ascension. My master wants it, whatever it cost. He needs this artifact for his further plans."

"What does he plan exactly? I know Jalda-san always subtle. But why he needs one more artifact? If am I right, he hoarded a mountain worth of divine artifact already. One more is just useless…"

Tasha just shrugged, looking away. "Beats me, the boss wants it. Maybe he just like collects the stuff. He just gave me the order to find and recover it. Of course, if I know the job get this complicated, I would have asked some reinforcements or more payment. This is supposed to be an easy job."

"Ah, I see…" Ardyn looked in the direction of the band of knights. "So you are here for that too?"

"Ye-Yes…" Atticus shuttered, looking somewhat ashamed, the knights behind him blushing in shame.

"Hmm, I see… so bad it is already stolen." looking around, Ardyn nodded. "Indeed, it is stolen."

"What do you mean, it is stolen?!"

Tasha eyes' started to twitch, she searched for so long, and now it's disappeared? How can this be?

"It is right there, don't you see. Unless…" The realization dawned, and it enraged her. "Dammit!"

"Just look around? What do you see?"

Looking around, everything seemed to be devastated, and… 'Knock…' "[Greater Banish Illusion]" The air vibrated, and the illusion disappeared revealing the missing "eyes."

The intact, empty pedestal held the "eyes" previous stood in the middle of the platform. A small sticker stuck on it.

"Dammit…"

"Better luck next time, best regards, the Conqueror…" Seras read the paper, raising her brow. "Conqueror? Who is that?"

"I have no idea. And it seems. We stuck here for a while…" conjuring a golden seat, Ardyn sat down.

"Why do you say that?" Tasha asked suspiciously, and Ardyn just smiled.

"We stuck in a time loop if you did not recognize already."

Atticus and his men shivered. Space time-based abilities were serious stuff. Only the Supreme Beings and the "true vassals" of the Sorcerer King were able to handle and use such items and skills.

"How can you be so calm?"

Shaking his head, the man sighed gleefully, answering Seras' annoyed question.

"Oh, young, foolish girl. I already said, did not hear it? We are in a time loop. We can't do shit just now. Why bother to be nervous? We have all the time in the world."

"What!?"

"So bothersome. Then see yourself." Seeing not many believe him, Ulbert raised his evil gauntlet, casting his spell. "[Implode]!"

"Ahh!" one of the knights swollen, then exploded into a bloody gore, leaving only blood and tender pieces of flesh after himself. Implode counted as a high tier magic, very few can cast it, and it was guaranteed death any living being not having immunity against it.

"Why did you do that!?"

"Three, two, one…" he counted on his fingers.

'Flash!' "What? Where?" the knight previously exploded by Ardyn's magic appeared once again, checking himself if he is alive or not.

"Commander? How is this possible? I felt…" the soldier grabbed his head, trying to process his own death, fell on his knees trembling. "No… I died! I know I died! it was so painful, please, end it!" 'Blurgh' the broken man puked, collapsing on the ground. His mind collapsed, turning him into a bumbling idiot. "There was nothing, only cold and darkness. There was nothing, only darkness…"

Every knight around backed, watching each other with horror filled faces. A few of their comrades swallowed by this labyrinth already, but neither of them came back. They just died like ordinary people.

"[Lion's Courage]! Dammit!"

A warm light surrounded the soldier, making his breathing more balanced.

"Yes, indeed. You don't even recognize? The whole chamber is temporarily stuck in a never-ending loop. We are in the eye of the storm if you like that better. The outer layers of this maze temporarily distorted, meaning, time passes differently in one place than the other. We could stay here for decades or a whole century. It may only seem a blink for the outside world. Or reverse, we spend here a few seconds, and the world ends around us…"

"Hmm, there must be a way. There is always a way out of such loops. A logic loophole, or something…" searching in his book, Constantine mumbled. Ardyn stopped him with a wave of his hand. "It is useless. This is the work of at least a rank three divine deity. Not a thing measly wizards can you can undo or mess with."

"Trust me; I managed to get many deity level beings back to their hole. A simple time loop will not hinder me."

"Hmm, then I will interfere not. But don't get surprised once the numerous security measurement this loop contains withers you away. It is designed that way after all. The creator most likely wanted us to either die or try to kill each other out of the coming madness. Or in your case, die of old age How cruel… Fufufufu!"

"And you?"

"Of course, my dear Raidyn and I are both ageless. We just share a tea until you simply kill each other and turn to dust, waiting for someone to find us, pondering on a possible solution until eternity ends. All the time is ours after all…"

"Assuming they find you. Being locked in one place can bring out the worst from people. Even best friends can turn into the worst enemies in a closed-off place. Are you willing to risk it? You and your friend, hacking each other until the end of the time, how entertaining."

Constantine just smiled reproachfully. He always knew the way to inbalance even divine deities, pushing them to act according to his plans and expectations.

"Tch! You know us not!"

"Maybe not. But I know a few things."

"And that is? You start to annoy me, human…" Ulbert really considered to reveal himself, erasing this human with an astonished terror on his face.

"Strange how you ranked your titles before. Saying you are a powerful being who conquered many beings and planes. But now, saying you are unable to solve a simple time loop? How disappointing… I wonder if you have lied to us previous, or just wants to annoy the people around you with your trickery and incompetence…"

Being Ulbert was a demon now, he was easy to anger if it comes to that. And Constantine's cocky smile and witty comebacks started to anger him. If he would not have wanted to play a little bit more, he would demolish the man right away. Speaking the ruler of the abyss this way was unacceptable in his eyes.

"Of course, if you are capable of it. Or you say, are you afraid you fail? You are really miserable. More than I am."

"You little disrespectful brat! How dare you!?"

"Ardyn…" his friend watched him worried, standing in his way before doing anything rash.

Although, Ulbert and Esdeath — being Supreme Beings way over level 100 since they found a way to break the level limiter — could easily get out from this loop. But their pseudo adventurer persona — Raidyn, and Ardyn — was not that level yet, they needed to play their part, or risking to be exposed. Throwing away the chance to freely adventure and speak with people — usually, without all the reverence and stuff — was not worth it — for Raidyn at least.

"Fine!" Ulbert grunted. "I may have a few ideas. But it's risky, and may kill us all."

"Better than staying here until the eternity dawns and we go insane…" Constantine dragged his silk cut, puffing out a thick cloud of smoke. "Well, when do we start? I am soon out of my smoke."

"Splendid! Let's work together!" Tasha clapped her hand happily, and thus, the groups — although reluctantly — but started to work together.

How they will get out of this situation, only time will reveal.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Somewhere Near Fortress Gown:**

A paved road led towards the settlement of Dreamscope. Through many kilometers, skeletal workers and golems worked day and night to modernize the infrastructure around the fortress and the settlement settled nor far from it.

On the far, several farmlands already sowed, druids and shamans, making sure the area will bring a good harvest, accelerating the natural growth process greatly.

Indeed, a few months ago, even thinking of building roads in such quality seemed to be a far fetched idea, not speaking about finishing a humongous fortress and a thriving city which came before their very eyes.

"This is…!?"

Piña's and Diabo's eyes bulged in astonishment mixed fear, seeing all that the Sorcerous Kingdom managed to build under less than a year.

Although, they should have been accustomed to their new Overlord's miracles already — After seeing their king chasing away that demon, and the record speeds their forces renovated and improved the capital — it was still frightening watching it in live, now some kind of uncertainty mixed with awe filled the siblings.

Even with the help of mages, the Empire needed literal years, if not a whole decade to build this much.

Since their Empire became a vassal, they know how outgunned they were. But this… this was just too much!

"All of this under such a short time? They are really using skeletons to build everything? They are really are monsters…" muttered Diabo with dread, biting his finger.

He insisted on coming, wanting to witness firsthand what the other side can offer, how he can scheme. But now, he was somewhat fearful what he will see on the other side.

"And you don't even saw Nihon; I saw buildings so tall they literally cut the skies like a sword, libraries with so many books, Sage's collection seemed to be a minuscule thing. Machines are running in the underworld to transport people. Metal dragons are cutting the skies heading eastward…"

Diabo gulped in horror, looking out from the luxurious floating chariot he and his sister shared, he now started to realize, it might be not an easy conquest he hoped.

The transport towed by two bicorns which seamlessly galloped on the paved road. Around them, an elite escort consisting royal guards of the Sorcerer King and Piña's handpicked Rose Knights escorted them.

"I heard Nii-sama demanded a separate chariot."

Hearing this, Diabo was not even surprised, just huffed in disappointment.

His idiot brother was just like that, picking a fight with a dragon even in defeat. Only heroes or complete fools would do that. And the two often not that far from each other as one might think. Both ended up dying the same way, like fools.

Now he was fully aware of that. In the past, he thought Zorzal as a schemer, as an intelligent person hiding behind the picture of a fool. But now, he only thought of him as a deluded idiot who's unable to recognize the world he lived in and deluded himself with his own dream plane.

His father said it right, this was not a fight they can win anymore. The only thing they can do is damage control.

"Hmm, that idiot. I would not even be surprised if he would announce his intention before their king to take their lands. That fool… In that case, if we are lucky enough, the conquerors would get rid of us from an incompetent leader for good. Unfortunately, that would also mean they will get rid of us. How troublesome."

"Huh…" Piña just sighed, shaking her head. She does not want her brother to die. But if he continues like this, he will ruin the whole empire by himself, or, what remained from it. Sending them to the death row.

"I hope I can ask his majesty to save father."

"Don't say you want to save the old man?"

Diabo watched his sister somewhat dubiously. If his father comes back, he needs to wait for literal years to take the throne, and his place would be not guaranteed as the next emperor. Molt would surely want to control him from the backseats. If he is unable, Diabo could even imagine he would die "accidentally" in his way back from the Senate building.

"We need to try. Please forgive me to saying this, Nii-sama, but I am not sure we can lead the empire the same way as him. We are still inexperienced. Even if he was stubborn, father knew the way how to trick people and influence them like no other. If nothing else, under his rule the Empire prospered. Not many Emperor can say the same. Just remember the history lessons about Emperor Caligula, how he burned the whole capital due to his delusion of the coming devils. How he assassinated every firstborn out of his fear, one of them might overthrow his rule. According to the scholars, under his rule, we almost lost everything."

Diabo had to agree, remembering the lessons; in this situation, their father indeed was the best person for the job.

"I suppose, you are right. But what guarantees he will handle down the throne if the time comes."

"I don't think he will have anything to say about it. Don't you read the vassalization clause? They can freely demote and promote as Emperor whenever they want. One mistake is enough, and they simply replace us."

"Ah, I see, clever…"

"So, the day finally came… we will see what awaits us on the other side."

As Piña mumbled, she heard the rumbling voices of the cars behind them.

Before and behind them several similar chariots trotted, filled with diplomats and visitors. The diplomats of the UN-escorted by their own Humvees packed with bodyguards and armed staff.

"Hmmm, finally. Not bad. I thought they would be more underdeveloped. But using skeletons — who's most likely never tire — to do the labor? Signs of automation? Most likely…"

Darryl, the president of the USA, grinned. He waited long to see the other side. Although his advisors were against it, he still came personally.

Offering goodwill personally usually pays out in the long term, and he had many plans for this new nation and the Special Region. Plans those needing access to this resource-rich place.

Since his humiliation, he and his specialist prepared many wildcards to get the upper hand next time. And he was sure every other envoy acted the same.

But it will be he, who won this game! He will win this game! He will be the ultimate victor! The fire of want lit in his eyes.

"Just wait it out, you bastard! Next time…"

And thus the massive doors of the layered fortress opened, revealing the way towards the dome complex which hid the gate of Dalnus.

Prepared, on the two sides, rows of honor guard saluted. Consisting of various summons, elite forces in golden and black armor. Even several frost dragons came to welcome the coming diplomats, huffing icy breaths as the convoy passed them.

"Oh! It is so exciting!" Rory and Tuka squirmed, sitting in one of the Humvee, giving Itami hard time to endure. "Aren't you excited, Itami?"

"Ah, I wonder how it will be…? It is really, exciting." Itami said so somewhat sweating, wearing his ceremonial uniform.

The band was still disturbed after what happened. But the best way to resolve the situation was through a diplomatic meeting, speaking thing through. And as Itami's appearance was obligatory as the Japanese diplomat's escort, he forced to come.

Tuka came using Itami's guest pass. Rory was invited as the envoy of her god. And Lelei had been invited by Meguminoi. She also won the academic scholarship by her thesis.

Yes, even after Fluder's "death", apropiate personel was present and evaluated the lectures, handing over the tokens.

"Just wait Alfie, I will save you…" Lelei tightened her grasp around her staff, and thus, the first vehicle swallowed by the darkness. What awaits the other side? Only the future can tell.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Well, that's it!**

 **I hope it was enjoyable!**

 **Finally, the band reached the other side!**

 **What happens there? Only the future can tell!**

 **RnR!**

 **Until next time!**

 **Good luck! Good day! Good sail!**

 **If you have any questions. Review or PM for me!**


	31. Carne Magnificente! Carne Ombra

**Gate: Thus the Sorcerous Kingdom Fought There**

 **by oblivon2991**

 **Thank you for reading my fanfic!**

 **My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.**

 **I don't own the Overlord(** **オーバーロード** **Ōbārōdo?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.**

 **I don't own Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri novel, and anime series, written by Takumi Yanai.**

 **Please review it. I know I will make mistakes that I intend to correct and will try to learn from them and improve myself.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Please enjoy the story!**

* * *

 **Chapter 31:** **Carne Magnificente! Carne Ombra!**

"Is that so…?"

That damn sentence… Why he always had to say that? It is starting to get boring after such a long time, but it is so convenient, and he got used to it since he first started to use it as an Overlord, the ruler, and King of Death, all in all, after his transfer to his in-game avatar. It was just a stuffing phrase back then, and served no other purpose, just to avoid awkward silence when he can't say anything else, or can't come up with any normal response, but now, he uses it out of rote.

Curiously, when he was a human, he never really used it. Even in the in-game chat he rather remained silent than saying anything, making his companions worry about him, and question the reason for his silence.

"Ye-yes… your majesty, just like I said…"

It happened again… why he had to do it? In all honesty, despite it was not his intention, the figure sitting on his throne in a regal garb always made the people uneasy around him, or at least making them reconsider the correctness of their answers.

 _"Am I really that scary?"_

He often questions himself, but in the end, come with the same conclusion over and over again. He is undead, a pretty strong one as it, with the ominous aura of death, of course, people will fear him.

 _"Ah… It is so bothersome."_

Yet, even his, long time subordinates doing it after all that time? It was just sad.

"…" Just waving to his servant's direction in a regal way — just like he practiced it before his mirror for a long time — the shadowy figure continued.

"Ye-yes… your majesty. Albeit the experiment was successful, I still lost an important resource. A resource you bestowed me, also, the city almost destroyed thanks to my lack of foresight, please, forgive me. If I would be a little bit more considerable if I just thought about this possibility…"

The servant bit his lip, looking away, flakes of skin falling down from his crumbling skin.

"It is fine…" Ainz waved it away like it was nothing.

"Bu-But your majesty. If I would be more considerable! Your good reputation almost…"

"I said, it is fine…" He really hated this. No matter when or who, if one of his subordinates made a mistake, they acted like this, well, most of the time, almost all of them, a certain Kitsune queen, and his close friend just shrugged it off, saying: " _Bear with it, Emp. Palpatine…"_ or something similar creative gimmicks.

But everyone else just shuttered like an idiot, trying to request, punishment for their wrongdoings. Are they masochist or what? What's wrong with them? Ainz always questioned it and spent long nights discussing this topic with his friend.

Naturally, he asked Ulbert about it not long after he returned — thinking he most likely has some experience with such a problem. Considering the King of demons boasted with his position in the infernal realm's food chain — but the Goat Demon of Destruction just smirked and said:

 _"What? Don't you enjoy the fear in their eyes? Learn to enjoy it, my friend, and mess with them a little bit. Being the sole ruler of the place can turn a little bit dry after a while. Feast on it…" etc.,_ etc.… that guy, really like to go into the details. Almost as much his other friend was overly paranoid about security stuff when it came to her job as a researcher.

"Anything else to report…"

The figure remained silent, looking away, but Ainz recognized the small traces.

"Say it…"

His tone was commanding, and the person's back curled like a question mark, shuddering for a moment.

"I-If you would be so considerable with your servant, and apprentice, oh great one! Please…" holding out it, the servant's hand trembled, almost like it was in the verge of falling apart.

It was strange, the skin was quite crispy, in a few places already turning to dust, falling apart, wide cracks appearing all over the hand. "Even so far from the scene, even trough the channel, even with remote control, the thing the Supreme One warned me happened. Please, your majesty…" the person's throat was dry, barely able to shutter these words. If it was because of his state, or fear, only he knows for sure.

"Hmm…" it was unfortunate, but Esdeath warned this servant about the possible dangers of such explosions, even from afar, connections should be severed before any excess radiation coming through. But it cannot be helped anymore, the woe already happened, to discard this tool now, it would be a waste, a massive waste, it served its purpose so long after all.

"Fine then…" recovering a strange shaped wand from his inventory, Ainz threw at them, and albeit a little bit clumsy, the figure caught it.

"Oh! Thank you, great one! Thank you!"

Not far, a different figure entered the room, wearing a regal dress of a queen, colored red with golden edges, offering a steady cleavage, emphasizing her generous curves. Her clothes made her two black, feathered wings extra apparent.

"M-My queen…" the hooded figure bowed deep, so deep his forehead almost reached the ground from standing position. Naturally, Albedo spared this person not a single glance, instead bowed before Ainz.

"Ainz-sama…"

"Albedo…"

Waving the only other person away, the figure left hastily, and the door behind them closed automatic.

"What can I do for you today…"

This woman was mysterious. Outside of her obvious intention to bed him constantly, her plans well hidden under her perfect mask.

"The envoys arrived through the gate…"

"I see, in that case, as the Prime Minister of the nation, why not welcome them? Unfortunately, I already scheduled a few meetings today; I can only meet them later on."

"Yes, I will go right away…" she bowed her head, but that pause at the end of her sentence… the way she raised her head and watched him with those golden orbs unnerved even an undead like Ainz.

 _"Even after all that time, I just can't say what she is thinking! What's her problem now?"_

"I want to speak with you about our son…"

 _"Once again!?"_

"Albedo, we talked about this…"

Ainz almost scoffed, they discussed this topic already several times, ending up with the same conclusion over and over again. Even as a king, and a Supreme Being, he can't do anything about it until the investigation is indeed over, it would be the abuse of his authority and his power, and although he did it before under the history, it was only to better his nation and to protect his guild's interest. Using his authority to exempt his son from that forgery of sin would be too much, and would open the chance to those hyenas to suck his non-existent blood once more.

He could deal with them of course, quick and efficiently, and no one would dare to object, but he would just feel dirty after it, and he really doesn't want to waste time unnecessary for the prattle of the bureaucrats. Not from his world, not from Earth, not from the Saderan Empire, it would just leave a bad aftertaste.

"He is your son! You're firstborn! How can you be so col…" Albedo bit her lip, she can't help, but this slipped out. How can she say such a thing? "Please, he is suffering in that cell…"

Suffering was a mild overexageration. Beelzebub basically lived in a luxurious environment here, whatever he wished he got it. Basically, he was only grounded, with heightened security so he can't leave his room wandering.

This is why Ainz did not understand completely Albedo's reaction, after the storm passed, and the investigation is over, Beelzebub would be left to go free. They should consider this as a small vacation, not a real punishment.

A little bit time separated always strengthen the bonds between family members, no?

 _"Not as I forbid you to see him…"_ Ainz shrugged.

"Everything due in time, my wife. Like always…" Ainz slumped back in his seat, supporting his head with his fist.

It was only the start of his day, and he was already exhausted — mentally speaking. He should really let his regent — his friend — to rule a little bit, but whenever he mentions this, she even refused the notion, not speaking to rule over certain provinces, or regions, taking the mantle to control his whole nation, even for a little bit was out of the question for her.

But Ainz somehow understands why she refused to take that mantle. The shit people threw at him daily base was straining. Seriously, he would rather leave all of this to Pandora's Actor, and go to adventure, either alone or with his friends — like in the good old days — or simply teleport to his secret private island, doing some fishing, or going on a long vacation, or anything else. In the last few hundred years, he really started to like fishing; it is just relaxing.

"If the future king of the nation can't handle this much, how can we expect him to take care of his people? Is he even worthy of taking my place?"

A sudden rage bubbled up in Albedo. Yet, she knows her husband was right. Like always, his words spoke the truth. Yet, she can't bear this; she had to say, just this once.

"Just this once, please, can't you make an exception? He is your son! What if…"

No! That was impossible! Ainz would never allow that! To sentence his own son for that!?

 _"He would never…"_ she bit her lip, fear bubbling up in her, but this time Ainz looked serious — as serious as his skeletal face could.

"Go, Prime Minister, the committee soon arrives at the Parliament. Lead them…"

Ainz waved her away. It was hard enough, but if his son can't handle this much, how can he expect him to handle the royal duties after he retired?

 _"One needs hardships to improve and learn. Even if it's him, a pestered child always protected by their parents hardly earn anything by themselves. The time came when I had to cut the cord…"_

With a sour acceptance, Albedo bowed deep, leaving, but before the door closed, she gave one last angry glare at him, not even saying her goodbye.

 _"Huh… she is furious at me, isn't she? How will I handle this?"_ rattling his brain helped not in the current situation, the only thing he can do is to proceed with his daily program and prepare to meet those "politicians" from Earth and the new vassal nation. Ainz already felt this visit would be too long for his liking.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Carne: The Capital of the Sorcerous Kingdom:**

Many Humvees and chariots passed the borders of the structure, leaving the darkness of the protective Adamantine Dome. Like a gate, a new world opened up before the people.

"Wow!"

Crossing the great, layered fortress of Gown was impressive enough. Filled with many, strange creatures who just stood there in a parallel line as they passed them. But this… a lesser army stood guard surrounding the gate, prepared to massacre anyone who comes unauthorized. But strangely, their arms not raised now. Instead, all of them stood in neat rows, showcasing the discipline of, the army.

'Thud!'

After the first vehicle passed the first soldier, they saluted with their weapons.

'Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!'

Then after each passing chariots and Humvee, the spearmen hit the ground, giving the whole place a rhythmic atmosphere of welcome.

"Is they…"

"They are saluting, Mr. President…"

"I know that!"

The American president scoffed hearing his bodyguard, looking away. Until now, it was all impressive, but nothing the president never saw or experienced before. He suffered through enough procession and show of power to not be entirely surprised. The only surprise was the surrounding, and the sheer variety of races, most of them he never saw or was the creation of child tales back home.

Albeit the creatures here were remarkable, fit to a fantasy novel of the best kind. He expected as much, what surprised him was the synchrony of their movement. The undead and those grey armored beings with glowing eyes moved not, only the living force made their respective movement. Like they, ignored them, giving no thought of their existence.

"They are already mocking us…" he bit his lip, glaring back at them.

…

"It is, really impressive, don't you think, little Integra…"

The elderly woman looked at the middle-aged one before her. Her skin cream colored, strangely clothed like a man instead of a woman in a business dress, one of her eyes covered by an eyepatch.

"Just monsters, my queen…" she answered apathetic, trying her best to hold back the disgust from her tone. Instead, recovering a small, but elegant box which contained high-grade cigars. "There is nothing to worry about them, albeit, I still digress you coming personally. It is too dangerous in your…"

"In my age?"

The woman with cream colored skin stopped dead on her track, saying nothing for a moment.

"Ah, how many time I had to say, this will kill you. You should not smoke…" Integra's hand stopped before taking one in her mouth, putting back in the inner pocket of her black blazer.

"…"

"You are worried about that two…"

"They will be fine…" after a short, but sensible pause, Integra answered cold, not even sparing a glance, but looking out from their armored vehicle.

"Interesting bunch, don't you think? So many of them, so different, yet, they work together… ah! If just humanity could do the same…"

"They are just monsters…" the queen's bodyguard gave the monarch a glare before turning back looking out of the car's window. "Only fear from a bigger monster holding them together, once it is gone, they will once more return to their natural attitude, hunting humans and each other, feasting, playing with them. Miserable things, fallen so far from God's grace."

"Hmm, so you think like that…" the queen nodded with a sad expression. This child before her suffered so much; she earned her rest. Unfortunately, her zeal made her blind to the truth, pushing her forward and forward to her destruction.

"I am still against your majesty coming personally; it is too dangerous. What if…"

"What if they attack me?" the queen chuckled amusedly. "I am old, Integra, too old to care, the throne remain in good hands even if I die. Besides that, aren't two monarchs can greet each other personally? It is only proper that way, no?"

Saying nothing, Integra looked away angry, once more taking out a cigar and lighting it.

…

"Wow!" Rory and Tuka plastered their faces on the window of the Humvee, and Itami can't help but feel a little bit jealous. In truth, he as well was excited; after all, it was his desire to visit this side since he had met the that two adventurers and they spoke about their home. Yet, now as he is here, he felt uneasy, Lelei was strangely quiet — and although it was not alien from the young mage to be this quiet, and speak only when necessary — it was indeed strange to barely glance out when a sight one could only see once their lifetime offered just by a look.

"Lelei, is everything all right?"

For a moment, the girl not answered, just blankly stared before herself and mumbled something unrecognizable. "Alfie… hold on…"

"Lelei…?"

Her second calling and Itami shaking her a little bit made her look at the man. "I am fine…"

Itami, of course, did not believe her words; it was just too strange acting like this. "Are you sure?"

"Umu… I am…" she looked out, seeing the pristine buildings, buildings which melded the gothic and baroque style, mixing the medieval and art deco, modern architecture. Honestly, for her taste the buildings looked both strange and familiar, she can't place them. In all truth, they both reminded her of her home, Londel, and the pictures she saw back in Japan. It was a history book about architecture she read back then, listing the existing architectural styles.

"Their design just strange…"

"Now you saying it…" Itami looked around, and it was like they mixed a few existing ones from Earth to create a new one. He was not a big history junkie, nor an architectural mastermind in any sense, but even he recognized a few characteristics seeing the buildings.

"Look at them, so many races!"

Indeed, Tuka said it right. Outside, on the two sides, behind the cordons and the guard force, many people stood, civilians, holding banners with an unknown text and strange design, holding and, throwing bouquets before the cars.

"I can't really read that text... Most likely their written language…" muttered Itami.

"Welcome visitors…"

"What?"

Itami and the rest turned to Lelei. "Welcome visitors. The Sorcerous King welcomes you… and similar things. Their written language is… hard. I am not sure."

Tuka and Itami blinked. "How did you?"

"Meguminoi taught me. Also…" Lelei raised a leather-bound book which covers, covered by the same symbols. "… I needed to learn it somehow. The tome not translated."

This was too much for the first lieutenant. It was already surprising this girl learned how to write, read and speak to Japanese almost perfectly under less than a month. But to pick up a second language so easy? Is she a freak or what? She told him she is blessed by her patron god who allowed her to learn things easier and a lot faster, but this was just too much.

 _"This is not fair… if I had this stuff in the college, I would have passed with flying colors."_

"Hmm!" Rory hummed. "Indeed, their people are really enthusiastic about our arrival. Their banners are full of similar texts. But also, a few of them quite rude…"

Itami watched Rory with a dubious expression, and the apostle gave an offended… rather a proud look. Or it was the mix of it? He can't decide.

"Why are you so surprised? I am an apostle; it is my task to find a way to communicate my God's words wherever I go! Learning the spoken, and written language only natural."

"Hmm, they are so nice…" Tuka mumbled smiling.

"What? You too!?"

"Umm, a little bit. I am not that good…" Tuka blinked, watching her "father" surprised. "Lelei-san taught me a few things in her free time. Also, there were a few language lessons back in the base. Aren't you attended, father?"

Even Tuka, even Rory? Albeit, in Rory's case, he understood why she could pick up languages easily. She was more than nine hundred freaking years old and surely developed the neccesary skills to pick up languages quickly. But Tuka!? Itami started to sulk, it was evident, only he can't understand a letter.

Or better said, he learned their alphabet — somewhat… — And was familiar with a few basic words, but with his numerous duties around, he had absolutely no time to practice and adequately learned the writing of this new language. The general one, the Saderan people, used was hard enough to pick up. Indeed, he had a pretty crappy sense of language.

 _"At least whatever I say that translates. That means I can't really get lost, can I?"_

What Raidyn told him made him a little bit less shaky. According to her, every native born in this world had the strange ability to understand every spoken language, and it translated to everyone speaking with them, correctly he may say. Strangely, Momon's and Raidyn's accent was peerless, like they were inbred Japanese people.

Considering this fact, no matter the language the sides spoke, they understood each other and could negotiate on even ground — assuming one of the sides was from this world.

The thing with the translator items only stood for the ones not from there and functioned as a cover story they told for other parties. Evidently, Beelzebub who born from the weed of Ainz, and his queen was not an inborn denizen. Thus he needed a translator item, or learn the language if he wanted to communicate anyone who is not speaking his speech, or even was not from this world with this miraculous innate ability.

The cover story with the translator items was necessary not to blow their cover. Everyone would freak out hearing about such an ability. Any outsider spy who had such a skill would be the perfect infiltrator, as they had no language barrier to beat, and their accent is perfect. They only need to make sure their mouth moves according to the custom, and they will be fine.

The words left their mouth in their own language, it translated in the transmitter channel, through the air, radio wave, etc., that meant, their mouth still moved according to the original language they spoke, and only translated midway.

 _"Huh… It is the ultimate language skill every otaku dreaming off… unfortunately, it did not translate in written languages, nor worked for those not born in this world. "_

Amidst his sulking, a strange phenomenon happened. "What the… what Roxfort is doing here!?"

Itami caught his head up, seeing the massive floating thing above them. Even Lelei's eyes widened seeing the huge castle floating above and shadowing everything under it, yet the girl remained silent, keeping her awe and surprise for herself.

"How is this possible?!"

In a different vehicle, Diabo gaped, and Piña can't help but look up in amazement and fear.

 _"A-A whole floating castle?! And in that size? It is at least twice, no! At least three sizes are bigger than the whole imperial palace. It is almost like a whole floating city!"_

Indeed, above them a whole castle floated with gothic design, accompanied by several floating islands. It was a sight to behold.

"How is this possible? Even in Londel…" Diabo gulped deep, realizing just who they are up against. Indeed, he visited Rondel a few times in the past, saw what the city could offer, and all of it dwarfed by the first scenery before them.

Hell! Now as their vehicles left the radius of the gate, he felt the Imperial capital lacking by a large margin compared to this.

Wherever he looked buildings in top notch conditions, stone paved roads. Street lamps on the two sides. Monuments and statues placed in the right places. Naturally, after the restoration of the capital started, the Capital of the Saderan Empire also began to look good, better than ever, yet, it was nowhere near this level.

"What the fuck!" Even Darryl, the president of USA gaped seeing the floating castle, and the floating islands surrounding it. Hell! There were even a few smaller villas on the sky — most likely the place where the wealthiest layers of this society lived.

"Hmm, interesting…" Even Dong Dechou, the President of the People's Republic of China was surprised, albeit, he had enough composure not to gasp right away. "With this technology, we could somewhat lessen the burden our overpopulation causes." he already saw it! Their skies filled with such miraculous buildings, but it was not the end goal. No, it was only a temporal solution for their problem.

"…"

He needs to grasp the chance to gain some territory either here, or in the Special Region. With that, they could create a second China, and once that happens, once their people will be on the other side, they could finally negotiate from an even ground. Hell! They can even initiate war without any political blunder if other parties try to hinder or remove their people from "their" lands if they try to block their spread. He was sure, with their modern weaponry, they could conquer both the Empire and this Sorcerous Kingdom, given enough time and support. Start a new revolution if necessary, and spread the concept of their political party.

"President, do you think…?"

"Hmm, most likely, we need to grasp this chance. It is our only choice…" he only answered such for his attaché's question, saying nothing more but looking outside. He needs to find some gasp in their defense, needs to find a way to force them to negotiate in an even ground, his people and the party integrity depends on it.

In the last few years, the morale started to fall drastically, even the development of their industry began to reach its limits and stagger, not speaking the environmental pollution already endangers the people's life. It was literally toxic living in big cities and near them.

…

"Hmm… How fancy! I need to renovate this place once my forces conquered all!"

As usual, Zorzal, in his "overly" fancy chariot, smugly shrugged at everything he saw outside. In his eyes, the Capital of the Empire was much better. In his eyes, anything else aside of humans was monsters, only good for hard labor and keeping them as slaves. He really can't appreciate anything else…

"Prince Zorzal…"

His eyes flashed in anger, looking at the young man with slick blonde hair before him, wearing the Empire's noble attire.

"Herm! How many times I had to say, I am now the Emperor, address me according!"

The man before him was his military advisor, and childhood friend, Herm Fule Maio. The son of a senator, and one of the few he still trusted. Why Zorzal brought a military advisor in this negotiation? One who was almost as deluded as him? Only he knows the answer.

"Yes, my Emperor! Please forgive me." after bowing his head, Zorzal waved him to continue.

"Well, what do you think of my new domain?" Like usual, Zorzal had a proud smile, looking out elated.

"Your domain, my Emperor?" his eyes wide, looking out, his example followed by the other two bootlickers, and general of Zorzal who inhabited his chariot.

'Roarrr!' in the next moment, several dragons soared in the skies, so huge they basically dwarfed the Flame Dragon several times. Their scales red, sapphire, and black.

"So huge…" the second advisor named Calasta only muttered. Since his defeat and capture by Nihon, he felt himself insecure even facing Zorzal, but now seeing this, he was sure their efforts against that damned nation could rise anew! Yes! Their Empire will triumph! They always triumph! With the resources this place, their righteous conquest will rise anew!

"My Emperor! When we…"

"When we acquired all of this?" Once more, Zorzal perpetual smirk never ceased. "It does not yet belong to the Empire, yet... But after my wedding with the princess, it will be…"

"The princess?"

Zorzal nodded, surprising all three of his advisors. "Indeed, according to Princess Eleanor, once her father finished choosing the next heir, he will step down from the throne. Being the first prince is in custody for murdering my father." for that Zorzal give a small laugh. "The next in the line is Eleanor."

"Oh!" the people gasped, looking at each other.

"That still not explains how you will get the throne, my Emperor. Can you explain it to us?"

"It is easy, really…" Zorzal was aware, a good Emperor needs to keep their subjects up to date, but had to keep certain details away from them that may cause his fall. "…I proposed Princess Eleanor."

"And what did she said? What was her answer?" asked excited Mudra, his third advisor, the other two watched Zorzal with great expectations.

"She did not answer yet, but you know women, she just plays the hard to get." he laughed smugly under his hand. "All fall for the mighty Emperor!" for a moment, he was proud, then his expression turned vicious. "They took away my toy! My pride! They humiliated me!" The light of vengeance lit in his eyes, still angry that black-clad warrior, the "skeleton," the prince, and that damn demon, remembering his humiliation that night.

"I will take away his daughter! His nation! His everything! That damn thing will beg for fast release! I will parade the flayed body of that demon on the streets of the capital! I will use his head as my personal drinking cup! But before that…" his smile returned, calculative and sly. "I will make him think I am at his side. That, he can entrust me everything. I will make him think; I will protect his kingdom and his daughter! That I will be the perfect ruler…" looking around, his "friends" looked somewhat enticed, yet, deep inside they started to turn frightened from what Zorzal said, and see him who he is in real.

"I will use his power, to not only defeat Nihon and the other side but to dominate them, pay for their crimes! I will rule all!" madness lit in his eyes, raising, then clenching his fist, imitating a motion under he held the world in his palm, then simply crushed it.

"I have it all!"

* * *

…

A few minutes passed, and the convoy passed several streets already. Under this, the envoys gaped, seeing all the sights the capital could offer. Trying to find the meaning behind the strange edifices and statues — those often depicted not armor-clad heroes, but strange creatures in a peculiar position. Even beings Itami only saw in horror games or read about in H.P. Lovecraft books were present.

Almost all the way people stood behind the cordons, holding banners, throwing flowers in their direction — almost all the way petals of rose fallen from the sky, generated by some strange spell.

Whoever will clean all of those flower petals, Itami envied not the person.

"I wonder what this park called, it is pretty, grand…" mumbled Itami watching the huge park surrounded by majestic walls at least ten meters tall, and with the wrought iron entrance coming in his vision.

Above the entrance and the gates, a text made from iron can be seen; unfortunately, even Lelei can't read it entirely, it was written in some pretty old dialect, many words were unknown even to her. But she was sure it was something about the connection between life and death.

As usual, Tuka and Rory plastered their faces on the window, drinking the sight with every moment.

"Father! Father! Look!" Tuka pointed on the two ten meter tall statues guarded the two sides of the gate, representing a robed figure holding a sturdy book and an hourglass made from some strange black material, and a second armor-clad figure on the other side of the gate with wings behind her back, holding a sword stick in the stone in her armored hands — this one made from some unknown white material. The two faced against each other and surely symbolized something.

Itami was sure it was the connection of life and death, as one from black material clearly was a skeleton under the robes, and looked like the usual depiction how one imagine death, the second the goddess of life who sought to protect her domain from her enemy's dirty hands, with swords if necessary. All along, the two stood in equal distance from the gate, representing the balance between these two fundamental force.

Naturally, the First Lieutenant come to this conclusion from all the games, anime, and books he read, watched and played until now. It was the only speculation though.

"…"

Entering the park through the open gates, the trees and vegetation were all the same for Itami; he was not a botanist after all. Sure, he can make the difference between a pine and a deciduous, but anything else with the exception of a few types of vegetation was outside of the range of his knowledge.

"Not bad, Emroy-sama would be thrilled coming here."

Rory albeit was surprised, held her curiosity a little bit better, but even she was impressed with what these people managed to create. She was sure even her god found his likeness in this place. Even as a god of darkness, war, and insanity, Emroy had his moments when he appreciated peace.

Just now, the convoy reached a vast park, at least several square miles big, what was surprising, it was all in the middle of Carne, and surely reached the size of New York Central Park, if not a little bit surpassed it.

The green around them was exotic, and yet, it was perfectly balanced out by the black and white marble road, the statues, art decoration, beautifully made buildings and patios popped up from time to time. All in all, everything was neatly upkeep around here.

"I wonder how this road called, and how much it cost. I mean, black marble are freaking expensive back in Earth…" muttered Itami, thinking no one can hear him.

"The Path of Enlightenment…" Lelei cut in suddenly, still using her lifeless tone.

"What?" everyone watched her intrigued?

"The Path of Enlightenment…" she turned to Itami.

"And how did you exactly know that?" Rory asked a little bit annoyed.

Recovering a brochure from her bag, she showed it to Itami and the rest. "It was in the Brochure. The JSDF brought a few back at Hill Alnus, after investigating Dreamscope…" folding it out, she showed it to Rory and the rest. "It is two kilometers long, leading to the Senate of the nation…"

Naturally, it was a parliament, not a Senate that was in the middle. Unfortunately, no Saderan language contained an adequate word to translate Parliament. Thus, she used the Senate instead.

On the map, the park, and the whole city was visible and being an enchanted map; one can zoom in and out like using the google map. The park was exactly in the middle of the city according to the cartoonish, but detailed cartography, with a cross shape four roads leading to the central square.

"The Path of Power, the Path of Enlightenment, the Road of War, and the Road of Peace. These four leads to the Court of Ascension in the middle of the park."

The fifth person sit in silence amongst them moved awkwardly, even Itami recognized it.

"Envoy Suzuki, is everything all right?"

The middle-aged man sighed, shaking his head with an awkward smile. "It is all right, First Lieutenant." the balding man adjusted his glasses. "It is just strange how pretentious way they name their places. Not as we, Japanese… no, the people of our world would be different. For them, it is most likely us who is strange. Yet, strangely, they resemble us really well. Almost like at one point our roots were the same, only our future changed by the different circumstances coming in the meantime." after an awkward chuckle, Itami had to agree. They as well most likely seem strange for these people. But at the same time, they had astonishingly similar characteristics — both how they do things, and how their architecture resembled in several points.

"Please forgive me, Lelei-dono, please continue this intriguing tour."

"Umu… of course."

Lelei nodded solemnly and continued listing the fact about the park. It was easy though, whenever one touched a point of interest, the map showed a detailed infobox and a few pictures about it. Itami would not be even surprised if it had some kind of local GPS solution integrated that can navigate through the city.

"The roads built using exactly forty-one thousand enchanted black, and white marble slabs..."

And thus, she continued to list the things she read in this pamphlet, and soon, a few minutes later the convoy of chariots and Humvees finally reached the main square of the kingdom. The place, where parliament positioned, and where the laws are born, albeit, not the area where they all approved.

"This…" the Russian president clicked his tongue. "How ostentatious. Are they built all of this to make others jealous? How foolish!" for a moment, Zyuganov smiled. "I wonder how much all of this cost. I wonder if they sold their soul for this, or they ruined themselves just to show off their "power." It will be interesting to find out."

Indeed, the Russian president knows very well how crippling a project of this volume. Not only the upkeep all of the things they saw cost an astronomical value, but to build it they must have cut a tremendous amount from their yearly budget.

He knows it too well; he inherited an unstable nation from his predecessor. A nation that sat in the middle of a financial and political shitsorm. A country that was still on the verge of death throat after the fall of communism. Yet, he and his advisors did it! Made Russia great again under less than a decade no less!

"Are you sure it is a good idea, Zyuganov, I mean…"

"Don't worry about the details…" the president folded his fingers in his lap. "They had their hands full with their own problems. Their nation, their new vassal state. Keeping everything in check, not speaking a huge territory like the Empire is burdening with all its internal conflicts and their own problems to solve, I am sure even for them. Remember Vietnam, remember the Soviet-Afghan war. Invaders usually accepted poorly by the native people."

His friend — an elderly gentleman with a bald head, and grey sideburns — nodded, still remembering the sour result of the Soviet-Afghan war. It was hard to admit, but it was neither a real win, nor a real loss, but a financial catastrophe for the USSR, this war contributed the fall of communism significantly and hinted the roots of the extremism not only in the far east but everywhere in the world. Extremism, the world still struggles to keep check today.

"So, Zyuganov, what's your plan? You know every nation, amongst them China, and the USA will compete with us. They will not let us win this easy."

"Oh, I know that, old friend. Don't worry about it. Everything due in time. Seeing how unreliable the UN and the rest, they will practically beg for our help and intervention, allowing us to get some share from their resources and profit. It only needs a kick, and everything falls in their rightful place…"

The elderly gentleman clicked his tongue nervous. "You forgot about that information package they sent us? What if it gets out! The sanctions we receive after that…!" it was evident he was very concerned, the sanctions may prove to be catastrophic for their nation.

After G.O.L.D.I.E. sent Zyuganov that Intel package — which contained their own nasty, dark things — which information should sit in their secret governmental agency isolated servers — his concern was more than real.

"That only means we have nothing to hide from them. If they refused to speak with us after what they get to know, we would have already known it, and our invitation would be revoked soon after. I am sure they would go as far to request the UN and the Japs to revoke our permit and withdraw from the deal."

The deal between them was simple. According to it, they can send agents for the other side in exchange for a certain amount of money and a few favors. They paid a hefty price for each soldier they let pass just to collect info. Zyuganov was sure the US, China, and every other nation who had the resource did the exact same thing. He would be not even surprised if those Arabic Oil Shekels or even the royal family already have a few environmental engineers on the other side, looking for oil or some precious resources.

"That still not means they trust us, Zyuganov. Maybe it is only out of courtesy. You know politics, hell, you are doing it long enough not recognize the subtle traces of distrust. Allowing us here means not they trust us."

"I am sure the Americans and the Chinese president received the same Intel about their respective countries. Yet, they are here. They need channels to help with control and trade. We are the biggest players and the widest channel. If they want to deal outside of the UN, their only chance is us. Unfortunately, being the Chinese and US government also had the advantage of a clean start, it also means with the same feeling of trust aimed against them." Zyuganov clicked his tongue in annoyance. "We need to play smart, especially now. If we fail to grab this chance, who knows when we get the next one, especially this good."

"The UN will not like it though."

"Who cares? Bunch of cowards, especially most of the core nations. Trying to play the goodie good guys, yet, they as well just as dirty as us. Most of them even worse."

Now, his friend had to agree with this. He had his fair share of experience with the topic. Even the cleanest politician had their nasty bits they try to hide, as well every country had its dark secrets.

"Let's hope you are right, Zyuganov, or we will have a nasty surprise."

* * *

…

Just in this exact moment, the trail of vehicles arrived in a grand square. Under the wheels, the white and black marble slabs neatly changed one after other, all under the way like a neatly arranged chessboard.

"Oh…"

In the middle of the square, an impressive huge fountain positioned. Depicting a floating ball which produced an endless amount of water falling in the pool under it. On the left side of the basin several deformed, grotesque figures reached towards the floating edifice desperately, trying to claim it for themselves, only to be pushed back and stabbed by several armored figures.

"I wonder what those statues around the fountain are doing, are they struggling? Who are the defenders?"

On the right side, different figures from different races stood, giving the ones asking for a drink the satiating water of life. If one knows Nazarick, and the envoys of the Supreme Beings. They know very well, the statues protecting the fountain, and offering drink made to resemble several floor guardians.

"A strange picture…" muttered the woman with blonde hair.

"How foolish…" the second with blue skin and tattoos snarled seeing all of this.

In a particular distance away behind the fountain, arranged on a half-circle formation, twenty-twenty statues stood, overseeing the struggle in the middle, holding their individual weapons and taking a regal posture before the start of the forty-one steps leading up to the entrance of the building.

They were tall, almost twenty meters, and so lifelike, if one know not they are lifeless statues, they might think they can come to life at any moment. On the twentieth steps, there was another statue standing on a metal pedestal; the forty-first figure stood motionless, looking very royal, holding the perfect replica of the staff of Ainz Ooal Gown.

Clothed in a regal "stone" robe, its hood hid a marble skull; two dimming flames peeked out from his sockets, a black halo radiated behind his head, his staff made from precious metals, adorned with real gemstones.

Indeed, it and the other twenty-twenty statues below was the perfect images of the Forty One, overseeing the security of this place, and the wellbeing of the servants below.

"How swell headed they are…"

"Aren't your goddess does the same, Giselle? If I remember it right, she placed her statues everywhere in Bellnahgo…"

Her colleague is referring to the Holy City which housed Hardy's main temple, Giselle can't help but squint her eyes angry.

"That's different!" she snarled with all the venom she could muster. "She is a goddess; she deserves as much. But these, these "Supreme Beings"…" she remained silent for a moment before continuing. "Might be all frauds."

"I don't think so…" Granham responded in a calm manner.

"It's hard to admit, but even that creature named Demiurge can pass, no… is a god if you ask me. Its presence…" she bit her lip hard. "Imposing, crushing. I don't think even my lord can express that pressure just by being near the mortal vessel he inhabits."

Albeit she still preferred to announce her God's superiority in the grand open, treating another god poorly would be too disrespectful. She just can't! Not after seeing the strength of their servants, not after what the two witnessed in that place. Not after meeting that "demon god" called Demiurge.

Even standing near him, his presence reminded her the wrath of the gods, and according to Demiurge's own statement, he was just a "humble" servant who can't even reach the footsteps of his lords. Now, that was a bold statement, considering even the maids — those easily beat them to the ground — spoke with absolute respect, and humility with that man, and referred him as such.

If these Supreme Beings who can command such a creature not gods, then nothing is… Granham felt the man's jewel gaze penetrating her holy soul, defying and twisting her very nature. Even the holy protection her god offered could not protect.

She and Giselle literally collapsed arriving back their room; the strain was too much. Even for an apostle, standing near Demiurge was straining and exhausting.

"I just said, having power, and being a god, completely different things. You as well heard him; they consider these "Supreme Beings" their creators, beings above gods. What, if you ask me completely ridiculous! Overestimation! There is nothing above gods!"

Giselle was still unable to process the existence of the beings stood above gods, or stronger than her lady can exist. In the past, when Hardy opened a channel to other worlds, it was their… the apostles' task to deal with the pest sneaking through the net, but now… it was hard to admit, but dealing with the invaders without the direct intervention of the gods themselves may prove impossible.

Also, that Demon God — named Jaldabaoth — arrived in their world and hiding ever since clashed with that Ainz figure is still there. They need to deal with him in a short way, or he may cause unspeakable damage, possibly destroy the whole world in his wake.

According to Hardy, her inquisitors already found a few sects that worshipping this Jaldabaoth figure, and some kind of "Dark Lady of Chaos." These worshippers and a few demons of unknown origin even set foot on the underworld, infesting Hardy's domain, ever-spreading like a plague.

Most of these incursions dealt with a short way, but if this goes on, the faith the people provide will drop drastically, and the demonic infestation starts anew!

The underworld was her goddess' domain! All demon belongs to her! Anyone who defies her is a sinner she will destroy!

And it's not the only problem. Lately, more and more people start to worship this Ainz figure. First, it was just in the Capital, but now, the paladins of her lady had to make sure to clean this "infestation" from the area, and even from the very city of Bellnahgo.

 _"Hardy-sama cares not about it, as she is not interested in the matters of simple people, nor you can ask a god to care about mortals, my lady is way above such petty things. Unfortunately, that means the task is ours, her worldly servants to upkeep the integrity of her faith and enforce her will."_

Slowly, the convoy stopped before the stairs, the stairs that led to a long building, spanning more than a kilometers, built mostly in Neo-Gothic style, mixing sleek modern design.

 _"This is definitely something…"_ wanted most of the envoys to say, but withhold their urge, it was already bad enough they thought like this.

Most of the people awed seeing all this magnificence of the architecture, and the grandiose of the central building of the park.

On the two sides clad in ceremonial attire and armor honor guards stood, like clockwork saluting to the arrival. Several butlers were here right away, opening the doors for the people, who right after this stepped out from their respective vehicles.

"This is…"

"Beautifull…"

One after other the people awed, even Zorzal released a hum of satisfaction — being this architecture somewhat for his likeness — even the Chinese president readjusted his glasses.

"Not bad…"

All the way upward on the black marble steps draped with a red carpet held down by golden straps; the people approached the entrance.

Awaiting before the entrance, a majestically beautiful a woman in white dress awaited them. Behind her, several people in dresses and suits accompanied her all the way.

"We welcome you, envoys of the other world. I am Albedo, the first queen, and the Prime Minister of the nation…"

Prime Minister and queen at the same time? For most people coming from democratic countries, this was the awful abuse of the "separation of powers," as the one who controls, directly connected to the other who possessed another branch of power. Yet, they said nothing; it would be highly inappropriate doing so. Also, Ainz openly admitted his kingdom works somewhat as a mixed constitution, both carrying the traits of democracy and a proper kingdom.

"…" waiting a moment, the demon goddess introduced the people behind her. "Let me introduce you to our present ministers…"

As usual, the initial handshakes and the usual philander courtesy took place. Most of the people present were politicians; after all; it was in their nature. Albeit, some of them was reluctant to touch a few ministers. A few of them were quite alien looking for the people of Earth.

* * *

…

"Unfortunately, my husband can't join us today due to his numerous duties. The meeting with him takes place tomorrow; until then, I ask you your patience, esteemed envoys."

Leading the way through the beautiful hallways of the palace like Parliament, the people watched everything with great detail.

"That's only natural, Prime Minister Albedo, we know it very well how busy his majesty might be."

"Thank you for your understanding, Ban-dono, my husband appreciates your understanding and your work for the United Nations."

"That's only natural…" the Secretary-General of the UN bowed his head humbly.

This woman was not terrifyingly smart, offering a steady answer to every question the surrounding people stated, but her charisma… it was out of the roof.

Pairing this with her appearance, it was a deadly combo, the surrounding newcomers may even say with the exception of two, she was the most beautiful, perfect being in the world, almost like she was made artificially — the other two being Auriel, and the mysterious girl accompanied Ainz but revealed nothing much from herself, only the fact she as well was a being, who the people of this nation called "Supreme Being".

"Not meeting?! What the heck!"

Everyone turned to the person disturbed Albedo's explanation so abruptly, almost glaring a hole on poor Giselle's skull. Giselle of course only backed for a moment, after that, her confidence returned.

"Wha-What? We waited for more than one month to meet him! Not speaking about that goddess stepped through our gate. As the envoy of Hardy-sama, I demand meeting them, now! My God demands it!"

Giselle made a stomp, glaring at Albedo.

"Giselle, that's not…"

For a moment, everyone stood in silence, even Rory watched in amusement what will be the end of her fellow apostle's foolishness, and when Granham wanted to step forward to apologize, a faint, but elegant laugh came from Albedo's direction, even the surrounding ministers of the Sorcerous Kingdom can't hide their faint smiles or even giggles.

"You demand? Fufufuf… how amusing ant you are…"

"What are you laughing!? Ant!? How dare…"

"You are the guest of Ainz-sama, yet, you act inappropriate, envoy Giselle. Please, refrain from this behavior. I ask you only once." Her voice was cold and elegant, completely reasonable, daggering Giselle with a disgusted, apathetic expression. "We are civilized people here, everything due in time. If you are unable to wait a little bit more, then we will send you back through the gate, and will ignore Hardy-dono's further request of communication until she will be able to send an appropriate spokesman or woman."

"How dare! How dare you look down at me!? Me! The apostle goddess! The blade of the underworld! You demon!" In that time, Granham already covered her fellow apostle's mouth, smiling apologetically and awkward.

"Please forgive her; she is a little… Ai!" Giselle bit Granham's finger, managing to free herself.

"Stop it! Granham! I had to say it!" shaking down the grasp of the gods' envoy, Giselle's expression hardened, stepping forward.

"I demand to meet them; this is my god's decree! What she wants, she will get it! Capiche?" she snapped her fingers, pointing at Albedo menacing.

Albedo moved not, just tilted her head not so amused. The ministers behind started to step back, knowing the power of the first queen of the nation.

"Call them here, in an instant…"

A pressure descended on Giselle's shoulders, making her lose her balance and start to shake. It was like back then… no! This power was even more malicious than the one Demiurge emitted, and now all of them was emitted against her.

'Bluergh!' Falling on her knees, she paled, vomiting her stomach content.

"My husband keeps the freedom of choice and free speech in high regards, envoy Giselle, referring them as the wheels of progress. But to disrespect him, moreover, the other Supreme Being, demand the appearance of the king, and his enforcer …"

Albedo looked around, seeing the frightened face of a few people, then tilted her head not so amused.

"It is hard not to step on ants, especially when they are under our feet and threaten us with their tiny masticator. We, their servants bear hardly when ants like you, or your so-called gods berate our creators. I ask you one last time, please refrain from it, or bear the consequences, envoy Giselle…"

"I…I…"

She can't move! She can't speak! Strange dizziness invaded her mind. It was like she stood in the presence of another god she just offended. Her throat sore, like she swallowed a mountain of coarse dust.

"Please forgive her, Queen Albedo, my colleague, is a little hard in the head…" Granham liked it not, had to bow her head, and apologize even in Giselle's stead, even in this situation. If Giselle will be thrown out, then she as well will be in a short time.

Even if they may serve a different god, completely contradictory of each other, she had to apologize in her stead too, if not, even if they let her stay, she will start from a disadvantageous position from the start when it came to negotiations, or asking the thing the council of gods entrusted her, and originally sent her here.

 _"Giselle's behavior not only affected how they will treat Hardy but every other god in Falmart, unfortunately, this stupid oaf can't even realize this... Why Hardy chose her; it is a big mystery for all of us."_

"Very well, envoy Granham. I let this little misunderstanding slip, for now…" the pressure eased, and Giselle felt once more she can breathe, immediately, she fell face downward in her own excrement. She felt weak like she can't move weak. Even grabbing her stomach felt straining.

"Thank you…" Granham nodded sweating.

"Please make sure envoy Giselle refrains from acting like this, or I have to send her back, and cease the diplomatic relation with her, and possibly the other gods on the other side. Our people civilized, but refrain not protecting what's ours, and what we hold dear if it's threatened. Remember this…"

"O-Of course…"

Albedo had to wave only once, and several butler and maid like figure appeared, cleaning the peerless rugs, grabbing Giselle and making her drink a red liquid. Strangely, from the mysterious, and miraculous liquid the apostle felt herself better right away.

"Where are they… What did you stuff into me?!" Giselle asked at first angry, but after seeing Albedo still looking at her "that" way, it filled her with fear, trembling as she glanced around.

"It was a simple minor healing potion. Nothing else…" such red potion cost a fortune for any normal people, but thanks to the development section, and Nfirea's constant work after Ainz "hired" him 200 years ago, today the kingdom could mass produce the red liquid if it was necessary, without the use of YGGDRASIL ingredients and techniques on top of that.

They did not do so not to collapse the potion market, and to keep the manufacturing rights, and recipe in secret under their belts.

"I am sorry for this small detour. If it's all right to you, envoy Giselle, we will continue." Albedo's smile returned to her peerless self, not even resembling the disgust filled face she previously witnessed. It was like a mask she can discard and put on whenever she wished. "Of course, if you wish, you can return the embassy we already prepared for the diplomats. It is your choice…"

Giselle now was terrified, looking around discouraged.

Shall she retreat? If she does that, what her goddess will think? No… in the current situation, it wouldn't matter, they are in a different world, and even then, after this, she was not even sure she could do something. There was a literal goddess she faced. A demon god? Two? She can't say anymore… she wouldn't know for sure if this Albedo and that Demiurge figure really were gods or just individuals with similar power level. Only one thing was sure, she was almost crushed, and Albedo did not raise a finger to send her in that state.

"I-I am fine, we can continue…" she shuttered, and Albedo nodded.

"Very well." Albedo proceeded, and the diplomats followed her close behind. In the meantime, offering a quick rundown about the Sorcerous Kingdom's history. From what was before it, where it started, to its current state. She was quite knowledgable about the topic.

 _"So many wars they fought…"_ Rory bit her lip in excitement, she needs to read more about these short, but exciting history.

…

After a short walk, the group reached a big hallway; a huge painting hung on the wall. Depicting the scene where Ainz and a mysterious dark armored figure faced the Sunlight Scripture. Ainz using his [Negative Burst] to eliminate the angels.

"If I may ask, what is this picture about?" asked Rory curiously, staring it for a few long moments mesmerized.

"Oh, that…" Albedo stopped, watching the picture for a few moments. Good memories appeared in her head about her dear's first victory in this world's surface, as well, a hateful memory surfaced right away.

 _"How dare they raise hands against Ainz-sama! How dare they!?"_

But once these thoughts subsided, she remembered the torture they went through before expiring. Indeed, it was a good memory.

"This was the first battle of Ainz-sama in this world. This was the first step he made to eradicate the corruption of the surrounding governments and better the lives of the people."

"Oh!"

"The religious sect of the Slane Theocracy, the Sunlight Scripture attacked the village of Carne. My dear Ainz-sama can't possibly let those vile cultist kill innocent people." She pronounced extra hard the "My" part in the sentence, and her eyes lit up in a love-struck light filled with zeal and hunger, folding her hands in adoration. "My Ainz-sama…"

"Carne? Aren't this is the name of the capital?"

Many asked behind her, whispering amongst each other.

"Yes, that is." she smiled with a confident face. "This exact place where village Carne stood 200 years ago. With a mere population of 120 back then, Ainz-sama should have ignored their pleas when the vile cultist attacked, yet, he chose to descend here, to start his crusade against the corruption of the governments, and the enemies of reason. " _Our new adventure started here…"_ as it can be read above the entrance."

She sighed, trembling for a moment, embracing her joy.

"Since a little bit more than one hundred and thirty years, Carne earned the right, and development where it became our capital, and ever since, it is where our people gather to discuss the most important things."

"That's around seventy years from the start of his rule…" Lelei muttered. Reading their history from the beginning to the present, it must be like that. Itami only gulped hearing this.

Considering the size of the city, and its sheer visible population, it was an astonishing leap and architectural performance creating all of this starting from an underdeveloped village.

"If you allow me to ask, Prime Minister." Darryl stepped forward, seeking the opportunity to know more, and gather intel. "Not as I want to criticize his majesty's method of creating his kingdom. After all, our people as well became free through an uprising and fought hard to earn their freedom. But…"

"Yes, president, speak your mind, my husband promotes free speech after all…"

"But don't you think this change in the people's life was a little bit dramatic, what I heard, his majesty created his country but 200 years ago. Conquering everything with force if they not bent his will."

"Hmm, that may be true, and the question is good. But let me ask something. Aren't it was a little bit drastic to rise against England, and severe the connection between the thirteen colonies, and the motherland? They were the rightful owners after all. Aren't taking property, and rising against the rightful owner considered bad? Aren't it punished in your country?"

"I suppose, yes…" Darryl started to feel himself uncomfortable, Integra glaring at the president slightly.

"With your little uprising, you basically caused the death of thousands, not speaking pushing a once great Empire into stagnation, starting the process under it lost almost all its influence, and colonies around the world under less than two hundred years. What do you think, how many suffered and died out of this? Just think about it. But also, if your people would not rise against injustice, where would your "great" country will be today. Just like our country, yours also rise from nothing. Maybe your people resemble us than anyone else… "

"Hmm…" Naturally, Albedo only meant simple people the Supreme Beings took under their protective wings, not the Supreme Beings and their servants who stood above all. Still, Darryl remained silent hearing her out. He must admit, the woman was right, his people never really tolerated when someone tried to rule them. Maybe they were more similar than he first thought.

"As you know, President-san, change is hard. Sometimes the only way to build something new, something better is to uproot the corruption, burn the old to the ground, even if it's painful, it is a necessary process. Foundations based on skeletons often collapse under the things built on them, showing authority through undeniable, and unconquerable strength often the best, and most efficient way to guarantee fast victory, long time peace, and prosperity. Just like the USA did with Japan under the Second World War, just as Japan did when the forces of the Empire and the allied army attacked them, just as my husband and his forces did since forever. We leave no doubt about victory; we leave no room for a pointless revolution, and uprisings."

Saying this, for a moment Albedo glanced at the Chinese president, who immediately stiffened like a cold wind hit his neck.

"We proceed forward, conquer, and uproot unnecessary things. That was our way, and that is even today without a doubt."

Zorzal just scoffed, mumbling something like… "Just wait it out…" Pina and Diabo tried their best to endure their brother's stupidity and prayed Albedo not heard him.

"We saw it too many times where an incompetent rule leads, and we seek not to repeat the past mistakes. The time others spend with war, we spend with development and growth. It was always our wish, and it will always be Ainz-sama's, and the Supreme Being's intention. To see their people prosper and grow, sometimes they need to sacrifice a few to make it come true. Even if others consider it evil, it is the necessary evil for the better, more prospering future. We fear not evil; we conquer it, and make it work for our cause."

"I-I see…" Once again, the president left speechless. He never expected such a heavy retort, even if he was almost convinced, it is the right way.

"Any more question?" Albedo looked around, but no one dared to object. After this small lecture, no one really dare anymore.

"There is none…"

"Good…" with that, Albedo continued her way to the conference room, all under the way, Darryl remained silent, hearing the whispers of other parties behind his back. It was humiliating, and he heard all the mockery they whispered.

 _"Damn bitch! Damn everything! But the war is not over! Far from it!"_ clenching his fist, with a lowered head he followed behind, and the parties finally reached the conference room where the first "InterWorld Session" takes place in the history.

* * *

…

'Yawn!'

Rory's head almost fell down, only catching it up in the last moment.

"Huh…" Itami also sighted, laying on the sizable couch.

"Rory, aren't you supposed to participate in that session?"

"Why should I?" asked the demi-goddess, brushing her eye sleepy.

It is a few hours since the session started, and ever since the diplomats started their first inter world debate.

Naturally, it was only the first day, the day of their arrival, and it was already dull as hell. In all honestly, Itami expected more. I don't know… a tour around the town before all this start?

He certainly anticipated that much at least, not just a glimpse — no matter how beautiful it was, no matter he basically saw the floating version of Hogwarts in the skies. He still missed small things…

 _"I don't know, looking around in this town supposed to be fun. With the allowance, the brass gave me I could even buy a few nice things."_

Reaching in his pocket, Itami pulled out his purse, inspecting the Sorcerer Kingdom's new banknotes and coins.

"Hmm…" Rory, Lelei, and Tuka all watched them, finding them really well designed.

"Two Ainz, five Touch Me, ten Peroroncino, ten Flatfoot, and five Genjiro…" this was the names of the different banknotes. "…and at least a small purse of copper, silver, and gold coins…" Itami found the name Genjiro really strange, as it sounded Japanese, as well the name, Genjiro existed in Japan.

"Hmmm…"

After a moment thinking of this, the First Lieutenant shook his head and continued.

"What a strange money…" Tuka gaped, inspecting the skeleton, the armored warrior, and the other strange figures on the notes.

"Paper money? What a nonsense…" Rory scoffed silently. Although she saw Itami paying for stuff with similar paper, back in Nihon and in the store near Alnus — as well a few banks in Falmart, and a few churches used to give out receipt about the deposit and donations — she trusted hard currency more.

It was under her hand and was more reliable according to her opinion. Even when she was an apostle, she was not a thief, nor was a locust-like Giselle — who used to demand donations and flat out eat everyone out from their wealth once she appears. The apostle of Hardy was quite a glutton, capable of eating all day and still hungry. If she was not satiated, she merely killed a few people just because her mood was bad.

Unlike Giselle, when Rory needed money, she either took one or two assignment her church gave out time to time or humbly accepted donations people offered, paying for her stuff. Most of the times, even if she provided payment for example for a meal, the people refused to let her pay, allowing her to eat free and giving her a free ride on their chariots in exchange for protection.

This was definitely the advantage of being a demigoddess and the apostle of her god, but even being one, she still felt the hunger and the thirst that was the mortal's own. Dying out of thirst, or starve to death, not speaking about suffocating was the worst, she experienced all three a few times under her life, she rather avoided them if possible.

"How much it worth…?"

"Honestly… I don't know…" Itami inspected the holographic metal thread weaved in each paper, finding it amusing how similar their words anti-forgery methods are.

"Lelei, do you know it?"

Putting down the book, she shook her head. "I do not know about it. I am not good with money…"

And it was indeed true, though, she was more considerable than Alfie was when it came to monetary values, as well was not fool enough to choose the same, "money eater" specialization as her sister did, she preferred to spend all her money on books and crunch if she had enough, often leaving her with her own devices once she was out.

"Ah, then it cannot be helped…" defeated, Itami lowered her head.

"Why are you not with envoy Suzuki?" asked Lelei in the next moment, her face carries her common empty expression.

"Hmm, I am only here to escort him, as well give him a few tips as an "expert." I think, the brass called it "Expert of the Special Region, and Specialized Honor Guard"…" Itami explained his "official" titles, surprising everyone.

"Eh!" both Tuka and Rory watched each other in disbelief, Lelei's eyes widened immediately; for them, it was a big thing.

"What? Is that hard to believe?" Itami blinked innocently.

 _"I mean, I am surely not the best person for the job, nor the sharpest tool in the shed. And in all truth, I only accepted this job because the brass offered a huge sum in exchange and paid leave. But few can boast with the fact to have some experience with communicating people from other worlds, make the first diplomatic contact — even when it was a funny story only I can't laugh — and have Ranger training…"_

Itami tried to feel himself better and less useless repeating this in his head. But outside of the few things Suzuki asked, and sitting a long time in the car, he did nothing much. Hell, it was the envoy's personal driver who drives the car, not him.

"Father! Such an important mission! Congratulations!" Tuka cheered for him, clapping, Rory just smiled.

"Ye-yeah… thanks…" even accepting Tuka's innocent cheer made him feel bad.

"What about you guys, Rory, Lelei? Aren't you two supposed to accompany the rest?"

"Don't care about politics. I am only here as an expert and to make use of my "prize," not a full part of the Rondel diplomatic party…"

After Lelei answered, Itami's and Tuka's turned to Rory who cleaned her ear with her pinkie.

"Not interested, I am only here because I was bored, and after Julian spoke about it, I wanted to see this world, and of course, Ainz-sama…"

"I see…" It was an awkward expression Itami offered, yet, he expected this much from Rory.

Why the apostle of the god of war, insanity, etc. — Itami don't even remember what more — would care about politics and courtesy? It strangely made sense Rory said this…

'Clatter! Clatter! Clatter!'

In the next moment, a butler entered the room appointed for the waiting parties. Naturally, there were multiple such offices, each of them inhabited by people coming from different places.

"Oh, thank you…" Itami smiled, and the Armat butler placed an iced coffee like a drink before them, accompanied by several cakes, juice, and tea.

"Do you wish, anything else, my lord, ladies?" the ratman looking butler in elegant tuxedo bowed elegant, making the rest of the people smile.

 _"He really looks weird in that tuxedo… yet, strangely fitting."_

In different of Falmart, the demi-humans of the Sorcerous Kingdom most of the times lacked the mostly human appearance, resembling more of a beast, with fierce nature, standing bipedal.

Cannot compare for example the cute cat maid, Persia from house Formal, and several warrior bunnies he encountered in the settlement built near Alnus. If Itami would face this butler on the street at night, clothed casual clothing, he would definitely judge him from the cover and would think of him as a savage criminal, or a mugger.

Naturally, there were several exceptions of this, very few demi humans actually looked quite human in the kingdom.

"It is fine, thank you… and…" he scratched the back of his head nervously. "I am not a lord, just a simple soldier…"

"I see…" the butler was on to leave when Itami called after him.

"One question if you allow me…"

"Yes…"

"Hmm, I am not sure how to ask this. But can you tell me the approximate worth of this money…"

Itami prepared to show how many allowances he got, and the butler's eyes widened immediately, looking at them flabbergasted.

"Are you sure you are not a noble, my lord? For your knowledge, mostly only nobles, and wealthy traders carry around so much paper money… and so many coins!"

"Eh? They really worth that much?"

"Certainly…" he nodded little pale, but it was evident it was not visible under his grey fur. "Although, the paper money not accepted everywhere in the kingdom, yet. It is still worth a great deal in the capital and around. It is since only a few years the Sorcerer King tries to introduce it as the replacement of our mostly coin based currency. With less, than more success… in the capital, it is widely accepted, but further down the line, in different provinces the traders still prefer coins. Most of them not even accept notes in exchanges of coins."

"And what can we buy from this much?" it was stupid to ask this, but he really had no idea how much it worth exactly.

"Hmm…" the creature made a quick calculation. "A sizable house with a manor… roughly…"

"Ehhh!?"

"In the outer provinces…" the butler added in the end. "But being the Capital is quite expensive, here it is not even enough for a small flat. But you can rent one from this amount for at least several months, and you don't have to worry eating in restaurants under that time, nor finding a job, and after that, you still have some money to travel somewhere less expensive…"

"I-I see…" Itami watched the purse, and the paper money on the table, paling ever intense. A nauseous feeling started to get him, beginning to worry about being mugged on the street if he showcases it.

Even with ranger training, he doubted he could fight off numerical superiority, not if the enemy surrounds him unarmed, or the muggers are beastmen — those according to Momon basically at least ten times stronger than an average human, most of them had night vision and some kind of innate ability, making humans quite inferior compared to them.

 _"I need to keep Rory around… if nothing else, she can be a good shield…"_ Smiling at Rory, she smiled back, not even suspecting what Itami planned, and just now, the First Lieutenant started to feel himself miserable thinking using his friend like this.

Though, he was still flabbergasted how a country can give out such amount of allowance for a simple escort like him. When he asked what it is for, the brass only said the Sorcerous kingdom sent a set amount of allowance for every diplomat, and other escort parties coming with the envoy. As they said: _"A little tidbit to make their stay more enjoyable…"_

 _"If what this butler said is true, this is not a little bit, but a shitload of money!"_

"Uhh… Thank you…"

"Of course…" Looking at the side, with dead silence, a blue-skinned figure sat. Not moving an inch, just staring before herself with a pale expression.

"Is that lady alright? Do she needs medical attention?"

Giselle not even turned her head, just winced once more.

"She is fine, she just…" Rory looked at her thinking out the adequate answer. "A little bit shocked seeing all of this. She can't take easily new things. That's all…"

"I see…" the demi-human was not convinced, but let it slide. After all, it was not his task to intrude further. "Do you need anything else…"

"I-Its fine, you can go. Thank you."

"Of course… my lord, ladies, if you need anything, use the bells, and the staff will come to your service." the Armat butler referred the small enchanted bells lined in the table.

With that, the butler left, leaving the party behind.

"…" An awkward silence descended before Rory opened her mouth.

"You really are scared, ah, little Giselle?"

Giselle looked at Rory in an instant, hissing, leaving a moment of pause before her retort.

"And what do you know about that!? You speak nonsense! What should I, the blade of the underworld fear?"

"Ah, Giselle… Fufufuf… your tone tells all. Is the lady was that scary?" Rory leaned forward, holding her head with her folded fingers. Her expression cannot be smugger.

"…" Giselle answered not for a moment, only trembling, and pulling her knees in her embrace. After her defeat, after meeting the repressive presence of that elf girl, that demonic being, and now this... After losing her pets, something broke inside her. She was not the same anymore.

"Is that was, really that scary? I mean, Albedo-dono reprimanded her a little bit, and it was scary she just started to vomit and collapsed. But that's all…" Itami looked around awkward. For him, Albedo was a scary woman, but he can't think her as a murderer. Albeit, he can be wrong; he made faulty judgment plenty of times in the past.

"Oh, Itami-kun…" Rory shook her head. "Gods and beings with high power, or even with high enough killing intent can pressure others to give in by their sheer will. Considering this lady is Ainz-sama's wife…" she snarled, the traces of jealousy evident from her tone. "It is evident she is close to a god or is a godly being. If you ask me, we were lucky she aimed her will against Giselle and not the people around her. If this much left Giselle in that state, I don't want to imagine what it would have done with simple people like you or your diplomats."

Itami and Tuka shuddered, and Lelei's eyes grow wide. It was evident even she was shocked by this development, and don't want to imagine what would have happened if the lady let her killing intent spread.

"You don't understand!" Giselle grabbed her head, and her long hair fallen forward as she leaned forward, staring the wooden flooring with trembling eyes. "Those things, those monsters beyond our understanding! Maybe only the gods know how much threat they represent. We need to stop them! We need to close that gate!"

Once more Rory chuckled.

"What's so funny!? Is our annihilation funny to you!? Reaper!"

"Oh! I did not laugh at that. I only laugh the misfortune your god brought on herself. Poor fool Hardy-sama…"

"What do you mean!?" they took away their weapons at the moment they stepped into the building. Thus, Giselle can only bare her teeth and "claws."

Rory was utterly calm, not even standing up, just sipping her drink the butler brought. "I mean, it was Hardy who opened the gate, or I supposed to say, gates — as she opened plenty enough in the past — and invited the outsiders in our world. My lord and the other gods had nothing to do with her mess…"

"You still not understand…" Giselle spat. "They have invaded our territory, not just Hardy-sama's, but Emroy, and the rests. They will not stop only by us! They want it all! If you didn't see in their eyes, then you are an even bigger fool than I first thought…"

"Hmm, that's true…" this one time, Rory had to agree with her colleague. "They indeed want to conquer, and I doubt without the help of our gods we can push them back. It is hard to admit, but we are outgunned…"

"Is the situation really that bad?" Lelei was not stupid; she witnessed their army and the battle of Italica first hand. She witnessed how easily Raidyn held back the Flame Dragon, just to Momon decapitate it under a moment. A legendary creature that is capable of destroying countries in its wake, and was the terror of the people for a long time fallen under a flash.

She witnessed the battle of heroes, and participated in the fight against the twin Flame Dragons, she heard how easily that "Dragonlord" pinned down the last living descendant of that legendary creature, and the minion of that dark elf with tremendous power pinned down Giselle, an apostle, under less than a moment. An accomplishment, no one thought possible before their arrival.

She heard what happened when the Demon Emperor, Jaldabaoth razed the capital, and what she heard, he was but one minion of the greater darkness lying past on the horizon. If not the King's personal intervention, every living person in, and outside of the town now either lying dead or taken as a slave by the horrible demons.

And what she heard, with the exception of Ainz, they were simple servants of a bigger power. All of them! Against such opposition, it was not surprising even the heralds of gods stood puzzled, trembled helplessly to do anything.

 _"But why should I care…?"_ She asked this from herself. This was not her problem, not anymore.

With the arrival of the newcomers, she received many wonderful opportunities to visit not one, but two different worlds, and learn everything these new people could offer.

As for the gods… she has no pity to spare for them. If they can't solve the mess, they brought on themselves, what can she — a simple human — do about it? Why they even call themselves all-knowing beings, in other name, gods, if they can't even solve this much?

Even if it was her patron who gave her the blessing which made her able to reach this high, if the twin gods ran in their death so vehemently and failed to use their wisdom to solve the situation, then they are not really wise, and thus, not a really reliable source to offer her faith.

"…"

All of this ran through her mind under a moment, and after a short pause, Rory answered her question.

"It is neither good nor bad. For my Lord Emroy, it is all the same; he thrives in the chaos the fall of the Empire caused. Albeit, he as well a little bit offended."

"Why so, if I may ask…"

"Well…" Rory looked at the side. "Those creatures, those skeletal horses…"

"Soul Eaters…" Lelei told their proper name. "Their name is Soul Eater…"

"Those…" Rory remembered what her god told her, and it made her furious. "They stole those valiant souls from my god. Literally eating them, not speaking my Lord is furious to that demon god intruded the capital. Those demons…" she clenched her fist. "They stole what is his, anyone swallowed by them forever lost!" she hit the table angry, and it cracked in two.

'Crack!'

Tuka backed, leaning closer to Itami, Lelei felt herself a little bit pressured and gulped.

"Huh…" in the next moment, the door abruptly opened, revealing Suzuki, a few of his diplomatic attaches — who traveled in another car, and Granham.

"What happened…" asked Suzuki, looking at the cracked table confused.

"Nothing…" Rory answered leaning back. "The table just cracked at two…"

"Right…"

"Hmph…!"

Granham just shook her head, scoffing on her colleagues' behavior.

It was evident, as the envoy, chosen by the council of the gods, it was her duty to participate in such meetings to get know more — even if she had a heavy distaste towards them, and she was only here to pass the invitation to these Supreme Beings, only she remained who can do it.

Being Giselle and Rory right away refused to participate in the prattle of "mortals," only she remained to pass the message.

Moreover, in her current state Giselle was useless, and as said Rory was not interested…

"Childish, like always…" she muttered angrily.

It was only her who remained. How would that look if they demand the meeting once more without even willing to play their game? Granham knows too well, looking at Giselle was enough to realize she needs to follow the protocol to reach the necessary conclusion and solve this mess.

The council of gods gave her the task to pass the invitation. They gave it to her, to pass directly to these "Supreme Beings," not for their lackeys, or servants, but directly at the source itself. Giving anyone else the special item they sent with her would be sacrilege.

"How was it, Suzuki-dono?" Itami asked somewhat worried.

"…" Suzuki massaged the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. "Slow, as usual. This was only our first meeting. We only managed to introduce properly, and state why we come for…"

"That's it…?"

"That's it…" Suzuki repeated Itami's words in a strict demeanor.

Itami was sure politics was a slow game. But this slow? It was almost like when in the Lord of the Rings' second episode, the Ent council gathered for a session to discuss what to do with the situation. It took them basically one day to introduce themselves — from dawn to night — and they did not even start the discussion normally that time. It was the same for these people.

"Tomorrow, we will meet the king. Hopefully, we will be able to learn more. But now…" the diplomat placed his hands on the pockets, looking more relaxed. "We will return our quarters, then participate in the welcoming banquette. Before that we have some time, at that time, I would like to request your expertise, Itami-san, as well yours, Lelei-dono. If you have some time, can you visit us in our accommodation before we proceed?"

"Sure…" she nodded. The girl was sure, the envoys of Rondel will as well bomb her with their questions. This day will be exhausting, and it was only the first day.

"Good. Thank you." Suzuki looked around. "Tomorrow though… after the royal procession finished, your day is free…"

"Really?" Itami blinked confusedly… and basically he gets paid for this? Hell! Outside of guard duty, he never really had this easy job.

"Really." Suzuki chuckled, waving Itami to follow him, Tuka followed close behind, giving Lelei and Rory a mischievous stick tongue.

"…" Lelei and Rory clenched their fists; the Falmartian and the embassy of different nation's most likely will be positioned elsewhere. Not as it will stop them from to sneaking in Itami's room, or wander out exploring.

"Hmph…" Granham nodded, walking closer to Giselle. And then… "You are lucky, you dummy!" punching her, the apostle flipped out from her seat.

"What's that for!?" shouted the blue-skinned woman, massaging her bruised face.

"Because you don't think!" roared Granham, sticking her index to her forehead, getting her face dangerously close. "I don't care if they throw you out! But what if they throw Rory and me out because of your foolish behavior! How will our gods reach out for them to speak and negotiate! What will they think about us! If we fail, they may even remove our immortality and deny the chance to ascend into godhood! I will not lose my chance because of your foolish egghead!"

"Get away from me!" with a quick move, Giselle swiped away her hand, jumping up on her feet. "I did nothing wrong! We are waiting for a whole month! A whole damn month! Yet, they mock us, mocking our gods by making us wait! I just can't take it anymore! I needed to say it!"

"Rory! Speak some sense into her!"

"Rory! Tell her I am right!"

Both watched Rory, waiting for her to be their judge. She was the oldest apostle who did not ascend yet. With her more than nine hundred and sixty years, she counted as an experienced party.

"Hmm, not my problem…" she answered completely apathetic.

"Wha…!?"

"Not my problem, I am only here because I was curious, and wanted to meet Ainz-sama once more. Though…" she looked around. "My master quite curious about that other goddess, according to him her madness is a delicious mix of want, and not want. But he knows patience breeds the best hunt. Sooner or later they will meet, if not…" she remained silent for a moment, looking at the side, thinking… "…well, then, they will not. He is a god; she is a god. Sooner or later their path will surely collide. He has all the time in the world to wait for her. Seeing other parties panic and run around like headless chicken only a bonus for Emroy-sama…"

She smiled, standing up, and grabbing the whole plate of cake before her.

"Hmm, this cake is delicious!"

With that, Rory the Reaper stuffed another slice in her mouth, leaving her flabbergasted colleagues with a hanging mouth, leaving the room permanently.

* * *

 **Scene Change: Private Quarters: Embassy of the Saderan Empire: At night:**

Princess Piña Co Lada, fifth child of the "former" Emperor, and the diplomatic envoy of her nation. Clothed in her lavish, roman styled nightgown which offered a steady cleavage, she fell in her bed with a soft thud.

"Ah, I am so tired…"

She melted in the soft bed of her quarters. It smelt wonderful, and was soft… A lot more comfortable than any of the beds her royal quarters contained all in her life. She would have fallen asleep right away, if not the today events, and being worried about their tomorrow meeting with the king made her worry, pushing her in a state where she was unable to sleep.

They meet once, under the invasion of the capital, but maybe he did not even recognize her as she trembled behind the guards and Beelzebub. The princess was sure; even when she or any of her relatives stand before the Sorcerer King, he will find them insignificant. Not even worthy of remembering.

Judging how easily they conquered their Empire and beat their army, their presence may indeed seem trivial for Nihon, and the Sorcerous Kingdom… sadly negligible.

It was the playground of the dragons that were the two invading worlds, not her petty empire that was only the meat these two beasts gnawed on, eying each other constantly who can get a bigger piece.

"Dammit!"

She just can't sleep, her face pale, a nauseous feeling invading her mind, causing massive headache and stomach cramps.

Beelzebub's fate still bothered her, having no clue what will be the fate of the young prince made her worry.

In all honesty, she was somewhat worried about him. Was Lady Albedo his mother or a sister? She was unsure, at first, the two resembled each other too much to decide from a mere look. Only after hearing she is the queen of Ainz it was confirmed, she was his mother.

 _"Poor woman…"_ she bit her lip, it must be a terrifying, crushing feeling when your own son being imprisoned, most likely facing execution for a forged crime.

Turning on her back, the princess stared the ceiling of her big room. Considering the size of her bed, she could trash around freely and still don't have to fear falling down.

"Ah, that stupid Nee-sama almost did it, again…"

Remembering her day, her fool brother, and his "idiotic" choices came her mind, making her stomach cramps worse.

That moron almost blew their chance and started another war, again…

It was bad enough back then when he demanded a separate chariot, after arrival, that moron even refused to shake hands with the crown queen of the nation, and the rest of the ministers, trying to flirt with Albedo and a few other ladies instead.

They were lucky Albedo found his attempt amusing instead of offending, and refused the offer politely.

Then it came to the first session. It went catastrophic! That moron actually refused to speak with any other party and let those idiot bootlickers talk in his stead — ending up them saying many nonsense things, earning laughs from all parties, and more embarrassment for her and Diabo. They almost proclaimed the state of war against the UN and the whole SK a few times…

Pina honestly had no idea if it was good or bad, but a few people thought Zorzal and that three as bad jesters, giving Pina and Diabo praise behind their back, saying how amusing "that" comedian trio are — trying so hard to caricature a blind ruler with a big ego and his three attaches with a nonsensical world views.

Moreover, when she and Diabo tried to save the situation and speak up, Zorzal had to add they do not speak in his Empire's stead, just here to witness his "glory."

 _"What glory? The only glory that man had can be found in the latrine, and the spunk on his sheets…"_

This, of course, ended up the other parties looking down on them, refusing to take them seriously afterward. In the breaks, she even heard the other diplomats of the other parties speak behind their back. Honestly, she was too embarrassed to talk with others after this, but she had to force herself to save the situation, even if it worth not much.

With this, under the first meeting, Zorzal and those three idiots basically reached a diplomatic state what any other Emperor or even any other leader in the history hardly managed under their whole life, making the entire Empire a laughing stock and pushing them in the state of diplomatic pariahs. Instead of opening new doors — what this meeting basically guaranteed — that four idiots — Zorzal and his three military advisors — shut them close, throwing away the keys in the bottom of an endless lake.

She was not even sure why he chose those three simple minded fools. It was evident; they were completely unfit to give any sound diplomatic advice. They were soldiers, and military advisors, not diplomats, and even for that disastrous as it.

Not speaking about the banquette and the diplomatic dinner with the other parties this night... They were lucky her brother, and that three was too occupied stuffing their mouth with all that food and drink, and flirting with the noble ladies invited to the party to cause any more disaster. They did enough for today already.

 _"I need to thank Princess Eleanor tomorrow, without she around keeping my brother occupied under the party, he would have surely caused something more cataclysmic…"_

The princess sighed, closing her eyes, only to a few minutes later getting up and wash her face in her bathroom.

Strangely, these people as well have the miraculous luxury that was the piped water. Just like under her visit to Nihon, it came from the tap, just like that… endless amount of clean water!

It was hard to get used to it, but after getting know how to use it, she found it much more comfortable than using the bedpan, then empty it every time — even if the servants did that, it had a nasty stench left alone long enough — or waiting for hours for a good, hot bath. Here, she just turned the handle in the right direction, and hot water came from the tap, it was that easy!

'Splash!'

After washing her face, the princess opened the door of the balcony, and the warm winds of autumn hit her face, brushing her hair.

"This world is so strange…" walking outside; she adored the always awake town under her, hearing the people underneath. It was strange how soundproof these buildings were; basically, she heard nothing from the teeming people down there.

After the session, and the banquet finished, they have escorted back their own embassy. Yes, it was weird how fast these people can build, according to them one week ago these buildings not even existed, but now… looking, around Pina saw the numerous villa's those most likely served as the embassies of different nations and races, each of them having a sizable backyard. Below them, the lights of the never sleeping city flickered. Indeed, the Embassy Quarter of the town positioned on an artificially made hill, near the diamond quarter where mostly nobles lived. Literally, aside from the floating buildings, this part of the town gave the best view for the capital under them.

"The buildings literally fly in the sky, and this sight…"

The town called Carne was beautiful at night, never sleeping, the light, and intense community life was even visible from this height. It even surpassed Nihon if it comes for beauty.

Looking forward, she saw a grand palace in the far, the place where the banquette held today, looking up at the sky, the impressive floating magic Academy, the Leycastle and several more floating platforms came in her vision. Floated just in the right distance from each other to not feel overstuffed.

If anyone doubted the victory of the Sorcerous Kingdom, and the superiority of their culture, seeing this, they would surely change their mind.

They were already their overlords; so, she only prayed — even if it was a folly of her own wild imagination — that her brother and his bootlickers realize this, and do everything to appeal this new power, not to anger them furthermore. Thought, she already knew this was a fool's errand, a girl can dream, no?

"If we offend them even a little bit, we are dead…"

…

The princess not even suspected, but below them, standing on the roof of a church, and resting her mighty Halberd on her shoulder, a petite priestess watched the city below.

"What an intriguing city…" Rory licked her lip somewhat aroused. "So many souls, and their worship… really remarkable. Ainz-sama must be proud of them…"

The city literally overflown with the energy of worship, it shone through even the darkest corner of it. Even the smallest children went sleeping with a prayer on their lips, a prayer offered for the forty-one, or any other deity.

"Hah…!" she shuddered for a moment, letting the feeling flow through her insides.

"Those two boring cat ladies… one too occupied to study their history just to gain some advantage, the other too scared — or it is pride? — to acknowledge a little bit of adventure does wonder with the spirit." Rory chuckled remembering, in her youth she was the same. "Youngsters…"

Patting her belly, she felt herself satiated. "Hah! I am full…" If nothing more, that party was good to fill her tummy with delicious foods and drinks. Albeit, she still can't evade most of the envoys, and had to chat a little bit with them, her technique always worked to pull herself out from such situations — giving her "crazy" stare to the people usually makes them go away in short order.

With just a jump, she flashed, leaped through the sky, disappearing in the night of the city. Her movement looked like a flash for any normal human. Her steps agile and soft just like a cat landed on the roofs. Despite carrying her heavy weapon, leaving no visible mark.

'Leap!'

Landing on the street amidst a group of people, the surrounding citizens backed, but instead the expected fright; she only felt them surprised, and annoyance coming from their direction.

"Watch it! Punk!"

Most of them grumbled angrily before going on their own way and completely ignoring the strange girl with the oversized weapon and the strange goth priest attire.

 _"It is strange, back home when I do this the people simply freak out and run away. They are boring… This is so much fun!"_

It was evident, unlike home, here, the people get used to the miracles their king, and his servants provided. Moreover, they lived in a world where superhuman beings like Rory almost counted as an everyday sight.

If you want to compare a human from this world, to a human from Falmart, or even from Earth, the difference was like day and night, it was like you wanted to compare a domesticated dog to a wolf.

Here, amongst the mortals, the number of superhuman beings — people who entered the realm of heroes — were a lot higher than back home. The scariest thing was, the Sorcerer King and his servants were easily able to call beings those were far surpassed heroic beings, even able to destroy whole cities, or even countries under a whim. Pummel her, an apostle — who proven to be massively superhuman — to the ground easily if they wished.

Naturally, Rory though nothing of this, her only goal was to experience as much adventure as she can before ascending into godhood. Her master advised her to do so, and she would be fool defy his will.

"Let's start to explore the city… Fufufu…"

Thus she started her exploration. Even if tomorrow they also go around to visit several places — after the royal procession. Usually, cities at night a lot different than under daylight.

The people walk differently, act differently, looks differently, even different kind of people are out to fool around. In the Sorcerer Kingdom's case, thanks to their racial multiculturalism, even most of the races were different under the day, then night.

In the day, races accustomed to daylight are present in big masses, people who usually only active at night, or had some business this time stumbled around now.

Their number almost as much than it was in the morning, or afternoon when they drove through the city once more to participate in that party.

Now, instead of humans, elves, Lizardmen, and other races usually active at day, mostly beings with strange proportions were present. Such as demi-humans with bat-like complexion, humanoids with red eyes and vampire fangs, strange jelly monsters those tried to hide from the light, hiding in the shadows — but failed before her divine sight — a bloated being which may looked quite grotesque for human norms was still interesting for her, or even literal walking shadows wearing strange suits. Their kind was many; she can't even count all of them.

All of them were a little bit different, not of a norm, but this is what made them enjoyable in her eyes.

"Let's go then…"

Starting her walk, the city was just as lovely, mysterious, and lively as it was in the morning. The streets still filled with people. Bartering, trading, going on their business, living their life.

Accompanied by the constant noise of their chatter she was unable to understand how the people sleep this time can take their well-deserved rest.

"Hmm…" a group of guardsmen wearing the uniformed armor of the "night watch" passed her, only giving her a glance before progressing forward. As expected, most of them were creatures accustomed for nightly patrols and lifestyle. It was evident in the Sorcerous Kingdom the people kept their balance when they work, and when not.

A creature mostly active at night should not work in the morning when it should take their rest. Vice versa… It was logical. Not only they can't do their job properly, but because of their imbalanced lifestyle and puzzled inner clock can't use their racial heritage the best way. Even Rory understand this…

"This city really never sleeps…" she mumbled, looking at the street lamps on the sidelines. They were enchanted with [Continuous Light] spell to provide illumination but calibrated that way not to bother the creatures of the night.

Walking, walking and walking… many figures gave her a strange look. Figures turned back their business not long after she passed them. She was indeed a strange sight, not because of her clothes, but because she looked "quite" human… an unusual view at this time.

…

Walking, walking and walking, several hours already passed, and she reached a less impressive part of the city. Now, not as she said it was completely ramshackle because it was in a lot better shape than any other similar city she previously encountered, but the difference between this part of the town, and the more glamorous more prosperous parts were evident.

If she had to guess, this was the red light district. Seeing the girls, and the tables hanging with sultry pictures above the entrances it was evident.

"Oh dear…" she sighed. "It seems, I lost my way… this city indeed like a labyrinth…" and indeed, she completely lost her way. Following the lead of her legs — not her head — immersing herself with the many sights came in the way of her eyes and the exploration — she completely lost both her sense of time and her way.

 _"Usually, when I don't know the direction, I just look up at the sky, and I can say the direction from the stars. But now…"_

Immediately she started to sprint, leaping on the walls, then grabbing the protruding parts to reach higher ground, soon, once more finding herself on the top of a temple's highest point, hanging from the top ornament.

"Well, it did not help at all… I can't recognize any formation…"

Looking up, the beautiful map of stars, the night sky came into her view, strangely, barely any clouds were present.

"Still, it is beautiful, so bad people can't recognize small things…"

Remembering her attempt to sneak in Itami's bedchamber before going on her adventure, and her failure because of a certain elf, this event tonight made her sulk. "Stupid Tuka… why she is always around, her scream made the guards come right away…"

Although it was exciting sneaking in the embassy of the UN, as well as running away from the guards, she was sure they already recognized her presence at the moment she passed the building's perimeter. Most likely letting her go because Itami convinced them, knowing who she is, and her nature of a stray cat.

"Well, I can't wait for Itami-kun's berating words tomorrow…" she stuck her tongue mischievous, imagining the man's weak attempt to explain her; she can't do this…

Looking around, breathing deep, fresh air filled her lungs, making her remember her home.

"Ah! So nostalgic, my master's city just this lively at night…"

Being her god also ruled over darkness — amongst many things — it was evident the festivals and the holy rituals of his holy city mostly conducted under the tight blanket of darkness.

"Hmm…"

In the next moment, turning her head, her eagle sight spotted something strange. A few figures ran through an alley, pursuing someone.

"I wonder what's going down there…"

Her instinct told her not to cause trouble, that it was not her task to investigate the situation. But also, the chaotic curiosity that was her trademark, and her god's domain can't let her sit on her toes, waiting for the situation to solve itself. Her blood called her for action.

'Leap!'

As fast as she can, the girl leaped closer, like an agile cat, following the pursuers rushed after the cloaked person.

"…" they said nothing, rushing after the short person, their face covered by a bone mask, raising their black daggers — those were adorned with golden engravings.

"Hmm, this is interesting, that mask looks exactly like Ainz-sama's face." and indeed it looked like that, her divine sight penetrated even the darkest night. Strangely, she sensed something strange from the direction of those daggers…

"I feel foul magic from their direction… those things definitely hexed…"

She followed the figures further and further, not yet feeling the right moment to intervene, nor the willingness to do so, yet.

* * *

…

'Breath! Breath! Breath!' the figure in the front sprinted for his life, exhaled the used up oxygen at a rapid rate, only time to time glancing back at his pursuers.

"Dammit!" his voice was young, yet, his body was bigger than of an average human of his age, at least as big as a burly human male. His clawed hand grabbed the dual pendant on his neck, gritting his sharp teeth, his hands bleeding, red liquid and dirty pus dripping from the ugly cut.

"Why are they doing this!? Why can't they let us alone!?" almost crying, his muscles ached, feeling the cold grasp reaching closer and closer to him inch by inch.

"There is no end of them?!" the young demi human cut another corner, breaking through a closed off wooden barricade. He knows this town well, yet, he felt he is running out of his evasive options. Corner by corner more and more pursuers appeared behind him, cutting his way systematically.

"This is the end?"

A few more turns and the young fox-like creature reached a dead end. "Dammit! They planned this from the beginning!"

Slowly turning his head, he spotted the ever closing robed figures, on their face, a skeletal mask settles, from their eye sockets red lights dimming.

"Why…" he sniffed, completely desperate. "Why can't you leave us alone…? We did nothing…"

The closing figures said nothing for a moment but raised a medallion which resembled Momonga's guild symbol.

 **"All who worship the false ones must be punished; this is the will of the great one…"**

The masked man, or woman — honestly, the young demi-human had no idea, this person before him used some kind of voice distortion magic, making their voice completely unrecognizable — spoke nonsense! The guy had no idea what he meant by this.

 **"All who worship the false ones will be punished! This is the will of the great one!"** the one in the middle raised their finger, pointing at him. **"You and the rest worshipping the false goddess, and the usurper will be punished… death awaits you in the truest sense…"**

"So this is why…!?" his eyes widened, recognizing why these people pursued him and killed many of his friends, eliminated all his family. Just because of his, and his family's worshipped deities?

 _"What nonsense! What madness! How such people in our society, under our laws, can even exist!?"_

Before the law every Supreme Being and existing deity was equal. No matter which you worship it was good enough. It was even accepted if you don't worship anyone at all, it was allowed — true, that most of the time made you a social pariah.

Be it Ainz Ooal Gown, or Lord Touch Me, or all of them, or none… or an entirely different god, it was allowed until you kept it yourself and did not harm, or force others to follow your way. Albeit, that was what the law stated. Unfortunately, some people can't really accept when others have a different opinion.

They were the extremist faction hid in the deepest layers, moving in the shadows. Their members are coming from the highest to the lowest strata of society.

"You are from the cult of death… those maniacs…"

He should not have provoked them! He should have listened to his mother. But he did not believe their existence… damn! Why he had to go out that night! Why he had to witness that thing then run away?

 **"At this moment, I, the follower of the death god sermon your sins…"** the masked figure said in a distorted tone. **"The worship of false deities. Idolatry. The witness of a sacred ritual unhallowed forbidden to observe, and lastly, betrayal…"** the masked one raised his dagger. **"The betrayal of the cause… Your big mouth caused great trouble for my brothers and sisters. For this, the cleansing of your whole family was necessary… as the last witness, your soul will be sent to him to be judged…"**

"So this is…" he gulped. "This is why you killed all my family? Because I saw you that night and told the authorities?"

The masked figures answered not, instead of closed on him slowly. Moving strangely… almost like people who are possessed.

"…"

He froze, he tried to fight them previously, but their weapons cursed, he was barely managed to drag himself this far. His hand still bleeding, producing pus ceaseless.

"Dammit! This is how it ends? My family died, my friends all dead, so I really end up dying in this dead end?" but thinking of it, he had nothing to lose, not anymore... He lost everything already, what worse can come.

"Farewell…" collapsing on his knees, the boy closed his eyes, turning his head away, the young demi-human with the characteristics of a fox prepared to die, he had nothing to lose anymore. When…

'Clan! Shatter!'

"Huh?"

Between him and the zealots, an oversized black halberd embedded deep in the ground, on the tip of it's handle landing elegantly the goth priestess.

"You have some courage cornering a defenseless boy…" Rory called out with a mocking smirk, looking at the skeletal masked figures before her with amusement. "Don't you want to dance with a prey who can fight back, not just running away?"

 **"He is a sinner! Sinned against our Lord, must be sacrificed…"**

"Oh really?" Rory smirked, looking down on her prey.

 **"So you as well carry the sin of treason… it cannot be helped, you witnessed our trial, every outsider who witness our sacrament must die…"** pulling out their swords, daggers, clubs and various weapons, the cultists stepped forward, prepared for battle.

"That's intriguing…" the girl was not scared, not at all. Instead, she jumped down to the ground, her mocking smile still present. "It only fits to introduce myself, after all, according to my lord, a battle without honor is the coward's way… and he hates mongrels." now her tone and looks turned spiteful, true, only for a moment before returning to her usual charming self.

Raising her skirt, she made a slight courtesy in the next moment. "I, Rory Mercury, the apostle of the great Emroy, god of darkness, War, Death, Violence, and Insanity, will be your opponent tonight. Please entertain me."

 **"So, not only treason but Sacrilege…"** now even the leader raised his dagger. **"I, Melgazor will offer your body to my Lord, yours and the boys head will decorate the church of the war goddess at dawn, just as you wanted…"**

Giving the signal, the masked people charged against her one by one, caring not about their wellbeing.

"This is so entertaining!" like she did not care, she leaned and jumped from the way of the swipes, only grabbing her Halberd in the last moment, offering a sacrifice to her holy blade.

'Slash!'

With just a move she proved the validity of her nickname, "Reaper," fit her occupation, slicing at half every zealot reached in her range, pummeling them into a bloody paste.

'Clang!'

These cultists were faster than any human she ever encountered back in Falmart, and her blade cut through some kind of defensive barrier before reaching the soft flesh, bones, and innards, spilling them on the ground.

It was not enough to stop her but gave her an intrigued moment; maybe she can find some challenge here.

 **"Sacrilege…"** hissed Melgazor in contempt, brushing down the blood splattered on him. **"You dare to stand against the supreme god's work!?"**

"That depends on which god…" she answered nonchalant, her grin never ceasing. Once more, she jumped back, beheading another cultist dared to come too close.

One after other, the zealots rushed forward, like a flash, all of them cut down by Rory.

 **"[Binding Earth Chains]!" "[Curse of Stalagmite]!" "[Blindness]!.."** One by one, the figures changed tactic, stopping, and bombing her with curses and restraint magic.

She managed to cut through the first wave, cutting away the restraining earth chain, forcing her way forward, killing at least five cultists before collapsing.

'Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab!' 'Pummel! Pummel! Pummel! Pummel!'

The people gathered around her immediately at the moment she was immobilized, stabbing, and bludgeoning her body ceaseless, until… her arm and body moved not, her crimson blood spreading under her in a big puddle. It was evident she died on the scene.

 **"Foolish girl…"** cracked the leader, turning towards the still trembling, half-conscious young man, baring his dagger and closing on him, several of his comrades following. His movements are extra slow to raise the tension. **"It is time to repent…"**

And at the moment, he raised his dagger… "Fufufu… That hurts! This really hurts! So this is what real pain feels! Emroy-sama, it was some time! Let me share with you!"

 **"What the…"**

'Slice! Splatter!'

 **"[Dimensional Movement** ]!" slipping back through a dimensional hole, Melgazor activated his escape spell just in time. One moment late, and he would as well ended up sliced at two like the rest of the people around the girl. On the ground around a deep scar visible.

"Fuhahahaha! That really hurt! And what a potent curse! I still can't see a thing!"

The holes on her body sizzled, pushing out an intense amount of yellow pus, the healing process was extra slow. Her eyes still foggy from the [Blindness] curse, but moment after moment she saw more and more blurry figures.

 **"How is this possible!?"**

"As I said, I am the apostle of Emroy, a demigoddess! You think stabbing me, cursing me, killing me over and over works? What a foolish boy you are?" Rory was confident in her abilities, and her wide smirk proved this.

 **"A Godkin?"** Melgazor asked, his tone evidently carried a slight confusion.

"Hmm, well, if you want to use your word for it, you can, when others referred to Momon and Raidyn-san, they called them like that. Yet, I still prefer to be called apostle; if you want to be polite, your holiness will do."

 **"What a Godkin is doing here? Especially at night!? What the servants of the false gods are doing here!?"**

The remained cultist looked at each other, the weapons in their hands slightly trembling realizing who they face.

"Just taking a walk in this beautiful town, under the pale moon…" she raised her weapon. "…taking out the trash…"

 **"Get her!"**

The cultists hesitated, and it was enough for Rory, lunging forward she cut them down one by one. Even blind, her remained senses was enough to navigate, darkness was her ally and her Lord's domain. There was no way to lose!

 **"Dammit! Next time…! Next time we will get you!"**

Her blade was still out of range. Thus she spun and threw it, but before it could collide with her enemy, the man shattered a crystal with a quick motion, disappearing in a flash.

'Clang!'

Her weapon embedded in the wall of the house, bringing down the side of the building immediately.

"Oh dear…" she looked around, seeing the muddy outlines of the bodies, and the destruction of her environment. "What a mess…"

'Step! Step! Step! Step! Step!'

She heard the clangs of the hard boots closing in; it was evident the guards heard the ruckus and noises of battle. Even in this far alley, they came surprisingly fast.

"Oh dear… It would be quite troublesome if they see me…" deciding it is best to leave, she grabbed her weapon, and the boy, clasping him above her shoulder, then like an agile shadow leaping from one wall to other, disappearing in the night…

…

"Yawn!"

"Rory, I see you did not sleep much last night…" Itami asked somewhat concerned. It was already morning, and she looked worse to wear, under her eyes ugly dark bags visible. Thought, her attire was strangely peerless.

Her only luck was her steady supply of priestly attires she brought with herself. In her profession, and the constant battles she experienced daily base, her clothes often tore.

To represent her god in the best before the masses, she had to look pristine, all the time. She was lucky in packing extra sets. She felt she would need it, and her instinct did not betray her.

"That was because you sent me away last night, you dummy!" she pouted, looking away offended. "I can't sleep all night, alone in that cold room, besides that, my room was near Granham's, she is snoring like a horse…"

Tuka snorted, almost bursting out laughing, Itami just smiled sweating. "Sorry, Tuka insisted it…"

Looking at the "young" elf, she stuck her tongue, grabbing her "prize" closer. "Father is mine…" she muttered triumph and mischevious.

"…" Lelei also snaked closer, leaning on Itami.

"So both of them!? But not me!? What the two can offer I can't? I have hundreds and hundreds of years of experience! And you refuse me!? You are a cruel man, Itami…"

"Ahh, ah… Sorry?"

The people around, and in the driver seat rather remained silent, or muttered: "What a lucky man…" but nothing else, angering an already angry demigoddess was a death sentence in itself.

"You better find a way to atone your sin!"

"Huh…" looking out from the window, Itami felt helpless, and it was only the start of his day.

"…"

As for Rory… you might ask how she got back there. Well, let's just say, she experienced a few more things under that night, learned a few dark secrets. This city contained and visited a place she found joy in.

 _"The darkness of this city more intriguing, and hiding more secret than anyone might imagine it…"_

"I love this place already…" she mumbled smirking.

"Huh?" the people only blinked, understanding not her mumble.

"Nothing, just old memories…"

…

A little time later, the small convoy reached a grand palace, and the people once more left their respective vehicles.

"So it is…" a man with devilishly handsome features adjusted his tie, on his side a beautiful woman stood with golden blonde locks and sky blue eyes. "Do you think we are ready?"

"We had to, we are their envoys, after all…" the devil answered, following the rest behind, Albedo and a few more figure already awaited them on the top of the steps.

How will the royal procession take place? You will know from the next chapter.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Well, thanks for reading, and patience!**

 **Sorry for taking this long. I have no other excuse but the usual… life is a b*****

 **RnR**

 **Review or send PM if you have a question or opinion.**

 **Have a nice day!**

 **Take care!**

 **In the next chapter, the royal procession!**

 **Will, the tour in the town, will be interesting?**

 **What will the jester emperor do to make her relatives' life more miserable?**

 **You will know next time!**

 **Good day! Good sail! Good night!**

 **PS: If you spam me with messages like: "When it will be done?" "Is it ready?" and similar things, will not make me write faster.**

 **I am glad you like my story, but spamming me helps not.**

 **Please spare your energy, and be patient. This is not my only story, nor my only concern in life… if you continue to spam, I may delay the release of the individual chapters by at least a day after each "spam review" message I receive in my mailbox.**

 **Please consider this before doing so…**

 **Thank you!**

 **Have a good day!**


End file.
